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

Zanzibar

Zanzibar Urban/West · Tanzania
City population
709,809
#4
in Tanzania
#776
worldwide
DodomaZanzibar
-6.164, 39.198 · 382 km from Dodoma
City population
709,809
Within the city boundary, not a metro area
Rank in Tanzania
#4
of 223 cities of 15,000+
World rank
#776
of 31,365 cities listed
Share of Tanzania
1.0%
of the national population

About Zanzibar

Tanzania's fourth-largest city, Zanzibar holds 709,809 residents and accounts for 1% of the national population. It sits 382 km from the capital Dodoma and 14 m above sea level. Bagamoyo, the nearest listed city, lies 45 km away with a population of 82,426.

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

Position in Tanzania
#4of 223
LargestSmallest

Key Facts

Country
Tanzania
Region
Zanzibar Urban/West
Distance to capital
382 km
to Dodoma
Elevation
14 m
Approximate — modelled, not surveyed
Time zone
Africa/Dar_es_Salaam
Coordinates
-6.164, 39.198
Record updated
2026-04-14
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 223 in Tanzania

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

45KMBagamoyo82K people49KMSokoni26K people50KMNungwi31K people51KMMapinga40K people60KMMvomero31K 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. Zanzibar710K
City-proper figures only. Administrative boundaries differ between countries, so these are not directly comparable to metropolitan-area estimates.
Zanzibar 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
Zanzibar710K

Zanzibar Population FAQ

What is the population of Zanzibar?

Zanzibar has a city population of 709,809. That is the population within the city's own boundary, not its wider metropolitan area. City population, GeoNames.

Where is Zanzibar?

Zanzibar is in Zanzibar Urban/West, Tanzania, 382 km from the capital, Dodoma. Its coordinates are -6.164, 39.198.

How big is Zanzibar compared with other cities in Tanzania?

It is the 4th largest of the 223 cities of 15,000 or more listed in Tanzania, holding 1.0% of the national population.

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