Lae — UN urban centre
Lae: 121,552 people. Reference: 2025 annual estimate · World rank #5,040 of 12,138 source urban centres. Source: UN DESA, World Urbanization Prospects 2025 (CC BY 3.0 IGO). Source identifier: 1441; territory: Papua New Guinea (PNG). 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: -6.7196, 146.9942. National context uses World Bank estimates, a separate series and geography; no national share is inferred here.
UN population series
| Year | People | Method |
|---|---|---|
| 1975 | 61,964 | Estimate |
| 1980 | 67,512 | Estimate |
| 1985 | 69,644 | Estimate |
| 1990 | 71,584 | Estimate |
| 1995 | 82,965 | Estimate |
| 2000 | 90,249 | Estimate |
| 2005 | 94,554 | Estimate |
| 2010 | 97,275 | Estimate |
| 2015 | 99,669 | Estimate |
| 2020 | 117,456 | Estimate |
| 2025 | 121,552 | Estimate |
| 2030 | 125,213 | Projection |
| 2035 | 128,158 | Projection |
| 2040 | 130,760 | Projection |
| 2045 | 132,730 | Projection |
| 2050 | 135,778 | 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.