Number of people living in cities, towns and rural areas in Nicaragua
Nicaragua: Number of people living in cities, towns and rural areas was 2.34 million people in 2020. ▲ Rising
Number of people living in cities, towns and rural areas in Nicaragua, 1950–2020
Source: European Commission, Joint Research Centre (JRC) (2025) – with major processing by Our World in Data. Measured in people.
Analysis
In 2020, number of people living in cities, towns and rural areas in Nicaragua stood at 2.34 million people. That is the highest value across all 15 years on record.
That represents a change of up 18.8% over ten years.
Over the whole period, number of people living in cities, towns and rural areas in Nicaragua peaked at 2.34 million people in 2020 and was at its lowest, 706,212 people, in 1950.
That places Nicaragua 96th out of 236 countries with data for 2020, putting it in the middle of the range.
The long-run direction has been consistently rising across the 15 years of available data.
Number of people living in cities, towns and rural areas in Nicaragua, year by year
| Year | people | Change |
|---|---|---|
| 1950 | 706,212 people | — |
| 1955 | 772,065 people | +9.3% |
| 1960 | 843,420 people | +9.2% |
| 1965 | 919,052 people | +9.0% |
| 1970 | 1.00 million people | +8.8% |
| 1975 | 1.08 million people | +8.1% |
| 1980 | 1.23 million people | +13.9% |
| 1985 | 1.36 million people | +10.8% |
| 1990 | 1.50 million people | +10.0% |
| 1995 | 1.61 million people | +7.5% |
| 2000 | 1.70 million people | +5.4% |
| 2005 | 1.83 million people | +7.3% |
| 2010 | 1.97 million people | +7.8% |
| 2015 | 2.13 million people | +8.2% |
| 2020 | 2.34 million people | +9.8% |
Averages by decade
| Decade | Average | Lowest | Highest | Years |
|---|---|---|---|---|
| 1950s | 739,138 people | 706,212 people | 772,065 people | 2 |
| 1960s | 881,236 people | 843,420 people | 919,052 people | 2 |
| 1970s | 1.04 million people | 1.00 million people | 1.08 million people | 2 |
| 1980s | 1.30 million people | 1.23 million people | 1.36 million people | 2 |
| 1990s | 1.56 million people | 1.50 million people | 1.61 million people | 2 |
| 2000s | 1.76 million people | 1.70 million people | 1.83 million people | 2 |
| 2010s | 2.05 million people | 1.97 million people | 2.13 million people | 2 |
| 2020s | 2.34 million people | 2.34 million people | 2.34 million people | 1 |
Countries ranked near Nicaragua
More population data for Nicaragua
- Un population 2024 vs 2022, annual growth rate -0.3894 % change on previous year (2100)
- Population long run with projections, annual growth rate -0.4231 % change on previous year (2100)
- Urban and rural population 2050, annual growth rate -1.18 % change on previous year (2050)
- Population regions with projections, annual growth rate -0.4231 % change on previous year (2100)
- Population growth rate, by level of development -0.4% (2100)
- Number of children under 5, by world region 394,954 people (2100)
- Population density 71.56 people per km² (2100)
- World population growth -0.4% (2100)
- Projected population under age 5, annual growth rate -0.7708 % change on previous year (2100)
- Africa's Development Dynamics (AfDD) Table 03 - Annual population 1.15 Percent per annum (2030)
Frequently asked questions
- What is number of people living in cities, towns and rural areas in Nicaragua?
- Number of people living in cities, towns and rural areas in Nicaragua was 2.34 million people in 2020, according to European Commission, Joint Research Centre (JRC) (2025) – with major processing by Our World in Data.
- What is the highest number of people living in cities, towns and rural areas recorded in Nicaragua?
- The highest recorded value was 2.34 million people in 2020.
- What is the lowest number of people living in cities, towns and rural areas recorded in Nicaragua?
- The lowest recorded value was 706,212 people in 1950.
- How does Nicaragua rank for number of people living in cities, towns and rural areas?
- Nicaragua ranks 96th out of 236 countries with data for 2020.
- Is number of people living in cities, towns and rural areas rising or falling in Nicaragua?
- Over the last ten years it is up 18.8%. The long-run trend across the full record is rising.
- Where does this Nicaragua data come from?
- The figures come from European Commission, Joint Research Centre (JRC) (2025) – with major processing by Our World in Data, published as part of Number of people living in cities, towns and rural areas. Statizoid updates them automatically from the source API.
Download this data
CSV · JSON — 15 observations, free to reuse under CC BY 4.0 (Our World in Data).
About this data
Estimated number of people living in rural areas. Rural areas are identified using satellite imagery and population data, applying the same definitions across countries.