Canada vs New Zealand: Share of population living in rural areas
Canada
23.8%
in 2020
New Zealand
23.7%
in 2020
Canada rank
135th
New Zealand rank
136th
Share of population living in rural areas over time
- Canada
- New Zealand
How they compare
Canada currently reports 23.8% against 23.7% in New Zealand, a difference of 0.1%.
The two have swapped places 4 times across 15 shared years of data; in 1950 it was Canada ahead.
Canada ranks 135th and New Zealand ranks 136th of 236 countries.
Across the 8 decades both report, Canada averaged higher in 5 and New Zealand in 3.
Head to head by decade
| Decade | Canada | New Zealand | Difference | Ahead |
|---|---|---|---|---|
| 1950s | 39.7% | 36.1% | 3.6% | Canada |
| 1960s | 35.2% | 33.0% | 2.2% | Canada |
| 1970s | 32.4% | 30.9% | 1.5% | Canada |
| 1980s | 30.6% | 29.7% | 0.9% | Canada |
| 1990s | 28.2% | 28.4% | 0.2% | New Zealand |
| 2000s | 26.4% | 26.6% | 0.2% | New Zealand |
| 2010s | 24.7% | 25.8% | 1.1% | New Zealand |
| 2020s | 23.8% | 23.7% | 0.0% | Canada |
Averages of every year both report within each decade.
Frequently asked questions
- Which has higher share of population living in rural areas, Canada or New Zealand?
- Canada, at 23.8% against 23.7% in New Zealand as of 2020.
- What is the difference in share of population living in rural areas between Canada and New Zealand?
- 0.1%, with Canada ahead.
- How many years of comparable data are there for Canada and New Zealand?
- 15 years are reported by both, from 1950 to 2020.
- How do Canada and New Zealand rank globally for share of population living in rural areas?
- Canada ranks 135th and New Zealand ranks 136th 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 Share of population living in rural areas. Statizoid refreshes it automatically from the source and publishes the full history for both places.
Individual pages
About this data
Estimated share of the population living in rural areas. Rural areas are identified using satellite imagery and population data, applying the same definitions across countries.