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Philadelphia — UN urban centre

2,232,420

Philadelphia: 2,232,420 people. Reference: 2025 annual estimate · World rank #225 of 12,138 source urban centres. Source: UN DESA, World Urbanization Prospects 2025 (CC BY 3.0 IGO). Source identifier: 8270; territory: United States (USA). 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: 39.9822, -75.1613. National context uses World Bank estimates, a separate series and geography; no national share is inferred here.

UN population series

YearPeopleMethod
19751,913,378Estimate
19801,916,413Estimate
19851,937,595Estimate
19901,945,602Estimate
19952,012,418Estimate
20002,052,953Estimate
20052,073,354Estimate
20102,121,176Estimate
20152,164,309Estimate
20202,226,467Estimate
20252,232,420Estimate
20302,238,064Projection
20352,286,094Projection
20402,283,445Projection
20452,278,431Projection
20502,266,409Projection

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.

Why an urban centre is not a municipality →

Interpretation reviewed 12 October 2026. Underlying reference years are stated on the page; this is not a fresh census or dataset refresh.