What is the population of Köln?
Köln has a city population of 1,024,621. That is the population within the city's own boundary, not its wider metropolitan area. City population, GeoNames.
City profile · Germany · Europe
Köln
City population
1,024,621
#4
in Germany
#1
in North Rhine-Westphalia
#534
worldwide
50.933, 6.950 · 479 km from Berlin
About Köln
The largest city in North Rhine-Westphalia, with a population of 1,024,621, it ranks fourth among Germany's cities. Located 479 km from Berlin, the city accounts for 1.2% of the national population. Nearby settlements include Leverkusen 11 km away with 162,738 residents, and Hürth, Frechen, Brühl, and Wesseling within 12 km, each holding between 35,000 and 54,000 people.
This summary is AI-generated from the figures on this page. The figures themselves come from the sources cited beside each value.
Key Facts
Country
Region
Rank in region
#1of 268
Elevation
58 m
Approximate — modelled, not surveyed
Time zone
Europe/Berlin
Coordinates
50.933, 6.950
Record updated
2026-05-06
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 GermanyClosest 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 |
| Köln | 1.02M |
Köln Population FAQ
Where is Köln?
Köln is in North Rhine-Westphalia, Germany, 479 km from the capital, Berlin. Its coordinates are 50.933, 6.950.
How big is Köln compared with other cities in Germany?
It is the 4th largest of the 960 cities of 15,000 or more listed in Germany, holding 1.2% of the national population.