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World Measure
The population almanac240 countries · 31,365 cities · UN WPP 2024
Capital city · Rwanda · Africa

Kigali

Kigali · Rwanda
City population
1,132,686
#1
in Rwanda
#1
in Kigali
#478
worldwide
Kigali
-1.950, 30.059
City population
1,132,686
Within the city boundary, not a metro area
Rank in Rwanda
#1
of 45 cities of 15,000+
World rank
#478
of 31,365 cities listed
Share of Rwanda
7.8%
of the national population

About Kigali

The 478th-largest city in the world, Kigali holds 1,132,686 people and accounts for 7.8% of Rwanda's population. The capital sits at 1,542 m elevation and hosts two cities within its administrative boundary; the nearest external settlements—Kamuhanda and Ndera—lie 8 km and 12 km away.

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

Position in Rwanda
#1of 45
LargestSmallest
Position in Kigali
#1of 2
LargestSmallest

Key Facts

Country
Rwanda
Region
Kigali
Rank in region
#1of 2
Capital
National capital
Elevation
1,542 m
Approximate — modelled, not surveyed
Time zone
Africa/Kigali
Coordinates
-1.950, 30.059
Record updated
2021-11-09
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 45 in Rwanda

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

15KMShyorongi44K people22KMMugina19K people30KMNyamata22K people36KMGitarama88K people40KMMuhanga83K 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. Kigali1.13M
City-proper figures only. Administrative boundaries differ between countries, so these are not directly comparable to metropolitan-area estimates.
Kigali 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
Kigali1.13M

Kigali Population FAQ

What is the population of Kigali?

Kigali has a city population of 1,132,686. That is the population within the city's own boundary, not its wider metropolitan area. City population, GeoNames.

Where is Kigali?

Kigali is in Kigali, Rwanda. Its coordinates are -1.950, 30.059.

How big is Kigali compared with other cities in Rwanda?

It is the 1st largest of the 45 cities of 15,000 or more listed in Rwanda, holding 7.8% of the national population.

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