Cologne Cologne ( ; ; ) is the largest city of the States of Germany, German state of North Rhine-Westphalia and the List of cities in Germany by population, fourth-most populous city of Germany with nearly 1.1 million inhabitants in the city pr ...

() is Germany's fourth-largest city and the largest city in the Rhineland. As of 31 December 2011, there were officially 1,017,155 residents. The city is center of the Cologne/Bonn Region with around 3 million inhabitants (including the neighboring cities of

Bonn Bonn () is a federal city in the German state of North Rhine-Westphalia, located on the banks of the Rhine. With a population exceeding 300,000, it lies about south-southeast of Cologne, in the southernmost part of the Rhine-Ruhr region. This ...

Hürth Hürth () is a town in the Rhein-Erft-Kreis, North Rhine-Westphalia, Germany. Hürth shares borders with the city of Cologne and is about 6 km to the southwest of Cologne city centre, at the northeastern slope of the natural preserve Natur ...

Leverkusen Leverkusen () is a city in North Rhine-Westphalia, Germany, on the eastern bank of the Rhine. To the south, Leverkusen borders the city of Cologne, and to the north the state capital, Düsseldorf. The city is part of the Rhine-Ruhr Metropolitan ...

, and

Bergisch Gladbach Bergisch Gladbach () is a List of cities and towns in Germany, city in the Cologne/Bonn Region of North Rhine-Westphalia, Germany, and capital of the Rheinisch-Bergischer Kreis (district). Geography Bergisch Gladbach is east of the Rhine and abo ...

Population by district

Cologne subdivisions numbered grey faded out

Population by migration background

¹ largest groups from Italy, Poland and Greece
² largest groups from Morocco and Algeria
³ largest group from Iran

Population by age

Historic population data

Roman Cologne

The walls of Colonia Agrippina covered an area of 96.8 hectares,J.C. Russell, "Late Ancient and Medieval Population," in ''Transactions of the American Philosophical Society'', vol. 48, part 3, table 89. but the population density within the walls remains uncertain.

Medieval Cologne

Since the construction of the Medieval wall in 1180, the area of the old imperial city of Cologne has not changed for more than 600 years and was only extended over the old city walls in 1794, just short before the arrival of French troops and Cologne's incorporation into the

First French Empire The First French Empire or French Empire (; ), also known as Napoleonic France, was the empire ruled by Napoleon Bonaparte, who established French hegemony over much of continental Europe at the beginning of the 19th century. It lasted from ...

Modern Cologne

16th through 19th century

After 1815, the

Kingdom of Prussia The Kingdom of Prussia (, ) was a German state that existed from 1701 to 1918.Marriott, J. A. R., and Charles Grant Robertson. ''The Evolution of Prussia, the Making of an Empire''. Rev. ed. Oxford: Clarendon Press, 1946. It played a signif ...

enforced the construction of fortifications which again hindered any growth for the city. Only with the acquisition of these fortifications in 1881, the city of Cologne had the possibility of a gradual territorial expansion. On 12. November 1883 a strip of territory from parts of the municipalities of Ehrenfeld, Kriel, Longerich, Müngersdorf and Rondorf was added to the city. Since 1886, the

Cologne City Council The City Hall () is a historical building in Cologne, western Germany. It is located off Hohe Straße in the district of Innenstadt, and set between the two squares of Rathausplatz and Alter Markt. It houses part of the city government, includin ...

intensified negotiations with the surrounding communities, and on 1 April 1888 ended in a first major incorporation.

20th century

The territorial expansion, beginning in the late 19th century, were significant marks for the city's population growth. Major communal reorganizations took place in 1910, 1914, 1922 and 1975.

21st century

{, , valign="top" , {, class="wikitable" ! style="background:#efefef;" , Date ! style="background:#efefef;" , Population , - , 31. December 2001 , , align="right" , 967.940 , - , 31. December 2002 , , align="right" , 968.639 , - , 31. December 2003 , , align="right" , 965.954 , - , 31. December 2004 , , align="right" , 969.709 , - , 31. December 2005 , , align="right" , 983.347 , - , 31. December 2006 , , align="right" , 989.766 , - , 31. December 2007 , , align="right" , 995.397 , - , 31. December 2008 , , align="right" , 995.420 , - , 31. December 2009 , , align="right" , 998.105 , - , 31. December 2010 , , align="right" , 1.007.119 , - , valign="top" , {, class="wikitable" ! style="background:#efefef;" , Date ! style="background:#efefef;" , Population , - , 31. December 2011 , , align="right" , 1.013.665 , - , 31. December 2012 , , align="right" , 1.024.373 , - , 31. December 2013 , , align="right" , 1.034.175 , - , 31. December 2014 , , align="right" , 1.046.680 , - , 31. December 2015 , , align="right" , 1.060.582 {{increase

References

History of Cologne