Durban — UN urban centre
Durban: 3,177,927 people. Reference: 2025 annual estimate · World rank #153 of 12,138 source urban centres. Source: UN DESA, World Urbanization Prospects 2025 (CC BY 3.0 IGO). Source identifier: 5227; 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: -29.6452, 30.7348. National context uses World Bank estimates, a separate series and geography; no national share is inferred here.
UN population series
| Year | People | Method |
|---|---|---|
| 1975 | 569,867 | Estimate |
| 1980 | 767,564 | Estimate |
| 1985 | 1,097,730 | Estimate |
| 1990 | 1,468,195 | Estimate |
| 1995 | 1,899,162 | Estimate |
| 2000 | 2,484,739 | Estimate |
| 2005 | 2,688,646 | Estimate |
| 2010 | 2,787,757 | Estimate |
| 2015 | 2,889,930 | Estimate |
| 2020 | 3,128,158 | Estimate |
| 2025 | 3,177,927 | Estimate |
| 2030 | 3,185,024 | Projection |
| 2035 | 3,189,769 | Projection |
| 2040 | 3,180,813 | Projection |
| 2045 | 3,172,498 | Projection |
| 2050 | 3,157,978 | Projection |
Largest UN urban centres · Fastest-growing urban centres
What changed during your lifetime?
Turn these figures into a private, five-scene personal world story.
Use this source record with the right definition
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.