Pakistan: cities by population
Pakistan has a population of 259,299,791 (UN estimate, 2026), with Islamabad as its capital. The 50 largest of its 533 recorded towns and cities, ranked.
+67%
since 2000 (154,879,127)
+43%
projected by 2050 (371,863,793)
336
people per km²
Figures are the latest available in GeoNames (CC BY 4.0), which draws on national censuses of varying dates — treat them as recent, not same-year. Country totals are UN World Population Prospects 2024 (medium variant) where the UN lists the country separately; the handful it reports under a parent state keep a GeoNames figure and are marked as such. Sources & method.
Largest cities in Pakistan
| # | Place | Region | Population |
|---|---|---|---|
| 1 | Lahore | Punjab | 13,004,135 |
| 2 | Karachi | Sindh | 11,624,219 |
| 3 | Peshawar | Khyber Pakhtunkhwa | 4,758,762 |
| 4 | Faisalabad | Punjab | 3,800,193 |
| 5 | Rawalpindi | Punjab | 3,357,612 |
| 6 | Gujranwala | Punjab | 2,511,118 |
| 7 | Multan | Punjab | 2,169,915 |
| 8 | Hyderabad | Sindh | 1,921,275 |
| 9 | Quetta | Balochistan | 1,565,546 |
| 10 | Bannu | Khyber Pakhtunkhwa | 1,357,890 |
| 11 | Sargodha | Punjab | 975,886 |
| 12 | Sialkot | Punjab | 911,817 |
| 13 | Bahawalpur | Punjab | 903,795 |
| 14 | Arifwala | Punjab | 854,462 |
| 15 | Dera Ismail Khan | Khyber Pakhtunkhwa | 763,195 |
| 16 | Muzaffarābād | Azad Kashmir | 725,000 |
| 17 | Battagram | Khyber Pakhtunkhwa | 700,000 |
| 18 | Chunian | Punjab | 634,236 |
| 19 | Jhang Sadr | Punjab | 606,533 |
| 20 | Islamabad | Islamabad | 601,600 |
| 21 | Shekhupura | Punjab | 591,424 |
| 22 | Gujrat | Punjab | 574,240 |
| 23 | Sukkur | Sindh | 563,851 |
| 24 | Sahiwal | Punjab | 538,344 |
| 25 | Sahiwal | Punjab | 538,344 |
| 26 | Okara | Punjab | 533,693 |
| 27 | Rahim Yar Khan | Punjab | 517,000 |
| 28 | Kasur | Punjab | 510,875 |
| 29 | Jalalpur Pirwala | Punjab | 500,000 |
| 30 | Dera Ghazi Khan | Punjab | 494,464 |
| 31 | Pindi Bhattian | Punjab | 493,222 |
| 32 | Tando Bago | Sindh | 426,535 |
| 33 | Tando Allahyar | Sindh | 421,923 |
| 34 | Chak Jhumra | Punjab | 385,169 |
| 35 | Bhawana | Punjab | 373,841 |
| 36 | Larkana | Sindh | 364,033 |
| 37 | Nawabshah | Sindh | 363,138 |
| 38 | Burewala | Punjab | 361,664 |
| 39 | Mingora | Khyber Pakhtunkhwa | 361,112 |
| 40 | Sinjhoro | Sindh | 354,709 |
| 41 | Hafizabad | Punjab | 318,621 |
| 42 | Chiniot | Punjab | 318,165 |
| 43 | Mardan | Khyber Pakhtunkhwa | 300,424 |
| 44 | Kamoke | Punjab | 292,023 |
| 45 | Abbottabad | Khyber Pakhtunkhwa | 275,890 |
| 46 | Saddiqabad | Punjab | 274,210 |
| 47 | Mirpur Khas | Sindh | 267,833 |
| 48 | Skardu | Gilgit-Baltistan | 260,000 |
| 49 | Muridke | Punjab | 254,291 |
| 50 | Shahkot | Punjab | 244,868 |
Twenty years earlier: Pakistan in the 2005 World Gazetteer — population then 160,166,742.
Common questions
What is the population of Pakistan?
Pakistan has a population of 259,299,791, the UN World Population Prospects estimate for 2026. The UN's medium-variant projection for 2050 is 371,863,793 — a forecast, not a measurement.
What is the capital of Pakistan?
Islamabad. The largest place we record there is Lahore, with 13,004,135 people.