Otaru — UN urban centre
Otaru: 94,244 people. Reference: 2025 annual estimate · World rank #6,564 of 12,138 source urban centres. Source: UN DESA, World Urbanization Prospects 2025 (CC BY 3.0 IGO). Source identifier: 170; territory: Japan (JPN). 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: 43.1903, 141.0076. National context uses World Bank estimates, a separate series and geography; no national share is inferred here.
UN population series
| Year | People | Method |
|---|---|---|
| 1975 | 128,660 | Estimate |
| 1980 | 129,857 | Estimate |
| 1985 | 130,578 | Estimate |
| 1990 | 116,852 | Estimate |
| 1995 | 103,317 | Estimate |
| 2000 | 104,336 | Estimate |
| 2005 | 101,034 | Estimate |
| 2010 | 98,310 | Estimate |
| 2015 | 97,650 | Estimate |
| 2020 | 95,669 | Estimate |
| 2025 | 94,244 | Estimate |
| 2030 | 92,576 | Projection |
| 2035 | 90,616 | Projection |
| 2040 | 88,649 | Projection |
| 2045 | 86,575 | Projection |
| 2050 | 84,642 | 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.