New Zealand vs Sri Lanka: Number of people living in urban and rural areas
New Zealand
4.41 million people
in 2025
Sri Lanka
4.75 million people
in 2025
New Zealand rank
107th
Sri Lanka rank
104th
Number of people living in urban and rural areas over time
- New Zealand
- Sri Lanka
How they compare
Sri Lanka currently reports 4.75 million people against 4.41 million people in New Zealand, a difference of 338,980 people.
That makes Sri Lanka's figure about 1.1 times New Zealand's.
The two have swapped places 2 times across 76 shared years of data; in 1950 it was Sri Lanka ahead.
New Zealand ranks 107th and Sri Lanka ranks 104th of 236 countries.
Across the 8 decades both report, New Zealand averaged higher in 2 and Sri Lanka in 6.
Head to head by decade
| Decade | New Zealand | Sri Lanka | Difference | Ahead |
|---|---|---|---|---|
| 1950s | 1.19 million people | 1.36 million people | 168,734 people | Sri Lanka |
| 1960s | 1.78 million people | 2.14 million people | 355,871 people | Sri Lanka |
| 1970s | 2.49 million people | 2.98 million people | 484,210 people | Sri Lanka |
| 1980s | 2.72 million people | 3.16 million people | 438,335 people | Sri Lanka |
| 1990s | 3.11 million people | 2.83 million people | 279,110 people | New Zealand |
| 2000s | 3.51 million people | 3.08 million people | 432,637 people | New Zealand |
| 2010s | 3.92 million people | 4.03 million people | 106,873 people | Sri Lanka |
| 2020s | 4.33 million people | 4.59 million people | 267,932 people | Sri Lanka |
Averages of every year both report within each decade.
Frequently asked questions
- Which has higher number of people living in urban and rural areas, New Zealand or Sri Lanka?
- Sri Lanka, at 4.75 million people against 4.41 million people in New Zealand as of 2025.
- What is the difference in number of people living in urban and rural areas between New Zealand and Sri Lanka?
- 338,980 people, with Sri Lanka ahead.
- How many years of comparable data are there for New Zealand and Sri Lanka?
- 76 years are reported by both, from 1950 to 2025.
- How do New Zealand and Sri Lanka rank globally for number of people living in urban and rural areas?
- New Zealand ranks 107th and Sri Lanka ranks 104th of 236 countries.
- Where does this data come from?
- United Nations Department of Economic and Social Affairs, Population Division (2025) – with minor processing by Our World in Data, published as Number of people living in urban and rural areas. Statizoid refreshes it automatically from the source and publishes the full history for both places.
Individual pages
About this data
Number of people living in urban areas, based on each country's national definition.