Al-Najaf — UN urban centre
Al-Najaf: 1,273,450 people. Reference: 2025 annual estimate · World rank #403 of 12,138 source urban centres. Source: UN DESA, World Urbanization Prospects 2025 (CC BY 3.0 IGO). Source identifier: 4039; territory: Iraq (IRQ). UN source workbook.
Method: Degree of Urbanisation (contiguous 1 km2 cells, density 1,500+ people/km2, total 50,000+). This is a source-defined urban centre, not a municipality or province. No association with a separate administrative entity is inferred from proximity or name.
Source centroid: 32.0204, 44.3382. National context uses World Bank estimates, a separate series and geography; no national share is inferred here.
UN population series
| Year | People | Method |
|---|---|---|
| 1975 | 173,298 | Estimate |
| 1980 | 214,240 | Estimate |
| 1985 | 274,999 | Estimate |
| 1990 | 343,435 | Estimate |
| 1995 | 469,688 | Estimate |
| 2000 | 599,648 | Estimate |
| 2005 | 728,065 | Estimate |
| 2010 | 820,562 | Estimate |
| 2015 | 999,886 | Estimate |
| 2020 | 1,183,158 | Estimate |
| 2025 | 1,273,450 | Estimate |
| 2030 | 1,414,462 | Projection |
| 2035 | 1,506,673 | Projection |
| 2040 | 1,599,596 | Projection |
| 2045 | 1,684,394 | Projection |
| 2050 | 1,761,206 | Projection |
Largest UN urban centres · Fastest-growing urban centres
What changed during your lifetime?
Turn these figures into a private, five-scene personal world story.
Use this source record with the right definition
This page is a structured reference entry. Its sources, geographic definition and reference dates determine what the figures mean; it is not independent reporting about the causes of change. Read the accompanying explanation before comparing different places or vintages.