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Galle — UN urban centre

346,263

Galle: 346,263 people. Reference: 2025 annual estimate · World rank #1,651 of 12,138 source urban centres. Source: UN DESA, World Urbanization Prospects 2025 (CC BY 3.0 IGO). Source identifier: 874; 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: 6.0601, 80.2077. National context uses World Bank estimates, a separate series and geography; no national share is inferred here.

UN population series

YearPeopleMethod
197594,975Estimate
1980107,928Estimate
1985118,696Estimate
1990146,294Estimate
1995162,206Estimate
2000179,348Estimate
2005198,576Estimate
2010244,206Estimate
2015298,292Estimate
2020330,084Estimate
2025346,263Estimate
2030357,562Projection
2035381,467Projection
2040389,719Projection
2045401,388Projection
2050404,907Projection

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.

Why an urban centre is not a municipality →

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