Bloemfontein — UN urban centre
Bloemfontein: 496,295 people. Reference: 2025 annual estimate · World rank #1,115 of 12,138 source urban centres. Source: UN DESA, World Urbanization Prospects 2025 (CC BY 3.0 IGO). Source identifier: 2556; territory: South Africa (ZAF). 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: -29.166, 26.2457. National context uses World Bank estimates, a separate series and geography; no national share is inferred here.
UN population series
| Year | People | Method |
|---|---|---|
| 1975 | 181,525 | Estimate |
| 1980 | 231,320 | Estimate |
| 1985 | 260,815 | Estimate |
| 1990 | 273,458 | Estimate |
| 1995 | 276,754 | Estimate |
| 2000 | 289,726 | Estimate |
| 2005 | 372,562 | Estimate |
| 2010 | 398,517 | Estimate |
| 2015 | 419,186 | Estimate |
| 2020 | 458,822 | Estimate |
| 2025 | 496,295 | Estimate |
| 2030 | 522,717 | Projection |
| 2035 | 580,694 | Projection |
| 2040 | 636,557 | Projection |
| 2045 | 658,632 | Projection |
| 2050 | 678,064 | 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.