Malawi vs Papua New Guinea: Share of population living in urban areas vs. GDP per capita
Malawi
17.6%
in 2025
Papua New Guinea
15.8%
in 2025
Malawi rank
230th
Papua New Guinea rank
232nd
Share of population living in urban areas vs. GDP per capita over time
- Malawi
- Papua New Guinea
How they compare
Malawi currently reports 17.6% against 15.8% in Papua New Guinea, a difference of 1.8%.
That makes Malawi's figure about 1.1 times Papua New Guinea's.
The two have swapped places 2 times across 76 shared years of data; in 1950 it was Malawi ahead.
Malawi ranks 230th and Papua New Guinea ranks 232nd of 236 countries.
Across the 8 decades both report, Malawi averaged higher in 4 and Papua New Guinea in 4.
Head to head by decade
| Decade | Malawi | Papua New Guinea | Difference | Ahead |
|---|---|---|---|---|
| 1950s | 3.7% | 2.2% | 1.5% | Malawi |
| 1960s | 4.6% | 5.6% | 1.0% | Papua New Guinea |
| 1970s | 7.5% | 12.3% | 4.9% | Papua New Guinea |
| 1980s | 10.1% | 14.1% | 4.0% | Papua New Guinea |
| 1990s | 13.3% | 14.4% | 1.1% | Papua New Guinea |
| 2000s | 15.1% | 13.1% | 2.0% | Malawi |
| 2010s | 15.8% | 13.3% | 2.5% | Malawi |
| 2020s | 16.9% | 14.9% | 2.0% | Malawi |
Averages of every year both report within each decade.
Frequently asked questions
- Which has higher share of population living in urban areas vs. gdp per capita, Malawi or Papua New Guinea?
- Malawi, at 17.6% against 15.8% in Papua New Guinea as of 2025.
- What is the difference in share of population living in urban areas vs. gdp per capita between Malawi and Papua New Guinea?
- 1.8%, with Malawi ahead.
- How many years of comparable data are there for Malawi and Papua New Guinea?
- 76 years are reported by both, from 1950 to 2025.
- How do Malawi and Papua New Guinea rank globally for share of population living in urban areas vs. gdp per capita?
- Malawi ranks 230th and Papua New Guinea ranks 232nd 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 Share of population living in urban areas vs. GDP per capita. Statizoid refreshes it automatically from the source and publishes the full history for both places.
Individual pages
About this data
Share of the population living in urban areas, based on each country's national definition.