Istanbul — UN urban centre
Istanbul: 15,014,763 people. Reference: 2025 annual estimate · World rank #18 of 12,138 source urban centres. Source: UN DESA, World Urbanization Prospects 2025 (CC BY 3.0 IGO). Source identifier: 2626; territory: Türkiye (TUR). 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: 41.0163, 28.9792. National context uses World Bank estimates, a separate series and geography; no national share is inferred here.
UN population series
| Year | People | Method |
|---|---|---|
| 1975 | 5,305,193 | Estimate |
| 1980 | 6,232,218 | Estimate |
| 1985 | 7,472,439 | Estimate |
| 1990 | 8,765,208 | Estimate |
| 1995 | 9,801,443 | Estimate |
| 2000 | 10,633,602 | Estimate |
| 2005 | 11,792,604 | Estimate |
| 2010 | 12,999,813 | Estimate |
| 2015 | 13,843,301 | Estimate |
| 2020 | 14,609,817 | Estimate |
| 2025 | 15,014,763 | Estimate |
| 2030 | 15,388,017 | Projection |
| 2035 | 15,711,553 | Projection |
| 2040 | 15,974,056 | Projection |
| 2045 | 16,204,151 | Projection |
| 2050 | 16,303,309 | 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.