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eMbalenhle — UN urban centre

146,921

eMbalenhle: 146,921 people. Reference: 2025 annual estimate · World rank #4,142 of 12,138 source urban centres. Source: UN DESA, World Urbanization Prospects 2025 (CC BY 3.0 IGO). Source identifier: 4728; 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: -26.5508, 29.0792. National context uses World Bank estimates, a separate series and geography; no national share is inferred here.

UN population series

YearPeopleMethod
198557,575Estimate
199074,596Estimate
199582,195Estimate
200088,740Estimate
200599,743Estimate
2010113,349Estimate
2015133,162Estimate
2020137,967Estimate
2025146,921Estimate
2030155,768Projection
2035162,478Projection
2040168,567Projection
2045174,070Projection
2050179,233Projection

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.