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Jaffna — UN urban centre

200,544

Jaffna: 200,544 people. Reference: 2025 annual estimate · World rank #2,984 of 12,138 source urban centres. Source: UN DESA, World Urbanization Prospects 2025 (CC BY 3.0 IGO). Source identifier: 154; territory: Sri Lanka (LKA). 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: 9.6951, 80.0195. National context uses World Bank estimates, a separate series and geography; no national share is inferred here.

UN population series

YearPeopleMethod
1975129,549Estimate
1980145,682Estimate
1985165,466Estimate
1990165,184Estimate
1995168,309Estimate
2000187,379Estimate
2005191,449Estimate
2010196,309Estimate
2015218,606Estimate
2020220,928Estimate
2025200,544Estimate
2030188,934Projection
2035182,015Projection
2040174,357Projection
2045164,552Projection
2050157,266Projection

Largest UN urban centres · Fastest-growing urban centres

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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.

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Interpretation reviewed 12 October 2026. Underlying reference years are stated on the page; this is not a fresh census or dataset refresh.