Population of Essen in 2025 was 574 682, making it the fourth largest city in North Rhine-Wetphalia and the tenth largest city in Germany. Essen is also the second largest city in the Ruhr agglomeration. The city’s population was in slow decline from 1991 to 2012, and has somewhat stabilized since then.
Population in boroughs of Essen
Essen is subdivided into 9 boroughs (Stadtbezirke) each having between 51 000 and 99 000 inhabitants. Each borough of Essen has a roman digit assigned. The most populous borough is Essen-West (III). The figures shown in the map below are as of 2022-09-30, and are according to estimates. Thus the combined population of all boroughs might be different than the official figure of the whole city of Essen.
Essen metropolitan area
Essen is part of the polycentric Ruhr urban area that has approximately 5.3 million inhabitants. Essen is also part of the larger Rhine-Ruhr metropolitan region that has over 11 million inhabitants.