Share of population living in the capital city in Papua New Guinea
Papua New Guinea: Share of population living in the capital city was 4.0% in 2020. ▲ Rising
Share of population living in the capital city in Papua New Guinea, 1970–2020
Source: European Commission, Joint Research Centre (JRC) (2025) – with minor processing by Our World in Data. Measured in %.
Analysis
In 2020, share of population living in the capital city in Papua New Guinea stood at 4.0%. That is the highest value across all 11 years on record.
The figure is up 11.7% over ten years.
Over the whole period, share of population living in the capital city in Papua New Guinea peaked at 4.0% in 2020 and was at its lowest, 2.1%, in 1970.
That places Papua New Guinea 154th out of 170 countries with data for 2020, putting it in the bottom quarter.
The long-run direction has been consistently rising across the 11 years of available data.
Share of population living in the capital city in Papua New Guinea, year by year
| Year | % | Change |
|---|---|---|
| 1970 | 2.1% | — |
| 1975 | 2.3% | +12.8% |
| 1980 | 2.8% | +21.7% |
| 1985 | 3.5% | +24.9% |
| 1990 | 4.0% | +13.1% |
| 1995 | 3.9% | -1.7% |
| 2000 | 3.8% | -3.1% |
| 2005 | 3.7% | -3.4% |
| 2010 | 3.6% | -2.6% |
| 2015 | 3.5% | -2.6% |
| 2020 | 4.0% | +14.7% |
Averages by decade
| Decade | Average | Lowest | Highest | Years |
|---|---|---|---|---|
| 1970s | 2.2% | 2.1% | 2.3% | 2 |
| 1980s | 3.2% | 2.8% | 3.5% | 2 |
| 1990s | 3.9% | 3.9% | 4.0% | 2 |
| 2000s | 3.7% | 3.7% | 3.8% | 2 |
| 2010s | 3.5% | 3.5% | 3.6% | 2 |
| 2020s | 4.0% | 4.0% | 4.0% | 1 |
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 share of population living in the capital city in Papua New Guinea?
- Share of population living in the capital city in Papua New Guinea was 4.0% in 2020, according to European Commission, Joint Research Centre (JRC) (2025) – with minor processing by Our World in Data.
- What is the highest share of population living in the capital city recorded in Papua New Guinea?
- The highest recorded value was 4.0% in 2020.
- What is the lowest share of population living in the capital city recorded in Papua New Guinea?
- The lowest recorded value was 2.1% in 1970.
- How does Papua New Guinea rank for share of population living in the capital city?
- Papua New Guinea ranks 154th out of 170 countries with data for 2020.
- Is share of population living in the capital city rising or falling in Papua New Guinea?
- Over the last ten years it is up 11.7%. The long-run trend across the full record is rising.
- Where does this Papua New Guinea data come from?
- The figures come from European Commission, Joint Research Centre (JRC) (2025) – with minor processing by Our World in Data, published as part of Share of population living in the capital city. Statizoid updates them automatically from the source API.
Download this data
CSV · JSON — 11 observations, free to reuse under CC BY 4.0 (Our World in Data).
About this data
Percentage of the total population living in the country's capital city. City boundaries are defined using a consistent global approach based on satellite imagery and population data.