What is the population of Durban?
Durban has a city population of 3,338,026. That is the population within the city's own boundary, not its wider metropolitan area. City population, GeoNames.
City profile · South Africa · Africa
Durban
City population
3,338,026
#3
in South Africa
#1
in KwaZulu-Natal
#104
worldwide
-29.858, 31.029 · 536 km from Pretoria
About Durban
With a city-proper population of 3,338,026 and a metropolitan area of 3,158,000, Durban ranks among South Africa's largest urban centers. The city sits at just 21 meters elevation on Africa's eastern coast and maintains an annual growth rate of 0.9%. Founded in 1835, it has developed as a densely populated hub with 1,378 people per km². King Shaka International Airport (DUR) and Pietermaritzburg Airport (PZB) serve the region's transportation needs.
This summary is AI-generated from the figures on this page. The figures themselves come from the sources cited beside each value.
Metro population
3,158,000
0.038% of world population
Archive estimateAnnual growth
+0.85%
Archive estimateDensity
1,378/km²
2,292 km² metro area
Key Facts
Country
Region
Rank in region
#1of 38
Founded
1835
Coordinates
-29.858, 31.029
Record updated
24 February 2025
Entry edited, not measured
City population, GeoNames. GeoNames publishes no year for its population figures, so “record updated” is when the entry was last edited — not the date the population was measured. Elevation is modelled from a digital elevation model rather than surveyed, so it is approximate.
Nearby Cities
All 295 in South AfricaClosest listed cities by great-circle distance from the city centre.
Compared with the World's Largest Cities
City-proper population against the fifteen largest cities in the dataset.
| Name | City population |
|---|---|
| Shanghai | 24.9M |
| Beijing | 19M |
| Shenzhen | 17.5M |
| Guangzhou | 16.1M |
| Kinshasa | 16M |
| Istanbul | 15.7M |
| Lagos | 15.4M |
| Ho Chi Minh City | 14M |
| Chengdu | 13.6M |
| Lahore | 13M |
| Mumbai | 12.7M |
| São Paulo | 12.4M |
| Mexico City | 12.3M |
| Karachi | 11.6M |
| Tianjin | 11.1M |
| Durban | 3.34M |
Airports
Scheduled-service airports within 100 km, nearest first.
- King Shaka International AirportDUR
28 km from the city centre
- Pietermaritzburg AirportPZB
65 km from the city centre
Source: OurAirports, matched by distance.
Population Trend in South Africa
No free source publishes city population back to 1950, so the parent country's series is shown instead.
| Year | Population |
|---|---|
| 1950 | 13,038,491 |
| 1960 | 16,440,172 |
| 1970 | 22,279,984 |
| 1980 | 29,518,857 |
| 1990 | 40,746,268 |
| 2000 | 47,159,719 |
| 2010 | 52,344,051 |
| 2020 | 60,562,381 |
| 2030 | 68,161,359 |
| 2040 | 74,035,624 |
| 2050 | 79,177,328 |
| 2060 | 83,443,514 |
| 2070 | 86,857,023 |
| 2080 | 89,674,092 |
| 2090 | 92,160,724 |
| 2100 | 94,314,448 |
Durban Population FAQ
Where is Durban?
Durban is in KwaZulu-Natal, South Africa, 536 km from the capital, Pretoria. Its coordinates are -29.858, 31.029.
How big is Durban compared with other cities in South Africa?
It is the 3rd largest of the 295 cities listed in South Africa, holding 5.2% of the national population.