Iraq vs Papua New Guinea: Number of people living in cities, towns and rural areas
Iraq
5.26 million people
in 2020
Papua New Guinea
5.27 million people
in 2020
Iraq rank
57th
Papua New Guinea rank
56th
Number of people living in cities, towns and rural areas over time
- Iraq
- Papua New Guinea
How they compare
Papua New Guinea currently reports 5.27 million people against 5.26 million people in Iraq, a difference of 10,010 people.
The two have swapped places 1 time across 15 shared years of data; in 1950 it was Iraq ahead.
Iraq ranks 57th and Papua New Guinea ranks 56th of 236 countries.
Across the 8 decades both report, Iraq averaged higher in 7 and Papua New Guinea in 1.
Head to head by decade
| Decade | Iraq | Papua New Guinea | Difference | Ahead |
|---|---|---|---|---|
| 1950s | 2.44 million people | 1.48 million people | 966,235 people | Iraq |
| 1960s | 2.74 million people | 1.84 million people | 892,390 people | Iraq |
| 1970s | 3.12 million people | 2.23 million people | 886,380 people | Iraq |
| 1980s | 3.79 million people | 2.66 million people | 1.13 million people | Iraq |
| 1990s | 4.39 million people | 3.22 million people | 1.17 million people | Iraq |
| 2000s | 4.77 million people | 4.20 million people | 569,920 people | Iraq |
| 2010s | 4.97 million people | 4.95 million people | 27,635 people | Iraq |
| 2020s | 5.26 million people | 5.27 million people | 10,010 people | Papua New Guinea |
Averages of every year both report within each decade.
Frequently asked questions
- Which has higher number of people living in cities, towns and rural areas, Iraq or Papua New Guinea?
- Papua New Guinea, at 5.27 million people against 5.26 million people in Iraq as of 2020.
- What is the difference in number of people living in cities, towns and rural areas between Iraq and Papua New Guinea?
- 10,010 people, with Papua New Guinea ahead.
- How many years of comparable data are there for Iraq and Papua New Guinea?
- 15 years are reported by both, from 1950 to 2020.
- How do Iraq and Papua New Guinea rank globally for number of people living in cities, towns and rural areas?
- Iraq ranks 57th and Papua New Guinea ranks 56th of 236 countries.
- Where does this data come from?
- European Commission, Joint Research Centre (JRC) (2025) – with major processing by Our World in Data, published as Number of people living in cities, towns and rural areas. Statizoid refreshes it automatically from the source and publishes the full history for both places.
Individual pages
About this data
Estimated number of people living in rural areas. Rural areas are identified using satellite imagery and population data, applying the same definitions across countries.