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Tembisa — UN urban centre

1,298,512

Tembisa: 1,298,512 people. Reference: 2025 annual estimate · World rank #398 of 12,138 source urban centres. Source: UN DESA, World Urbanization Prospects 2025 (CC BY 3.0 IGO). Source identifier: 4433; 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: -26.0137, 28.2045. National context uses World Bank estimates, a separate series and geography; no national share is inferred here.

UN population series

YearPeopleMethod
1975309,300Estimate
1980318,808Estimate
1985355,064Estimate
1990395,223Estimate
1995553,556Estimate
2000716,570Estimate
2005820,195Estimate
2010928,032Estimate
20151,047,791Estimate
20201,223,990Estimate
20251,298,512Estimate
20301,392,528Projection
20351,464,744Projection
20401,530,503Projection
20451,599,601Projection
20501,651,801Projection

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.

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