Papua New Guinea vs Timor-Leste: Share of population living in rural areas
Papua New Guinea
53.7%
in 2020
Timor-Leste
50.6%
in 2020
Papua New Guinea rank
25th
Timor-Leste rank
27th
Share of population living in rural areas over time
- Papua New Guinea
- Timor-Leste
How they compare
Papua New Guinea currently reports 53.7% against 50.6% in Timor-Leste, a difference of 3.1%.
That makes Papua New Guinea's figure about 1.1 times Timor-Leste's.
Across all 15 years both countries report, Papua New Guinea has been ahead every year.
Papua New Guinea ranks 25th and Timor-Leste ranks 27th of 236 countries.
Papua New Guinea has averaged higher in every one of the 8 decades both report.
Head to head by decade
| Decade | Papua New Guinea | Timor-Leste | Difference | Ahead |
|---|---|---|---|---|
| 1950s | 90.1% | 88.3% | 1.8% | Papua New Guinea |
| 1960s | 87.2% | 85.6% | 1.6% | Papua New Guinea |
| 1970s | 83.9% | 81.9% | 2.0% | Papua New Guinea |
| 1980s | 80.5% | 76.3% | 4.2% | Papua New Guinea |
| 1990s | 75.6% | 69.8% | 5.8% | Papua New Guinea |
| 2000s | 69.8% | 69.1% | 0.7% | Papua New Guinea |
| 2010s | 60.6% | 58.8% | 1.8% | Papua New Guinea |
| 2020s | 53.7% | 50.6% | 3.1% | Papua New Guinea |
Averages of every year both report within each decade.
Frequently asked questions
- Which has higher share of population living in rural areas, Papua New Guinea or Timor-Leste?
- Papua New Guinea, at 53.7% against 50.6% in Timor-Leste as of 2020.
- What is the difference in share of population living in rural areas between Papua New Guinea and Timor-Leste?
- 3.1%, with Papua New Guinea ahead.
- How many years of comparable data are there for Papua New Guinea and Timor-Leste?
- 15 years are reported by both, from 1950 to 2020.
- How do Papua New Guinea and Timor-Leste rank globally for share of population living in rural areas?
- Papua New Guinea ranks 25th and Timor-Leste ranks 27th 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.