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Bulawayo — UN urban centre

492,771

Bulawayo: 492,771 people. Reference: 2025 annual estimate · World rank #1,130 of 12,138 source urban centres. Source: UN DESA, World Urbanization Prospects 2025 (CC BY 3.0 IGO). Source identifier: 109; territory: Zimbabwe (ZWE). 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: -20.1583, 28.5529. National context uses World Bank estimates, a separate series and geography; no national share is inferred here.

UN population series

YearPeopleMethod
1975313,075Estimate
1980358,714Estimate
1985445,348Estimate
1990537,460Estimate
1995576,216Estimate
2000608,809Estimate
2005601,547Estimate
2010592,381Estimate
2015558,899Estimate
2020468,740Estimate
2025492,771Estimate
2030519,381Projection
2035593,327Projection
2040630,266Projection
2045666,184Projection
2050692,970Projection

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.