Munich's 2026 population is now estimated at 1,596,050. In 1950, the population of Munich was 830,977. Munich has grown by 5,160 in the last year, which represents a 0.32% 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 Munich, which typically includes Munich's population in addition to adjacent suburban areas.
Munich is the capital and largest city of Bavaria, a German state. Located on the River Isar to the north of the Bavarian Alps, it is the third largest city in the country behind Berlin and Hamburg. The estimated 2014 population of Munich was at 1.4 million.
Munich has a current estimated population of 1,456,039, although the urban area is much larger at 2.65 million. Munich is now one of the fastest-growing and most prosperous cities in the country and a top destination for immigrants and expatriates, despite the fact that Munich has the highest population density in Germany at 12,000 people per square mile (4,500/square kilometer).
There are very sizable Balkan and Turkish communities in the city. Of the foreign nationals in Munich, about 37% come from the European Union. The most common foreign nationals in Munich are:
In terms of religious preferences, nearly half (49.3%) of people in Munich have no religious affiliation, and this is the fastest-growing group of the population. The Roman Catholic and Protestant churches are the next-largest group and they have been in decline for decades.
For many years, Germany had been declining in population due to an aging population. This has changed recently, however, with a significant increase in the country’s population in 2012 attributed to immigrants, not natural growth. Munich is the second-largest employer in the country, and the recent wave of immigrants have brought trained, skilled workers to the city, including academics, engineers and other skilled workers.
Also, while the whole of Germany may have been facing population decrease, Munich has maintained a steady and slow growth rate over the years. The city grew from a population of just under 500,000 in 1900 to just over a million residents in 1960. This growth has slowed considerably from the early booms of +40% growth to the more recent growth rates ranging between 0.9% and 3.4%.
| City | 2026 Pop. ↓ | Growth |
|---|---|---|
| Berlin | 3,584,240 | 0.11% |
| Hamburg | 1,788,890 | 0.07% |
| 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% |
