Leiden — UN urban centre
Leiden: 278,667 people. Reference: 2025 annual estimate · World rank #2,086 of 12,138 source urban centres. Source: UN DESA, World Urbanization Prospects 2025 (CC BY 3.0 IGO). Source identifier: 674; territory: Netherlands (NLD). 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: 52.1673, 4.4734. National context uses World Bank estimates, a separate series and geography; no national share is inferred here.
UN population series
| Year | People | Method |
|---|---|---|
| 1975 | 210,796 | Estimate |
| 1980 | 220,823 | Estimate |
| 1985 | 228,008 | Estimate |
| 1990 | 237,176 | Estimate |
| 1995 | 244,157 | Estimate |
| 2000 | 249,063 | Estimate |
| 2005 | 252,980 | Estimate |
| 2010 | 256,395 | Estimate |
| 2015 | 262,268 | Estimate |
| 2020 | 269,092 | Estimate |
| 2025 | 278,667 | Estimate |
| 2030 | 283,701 | Projection |
| 2035 | 286,246 | Projection |
| 2040 | 286,762 | Projection |
| 2045 | 286,277 | Projection |
| 2050 | 284,854 | 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.