Pakistan's largest cities, 1975 to 2050

Karachi is Pakistan's largest city at about 21.4 million in 2025, ahead of Lahore (15.2 million); the two were level at 4.6 and 4.4 million in 1975.

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What the data shows

In 2025, Karachi ranks #1 with 21.4M, ahead of Lahore (15.2M) and Faisalabad (5.6M).
By 2050, on the UN's projections, Karachi is projected to rank #1 with 32.6M, ahead of Lahore (20.4M) and Faisalabad (7.3M).
Karachi holds #1 for the whole period, 1975 to 2025.
Karachi grew 4.7× between 1975 and 2025.

About this chart

Karachi and Lahore started almost level. In 1975 the UN counts about 4.63 million people in Karachi and 4.40 million in Lahore. By 2025 Karachi has about 21.42 million and Lahore about 15.16 million, and the UN projects 32.59 million and 20.39 million in 2050. Both cities have grown several times over, but Karachi has pulled steadily ahead.

Below them, Faisalabad (5.57 million) and Islamabad (4.86 million) are far smaller, though Islamabad has grown from about 0.81 million in 1975 to six times that size. Peshawar, Gujranwala, Multan and Hyderabad each have between 2.9 and 3.6 million. These are UN Degree of Urbanization figures, which count contiguous dense areas, so they differ from city-proper or metro counts. Years after 2025 are projections.

The data

Source: UN DESA, World Urbanization Prospects: The 2025 Revision (File 21), city population, millions, 1975–2050 (projected after 2025). Retrieved November 4, 2026. Cities as defined by the Degree of Urbanization (contiguous dense areas), so figures differ from city-proper or metro counts.

Pakistan's largest cities, Population in millions, 1975 to 2050, 1975–2050
Date	🇵🇰 Karachi	🇵🇰 Lahore	🇵🇰 Faisalabad	🇵🇰 Islāmābād	🇵🇰 Peshawar	🇵🇰 Gujranwala	🇵🇰 Multan	🇵🇰 Hyderabad	🇵🇰 Sialkot	🇵🇰 Mardan	🇵🇰 Sargodha
1975	4.6M	4.4M	1.1M	0.8M	0.8M	0.8M	0.8M	0.9M	0.5M	0.2M	0.4M
1980	5.8M	5.1M	1.4M	1.0M	0.9M	0.9M	0.9M	1.0M	0.5M	0.2M	0.4M
1985	6.8M	5.6M	1.6M	1.4M	1.2M	1.1M	1.2M	1.1M	0.6M	0.3M	0.5M
1990	8.0M	6.2M	1.9M	1.7M	1.5M	1.3M	1.4M	1.3M	0.7M	0.4M	0.6M
1995	9.5M	7.1M	2.3M	2.1M	1.8M	1.6M	1.6M	1.5M	0.9M	0.5M	0.7M
2000	10.8M	8.0M	2.8M	2.6M	2.2M	1.9M	1.9M	1.7M	1.1M	0.6M	0.9M
2005	12.2M	9.1M	3.3M	3.1M	2.6M	2.2M	2.2M	1.9M	1.3M	0.8M	1.0M
2010	14.0M	10.5M	3.8M	3.7M	3.0M	2.5M	2.5M	2.1M	1.5M	0.9M	1.1M
2015	15.8M	11.8M	4.3M	4.2M	3.2M	2.8M	2.7M	2.4M	1.6M	1.1M	1.2M
2020	19.3M	14.0M	5.2M	4.5M	3.3M	2.9M	2.8M	2.7M	1.7M	1.2M	1.1M
2025	21.4M	15.2M	5.6M	4.9M	3.6M	3.1M	3.0M	2.9M	1.9M	1.3M	1.1M
2030	23.6M	16.3M	5.9M	5.3M	3.9M	3.3M	3.1M	3.0M	2.1M	1.5M	1.2M
2035	25.9M	17.4M	6.3M	5.6M	4.3M	3.6M	3.4M	3.1M	2.3M	1.6M	1.3M
2040	28.2M	18.5M	6.7M	6.0M	4.7M	3.8M	3.6M	3.3M	2.6M	1.8M	1.3M
2045	30.4M	19.5M	7.0M	6.4M	5.0M	4.0M	3.9M	3.4M	2.8M	1.9M	1.5M
2050	32.6M	20.4M	7.3M	6.7M	5.3M	4.2M	4.1M	3.6M	3.0M	2.2M	1.6M

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Frequently asked questions

What is the largest city in Pakistan?

In 2025, Karachi ranks #1 with 21.4M, followed by Lahore (15.2M) and Faisalabad (5.6M). Source: UN DESA, World Urbanization Prospects: The 2025 Revision (File 21), city population, millions, 1975–2050 (projected after 2025).

What is the largest city in Pakistan?

Karachi is the largest city in Pakistan in 2025, with about 21.42 million people under the UN's Degree of Urbanization definition. Lahore is second at about 15.16 million and Faisalabad third at about 5.57 million.

How big will Karachi be in 2050?

The UN projects Karachi at about 32.59 million people in 2050, up from about 21.42 million in 2025. Lahore is projected at about 20.39 million. These are projections under a medium scenario, not certain outcomes.

Is Lahore bigger than Karachi?

Not in this data. Lahore is estimated at about 15.16 million in 2025 against about 21.42 million for Karachi. In 1975 the gap was small, about 4.40 million against 4.63 million, but Karachi has grown faster since.

Where does this data come from?

UN DESA, World Urbanization Prospects: The 2025 Revision (File 21), city population, millions, 1975–2050 (projected after 2025). Retrieved November 4, 2026. Cities as defined by the Degree of Urbanization (contiguous dense areas), so figures differ from city-proper or metro counts. You can download the full table as a CSV from this page.

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