Madagascar vs Papua New Guinea: Share of population living in rural areas
Madagascar
57.1%
in 2020
Papua New Guinea
53.7%
in 2020
Madagascar rank
23rd
Papua New Guinea rank
25th
Share of population living in rural areas over time
- Madagascar
- Papua New Guinea
How they compare
Madagascar currently reports 57.1% against 53.7% in Papua New Guinea, a difference of 3.4%.
That makes Madagascar's figure about 1.1 times Papua New Guinea's.
The two have swapped places 1 time across 15 shared years of data; in 1950 it was Papua New Guinea ahead.
Madagascar ranks 23rd and Papua New Guinea ranks 25th of 236 countries.
Across the 8 decades both report, Madagascar averaged higher in 2 and Papua New Guinea in 6.
Head to head by decade
| Decade | Madagascar | Papua New Guinea | Difference | Ahead |
|---|---|---|---|---|
| 1950s | 86.6% | 90.1% | 3.5% | Papua New Guinea |
| 1960s | 84.0% | 87.2% | 3.2% | Papua New Guinea |
| 1970s | 80.7% | 83.9% | 3.3% | Papua New Guinea |
| 1980s | 76.7% | 80.5% | 3.8% | Papua New Guinea |
| 1990s | 72.3% | 75.6% | 3.3% | Papua New Guinea |
| 2000s | 67.7% | 69.8% | 2.1% | Papua New Guinea |
| 2010s | 62.2% | 60.6% | 1.7% | Madagascar |
| 2020s | 57.1% | 53.7% | 3.4% | Madagascar |
Averages of every year both report within each decade.
Frequently asked questions
- Which has higher share of population living in rural areas, Madagascar or Papua New Guinea?
- Madagascar, at 57.1% against 53.7% in Papua New Guinea as of 2020.
- What is the difference in share of population living in rural areas between Madagascar and Papua New Guinea?
- 3.4%, with Madagascar ahead.
- How many years of comparable data are there for Madagascar and Papua New Guinea?
- 15 years are reported by both, from 1950 to 2020.
- How do Madagascar and Papua New Guinea rank globally for share of population living in rural areas?
- Madagascar ranks 23rd and Papua New Guinea ranks 25th 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.