Chișinău — UN urban centre
Chișinău: 422,035 people. Reference: 2025 annual estimate · World rank #1,330 of 12,138 source urban centres. Source: UN DESA, World Urbanization Prospects 2025 (CC BY 3.0 IGO). Source identifier: 426; territory: Moldova (MDA). 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: 47.0174, 28.8454. National context uses World Bank estimates, a separate series and geography; no national share is inferred here.
UN population series
| Year | People | Method |
|---|---|---|
| 1975 | 491,860 | Estimate |
| 1980 | 522,394 | Estimate |
| 1985 | 556,750 | Estimate |
| 1990 | 592,986 | Estimate |
| 1995 | 596,367 | Estimate |
| 2000 | 576,658 | Estimate |
| 2005 | 543,865 | Estimate |
| 2010 | 491,217 | Estimate |
| 2015 | 442,028 | Estimate |
| 2020 | 424,258 | Estimate |
| 2025 | 422,035 | Estimate |
| 2030 | 408,847 | Projection |
| 2035 | 398,871 | Projection |
| 2040 | 388,888 | Projection |
| 2045 | 380,566 | Projection |
| 2050 | 373,909 | Projection |
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.