Number of people living in urban and rural areas, per capita in Papua New Guinea
Papua New Guinea: Number of people living in urban and rural areas, per capita was 0.1578 people per person in 2025. ▲ Rising
Number of people living in urban and rural areas, per capita in Papua New Guinea, 1960–2025
Source: Statizoid (derived). Measured in people per person.
Analysis
Papua New Guinea recorded 0.1578 people per person for number of people living in urban and rural areas, per capita in 2025. That is the highest value across all 66 years on record.
Compared with earlier readings it is up 2.4% on the previous year and up 19.2% over ten years.
Over the whole period, number of people living in urban and rural areas, per capita in Papua New Guinea peaked at 0.1578 people per person in 2025 and was at its lowest, 0.0346 people per person, in 1960.
Papua New Guinea ranks 214th of 215 countries on this measure, in the bottom quarter.
The long-run direction has been consistently rising across the 66 years of available data.
Number of people living in urban and rural areas, per capita in Papua New Guinea, year by year
| Year | people per person | Change |
|---|---|---|
| 1960 | 0.0346 people per person | — |
| 1961 | 0.0381 people per person | +9.9% |
| 1962 | 0.0417 people per person | +9.7% |
| 1963 | 0.0457 people per person | +9.4% |
| 1964 | 0.0498 people per person | +9.1% |
| 1965 | 0.0542 people per person | +8.7% |
| 1966 | 0.0588 people per person | +8.5% |
| 1967 | 0.0663 people per person | +12.8% |
| 1968 | 0.0777 people per person | +17.2% |
| 1969 | 0.0905 people per person | +16.5% |
| 1970 | 0.1024 people per person | +13.1% |
| 1971 | 0.1108 people per person | +8.3% |
| 1972 | 0.1168 people per person | +5.3% |
| 1973 | 0.1223 people per person | +4.8% |
| 1974 | 0.127 people per person | +3.8% |
| 1975 | 0.1302 people per person | +2.5% |
| 1976 | 0.1314 people per person | +0.9% |
| 1977 | 0.1313 people per person | -0.1% |
| 1978 | 0.131 people per person | -0.2% |
| 1979 | 0.1307 people per person | -0.2% |
| 1980 | 0.1306 people per person | -0.1% |
| 1981 | 0.131 people per person | +0.3% |
| 1982 | 0.1326 people per person | +1.2% |
| 1983 | 0.1351 people per person | +1.9% |
| 1984 | 0.1382 people per person | +2.3% |
| 1985 | 0.1417 people per person | +2.5% |
| 1986 | 0.1452 people per person | +2.5% |
| 1987 | 0.1485 people per person | +2.2% |
| 1988 | 0.1512 people per person | +1.8% |
| 1989 | 0.153 people per person | +1.2% |
| 1990 | 0.1538 people per person | +0.5% |
| 1991 | 0.1532 people per person | -0.3% |
| 1992 | 0.1517 people per person | -1.0% |
| 1993 | 0.1494 people per person | -1.5% |
| 1994 | 0.1466 people per person | -1.9% |
| 1995 | 0.1435 people per person | -2.1% |
| 1996 | 0.1404 people per person | -2.2% |
| 1997 | 0.1375 people per person | -2.1% |
| 1998 | 0.135 people per person | -1.8% |
| 1999 | 0.1332 people per person | -1.4% |
| 2000 | 0.1322 people per person | -0.7% |
| 2001 | 0.1319 people per person | -0.3% |
| 2002 | 0.1315 people per person | -0.3% |
| 2003 | 0.1312 people per person | -0.2% |
| 2004 | 0.131 people per person | -0.2% |
| 2005 | 0.1307 people per person | -0.2% |
| 2006 | 0.1305 people per person | -0.2% |
| 2007 | 0.1303 people per person | -0.1% |
| 2008 | 0.1302 people per person | -0.1% |
| 2009 | 0.1301 people per person | -0.1% |
| 2010 | 0.13 people per person | -0.0% |
| 2011 | 0.13 people per person | -0.0% |
| 2012 | 0.1301 people per person | +0.1% |
| 2013 | 0.1306 people per person | +0.3% |
| 2014 | 0.1313 people per person | +0.6% |
| 2015 | 0.1323 people per person | +0.8% |
| 2016 | 0.1337 people per person | +1.0% |
| 2017 | 0.1353 people per person | +1.2% |
| 2018 | 0.1371 people per person | +1.4% |
| 2019 | 0.1393 people per person | +1.6% |
| 2020 | 0.1417 people per person | +1.7% |
| 2021 | 0.1444 people per person | +1.9% |
| 2022 | 0.1474 people per person | +2.0% |
| 2023 | 0.1506 people per person | +2.2% |
| 2024 | 0.1541 people per person | +2.3% |
| 2025 | 0.1578 people per person | +2.4% |
Papua New Guinea compared with similar countries
- Papua New Guinea's 0.1578 people per person is below the median for lower middle income countries, which is 0.5087 people per person, 31% of the median. (47 countries reporting)
- Papua New Guinea's 0.1578 people per person is below the median for East Asia & Pacific, which is 0.6545 people per person, 24% of the median. (37 countries reporting)
Averages by decade
| Decade | Average | Lowest | Highest | Years |
|---|---|---|---|---|
| 1960s | 0.0557 people per person | 0.0346 people per person | 0.0905 people per person | 10 |
| 1970s | 0.1234 people per person | 0.1024 people per person | 0.1314 people per person | 10 |
| 1980s | 0.1407 people per person | 0.1306 people per person | 0.153 people per person | 10 |
| 1990s | 0.1444 people per person | 0.1332 people per person | 0.1538 people per person | 10 |
| 2000s | 0.131 people per person | 0.1301 people per person | 0.1322 people per person | 10 |
| 2010s | 0.133 people per person | 0.13 people per person | 0.1393 people per person | 10 |
| 2020s | 0.1493 people per person | 0.1417 people per person | 0.1578 people per person | 6 |
Countries ranked near Papua New Guinea
More population data for Papua New Guinea
- Population regions with projections, annual growth rate 0.0564 % change on previous year (2100)
- Urban and rural population 2050, annual growth rate -0.3478 % change on previous year (2050)
- Population long run with projections, annual growth rate 0.0564 % change on previous year (2100)
- Un population 2024 vs 2022, annual growth rate 0.0669 % change on previous year (2100)
- Africa's Development Dynamics (AfDD) Table 05 - Demographic estimates 14,910 Persons (2050)
- Africa's Development Dynamics (AfDD) Table 03 - Annual population 1.58 Percent per annum (2030)
- Projected population under age 5, annual growth rate -0.5424 % change on previous year (2100)
- World population growth 0.0% (2100)
- Population density 41.16 people per km² (2100)
- Number of children under 5, by world region 1.15 million people (2100)
Frequently asked questions
- What is number of people living in urban and rural areas, per capita in Papua New Guinea?
- Number of people living in urban and rural areas, per capita in Papua New Guinea was 0.1578 people per person in 2025, according to Statizoid (derived).
- What is the highest number of people living in urban and rural areas, per capita recorded in Papua New Guinea?
- The highest recorded value was 0.1578 people per person in 2025.
- What is the lowest number of people living in urban and rural areas, per capita recorded in Papua New Guinea?
- The lowest recorded value was 0.0346 people per person in 1960.
- How does Papua New Guinea rank for number of people living in urban and rural areas, per capita?
- Papua New Guinea ranks 214th out of 215 countries with data for 2025.
- Is number of people living in urban and rural areas, per capita rising or falling in Papua New Guinea?
- Over the last ten years it is up 19.2%. The long-run trend across the full record is rising.
- Where does this Papua New Guinea data come from?
- The figures come from Statizoid (derived), published as part of Number of people living in urban and rural areas, per capita. Statizoid updates them automatically from the source API.
Download this data
CSV · JSON — 66 observations, free to reuse under Derived by Statizoid from the sources named on the page.
How this figure is calculated
Number of people living in urban and rural areas divided by Population, total, matched on country and year. Neither publisher issues this ratio as a series; it is computed here from both.
Number of people living in urban and rural areas ÷ Population, total
Computed from
- Number of people living in urban and rural areas United Nations Department of Economic and Social Affairs, Population Division (2025) – with minor processing by Our World in Data
- Population, total World Population Prospects, United Nations (UN)
Statizoid computes this series; the underlying measurements belong to the publishers named above. The arithmetic is applied to every country and year where both inputs report, and nothing is estimated unless the page says so.
About this data
Number of people living in urban and rural areas divided by Population, total, matched on country and year. Neither publisher issues this ratio as a series; it is computed here from both.