Cologne's 2026 population is now estimated at 1,156,690. In 1950, the population of Cologne was 597,725. Cologne has grown by 3,460 in the last year, which represents a 0.3% annual change. These population estimates and projections come from the latest revision of the UN World Urbanization Prospects. These estimates represent the Urban agglomeration of Cologne, which typically includes Cologne's population in addition to adjacent suburban areas.
Cologne is a city that is located in Germany. It is located in the state of North Rhine-Westphalia and is the largest city within that state. When compared to other city’s in Germany, Cologne is the fourth most populous. Recent estimates put the city’s population at 1,075,935 residents.
The city has a total area of over 156 square miles (405 square kilometers), which puts Cologne’s density at 6,800 people per square mile (2,700 per square kilometer). Cologne is also part of the Rhine-Ruhr metro region, which is the largest in the entire country and one of the most populous in Europe with a population of over 3.5 million people.
Breaking down the population shows that women outnumber men in Cologne, although not by a significant amount. For every 1,000 males, there are 1,046 females within this city.
The language here is a German dialect called Colognian or Kölsch.
In terms of religion 35.5% of the population belonged to the Roman Catholic Church, the largest religious body, and 15.5% to the Evangelical Church.
Over 36% of Cologne’s total population is made up of migrants. There are over 81,000 people from Turkey, over 25,000 from Italy, and over 18,000 from Poland. There are also populations of people from Greece, Servia, Bulgaria, Iraq, Syria, Russia, and other countries.
Throughout its history, Cologne has primarily seen growth in its population. As early as 1430 the population had already reached a substantial number with a total of 40,000 residents. In 1840, the population had grown to over 75,000 residents. A short forty years later and the population had doubled to over 144,000 living in the city of Cologne.
There were, however, periods of decline between the 1930s and 1940s and again between the 1940s and 1950s. There was also a drop in population during the late 1970s through 1990. However, in recent years, the city has seen steady growth, with the 2016 population growing at a rate of 1.9% when compared to the previous year. Based on the steady increases since 2000, the population is expected to continue to grow as this city continues to draw in residents from all around the world.
| City | 2026 Pop. ↓ | Growth |
|---|---|---|
| Berlin | 3,584,240 | 0.11% |
| Hamburg | 1,788,890 | 0.07% |
| Munich | 1,596,050 | 0.32% |
| Frankfurt am Main | 732,688 | 1.02% |
| Duesseldorf | 644,190 | 0.2% |
| Stuttgart | 637,629 | 0.12% |
| Leipzig | 610,953 | 0.3% |
| Dresden | 596,191 | 0.31% |
| Dortmund | 590,940 | 0.09% |
| Essen | 580,921 | 0.06% |
| Essen | 580,921 | 0.06% |
| Bremen | 569,691 | 0.12% |
| Hannover | 539,317 | 0.1% |
| Duisburg | 530,435 | 0.27% |
| Bochum | 382,931 | 0.2% |
| Mannheim | 349,187 | 0.43% |
| Wuppertal | 348,295 | 0.05% |
| Bielefeld | 334,894 | 0.08% |
| Karlsruhe | 324,477 | 0.21% |
| Bonn | 320,613 | 0.08% |
| Munster | 310,039 | 1.02% |
| Munster | 310,039 | 1.02% |
| Augsburg | 286,374 | 1.02% |
| Wiesbaden | 276,218 | 1.01% |
| Gelsenkirchen | 260,368 | 1% |
| Braunschweig | 251,364 | 1.01% |
| Chemnitz | 248,645 | 1.01% |
| Kiel | 246,306 | 1.01% |
| Aachen | 245,885 | 1.01% |
| Halle | 236,991 | 1.01% |
| Magdeburg | 235,723 | 1.01% |
| Krefeld | 225,144 | 1% |
| Oberhausen | 210,934 | 1% |
| Erfurt | 210,118 | 1.01% |
| Mainz | 209,779 | 1.01% |
| Rostock | 206,011 | 1.01% |
| Kassel | 197,984 | 1.01% |
| Hagen | 189,044 | 1% |
| Hagen | 189,044 | 1% |
| Hamm | 179,397 | 1% |
| Potsdam | 167,745 | 1.02% |
| Ludwigshafen am Rhein | 164,718 | 1.01% |
| Oldenburg | 163,830 | 1.01% |
| Leverkusen | 163,487 | 1.01% |
| Solingen | 158,726 | 1.01% |
| Heidelberg | 156,267 | 1.02% |
| Herne | 155,851 | 1% |
| Neuss | 155,414 | 1.01% |
| Darmstadt | 155,353 | 1.02% |
| Paderborn | 148,126 | 1.01% |
| Regensburg | 145,465 | 1.02% |
| Ingolstadt | 132,438 | 1.01% |
| Furth | 124,171 | 1.02% |
| Furth | 124,171 | 1.02% |
| Wolfsburg | 124,045 | 1.01% |
| Ulm | 122,636 | 1.01% |
| Heilbronn | 122,567 | 1.01% |
| Pforzheim | 122,247 | 1.02% |
| Bottrop | 117,143 | 1% |
| Trier | 114,914 | 1.02% |
| Recklinghausen | 114,330 | 1% |
| Reutlingen | 114,310 | 1.01% |
| Bremerhaven | 114,025 | 1.01% |
| Koblenz | 112,586 | 1.01% |
| Bergisch Gladbach | 111,366 | 1.01% |
| Jena | 109,527 | 1.01% |
| Remscheid | 109,499 | 1% |
| Erlangen | 108,336 | 1.01% |
| Moers | 104,529 | 1% |
| Siegen | 102,355 | 1.01% |
| Hildesheim | 101,667 | 1.01% |
| Salzgitter | 101,079 | 1.01% |
