Australia vs Papua New Guinea: Number of people living in urban and rural areas, per square kilometre

Australia
3.01 people per square kilometre
in 2023
Papua New Guinea
3.45 people per square kilometre
in 2023
Australia rank
208th
Papua New Guinea rank
207th

Number of people living in urban and rural areas, per square kilometre over time

  • Australia
  • Papua New Guinea
0123196119922023

How they compare

Papua New Guinea currently reports 3.45 people per square kilometre against 3.01 people per square kilometre in Australia, a difference of 0.44 people per square kilometre.

That makes Papua New Guinea's figure about 1.1 times Australia's.

The two have swapped places 1 time across 63 shared years of data; in 1961 it was Australia ahead.

Australia ranks 208th and Papua New Guinea ranks 207th of 215 countries.

Across the 7 decades both report, Australia averaged higher in 6 and Papua New Guinea in 1.

Head to head by decade

Decade Australia Papua New Guinea Difference Ahead
1960s 1.23 people per square kilometre 0.2919 people per square kilometre 0.9387 people per square kilometre Australia
1970s 1.53 people per square kilometre 0.7622 people per square kilometre 0.77 people per square kilometre Australia
1980s 1.75 people per square kilometre 1.08 people per square kilometre 0.6778 people per square kilometre Australia
1990s 2 people per square kilometre 1.45 people per square kilometre 0.5454 people per square kilometre Australia
2000s 2.26 people per square kilometre 1.86 people per square kilometre 0.3978 people per square kilometre Australia
2010s 2.69 people per square kilometre 2.54 people per square kilometre 0.149 people per square kilometre Australia
2020s 2.96 people per square kilometre 3.26 people per square kilometre 0.2978 people per square kilometre Papua New Guinea

Averages of every year both report within each decade.

Frequently asked questions

Which has higher number of people living in urban and rural areas, per square kilometre, Australia or Papua New Guinea?
Papua New Guinea, at 3.45 people per square kilometre against 3.01 people per square kilometre in Australia as of 2023.
What is the difference in number of people living in urban and rural areas, per square kilometre between Australia and Papua New Guinea?
0.44 people per square kilometre, with Papua New Guinea ahead.
How many years of comparable data are there for Australia and Papua New Guinea?
63 years are reported by both, from 1961 to 2023.
How do Australia and Papua New Guinea rank globally for number of people living in urban and rural areas, per square kilometre?
Australia ranks 208th and Papua New Guinea ranks 207th of 215 countries.
Where does this data come from?
Statizoid (derived), published as Number of people living in urban and rural areas, per square kilometre. Statizoid refreshes it automatically from the source and publishes the full history for both places.

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Australia vs Papua New Guinea: Number of people living in urban and rural areas, per square kilometre. Statizoid, drawing on Statizoid (derived). Retrieved 23 September 2026, from https://population.statizoid.com/compare/number-of-people-living-in-urban-and-rural-areas-per-square-kilometre/australia/papua-new-guinea/

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About this data

Indicator
Number of people living in urban and rural areas, per square kilometre
Unit
people per square kilometre
Source
Statizoid (derived)
Licence
Derived by Statizoid from the sources named on the page
Coverage
215 places, 12,288 data points, 1961–2023
Last refreshed

Number of people living in urban and rural areas divided by Land area (sq. km), matched on country and year. Neither publisher issues this ratio as a series; it is computed here from both.