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World Measure
The population almanac240 countries · 31,365 cities · UN WPP 2024
City profile · Germany · Europe

Essen

North Rhine-Westphalia · Germany
City population
593,085
#8
in Germany
#3
in North Rhine-Westphalia
#946
worldwide
BerlinEssen
51.457, 7.012 · 454 km from Berlin
City population
593,085
Within the city boundary, not a metro area
Rank in Germany
#8
of 960 cities of 15,000+
World rank
#946
of 31,365 cities listed
Share of Germany
0.7%
of the national population

About Essen

Ranked 946th in the world by city population, Essen holds 593,085 residents and stands as the eighth-largest city in Germany and third-largest in North Rhine-Westphalia. The city lies 454 km from Berlin and sits among a cluster of substantial neighbouring cities, including Gelsenkirchen (270,028), Oberhausen (219,176), and Mülheim (173,050) within 11 km.

This summary is AI-generated from the figures on this page. The figures themselves come from the sources cited beside each value.

Position in Germany
#8of 960
LargestSmallest
Position in North Rhine-Westphalia
#3of 268
LargestSmallest

Key Facts

Country
Germany
Region
North Rhine-Westphalia
Rank in region
#3of 268
Distance to capital
454 km
to Berlin
Elevation
83 m
Approximate — modelled, not surveyed
Time zone
Europe/Berlin
Coordinates
51.457, 7.012
Record updated
2021-07-25
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 960 in Germany

Closest listed cities by great-circle distance from the city centre.

8KMGelsenkirchen270K people9KMWattenscheid74K people9KMBottrop120K people10KMMülheim173K people11KMOberhausen219K people

Compared with the World's Largest Cities

City-proper population against the fifteen largest cities in the dataset.

  1. Shanghai24.9M
  2. Beijing19M
  3. Shenzhen17.5M
  4. Guangzhou16.1M
  5. Kinshasa16M
  6. Istanbul15.7M
  7. Lagos15.4M
  8. Ho Chi Minh City14M
  9. Chengdu13.6M
  10. Lahore13M
  11. Mumbai12.7M
  12. São Paulo12.4M
  13. Mexico City12.3M
  14. Karachi11.6M
  15. Tianjin11.1M
  16. Essen593K
City-proper figures only. Administrative boundaries differ between countries, so these are not directly comparable to metropolitan-area estimates.
Essen compared with the fifteen largest cities
NameCity population
Shanghai24.9M
Beijing19M
Shenzhen17.5M
Guangzhou16.1M
Kinshasa16M
Istanbul15.7M
Lagos15.4M
Ho Chi Minh City14M
Chengdu13.6M
Lahore13M
Mumbai12.7M
São Paulo12.4M
Mexico City12.3M
Karachi11.6M
Tianjin11.1M
Essen593K

Essen Population FAQ

What is the population of Essen?

Essen has a city population of 593,085. That is the population within the city's own boundary, not its wider metropolitan area. City population, GeoNames.

Where is Essen?

Essen is in North Rhine-Westphalia, Germany, 454 km from the capital, Berlin. Its coordinates are 51.457, 7.012.

How big is Essen compared with other cities in Germany?

It is the 8th largest of the 960 cities of 15,000 or more listed in Germany, holding 0.7% of the national population.

Explore

GermanyAll 960 citiesNorth Rhine-Westphalia268 cities in the regionCountry profileGermany population & indicators