Merca — UN urban centre
Merca: 299,906 people. Reference: 2025 annual estimate · World rank #1,915 of 12,138 source urban centres. Source: UN DESA, World Urbanization Prospects 2025 (CC BY 3.0 IGO). Source identifier: 2775; territory: Somalia (SOM). 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: 1.7165, 44.7664. National context uses World Bank estimates, a separate series and geography; no national share is inferred here.
UN population series
| Year | People | Method |
|---|---|---|
| 1980 | 53,136 | Estimate |
| 1985 | 62,136 | Estimate |
| 1990 | 75,118 | Estimate |
| 1995 | 92,933 | Estimate |
| 2000 | 114,030 | Estimate |
| 2005 | 132,443 | Estimate |
| 2010 | 151,668 | Estimate |
| 2015 | 167,773 | Estimate |
| 2020 | 242,312 | Estimate |
| 2025 | 299,906 | Estimate |
| 2030 | 360,551 | Projection |
| 2035 | 414,642 | Projection |
| 2040 | 472,225 | Projection |
| 2045 | 530,976 | Projection |
| 2050 | 587,941 | 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.