Lesotho vs Papua New Guinea: Share of population living in cities
Lesotho
12.4%
in 2020
Papua New Guinea
11.0%
in 2020
Lesotho rank
186th
Papua New Guinea rank
187th
Share of population living in cities over time
- Lesotho
- Papua New Guinea
How they compare
Lesotho currently reports 12.4% against 11.0% in Papua New Guinea, a difference of 1.4%.
That makes Lesotho'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.
Lesotho ranks 186th and Papua New Guinea ranks 187th of 236 countries.
Across the 8 decades both report, Lesotho averaged higher in 5 and Papua New Guinea in 1.
Head to head by decade
| Decade | Lesotho | Papua New Guinea | Difference | Ahead |
|---|---|---|---|---|
| 1950s | 0.0% | 0.0% | 0.0% | — |
| 1960s | 0.0% | 0.0% | 0.0% | — |
| 1970s | 0.0% | 3.3% | 3.3% | Papua New Guinea |
| 1980s | 7.2% | 5.2% | 2.0% | Lesotho |
| 1990s | 10.0% | 6.9% | 3.2% | Lesotho |
| 2000s | 10.8% | 9.4% | 1.3% | Lesotho |
| 2010s | 11.1% | 9.6% | 1.4% | Lesotho |
| 2020s | 12.4% | 11.0% | 1.4% | Lesotho |
Averages of every year both report within each decade.
Frequently asked questions
- Which has higher share of population living in cities, Lesotho or Papua New Guinea?
- Lesotho, at 12.4% against 11.0% in Papua New Guinea as of 2020.
- What is the difference in share of population living in cities between Lesotho and Papua New Guinea?
- 1.4%, with Lesotho ahead.
- How many years of comparable data are there for Lesotho and Papua New Guinea?
- 15 years are reported by both, from 1950 to 2020.
- How do Lesotho and Papua New Guinea rank globally for share of population living in cities?
- Lesotho ranks 186th and Papua New Guinea ranks 187th 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 cities. 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 cities. Cities are identified using satellite imagery and population data, applying the same definitions across countries.