Urban and rural population in New Zealand
New Zealand: Urban and rural population was 4.41 million in 2025. β² Rising
Urban and rural population in New Zealand, 1950β2025
Source: Our World in Data.
Analysis
New Zealand recorded 4.41 million for urban and rural population in 2025. That is the highest value across all 76 years on record.
That represents a change of up 0.8% on the previous year and up 12.3% over ten years.
Over the whole period, urban and rural population in New Zealand peaked at 4.41 million in 2025 and was at its lowest, 1.06 million, in 1950.
That places New Zealand 107th out of 229 countries with data for 2025, putting it in the middle of the range.
The long-run direction has been consistently rising across the 76 years of available data.
Averages by decade
| Decade | Average | Lowest | Highest | Years |
|---|---|---|---|---|
| 1950s | 1.19 million | 1.06 million | 1.41 million | 10 |
| 1960s | 1.78 million | 1.48 million | 2.17 million | 10 |
| 1970s | 2.49 million | 2.27 million | 2.62 million | 10 |
| 1980s | 2.72 million | 2.62 million | 2.82 million | 10 |
| 1990s | 3.11 million | 2.88 million | 3.29 million | 10 |
| 2000s | 3.51 million | 3.31 million | 3.70 million | 10 |
| 2010s | 3.92 million | 3.73 million | 4.18 million | 10 |
| 2020s | 4.33 million | 4.25 million | 4.41 million | 6 |
Countries ranked near New Zealand
More population data for New Zealand
- Population growth rate by level of development -0.077 (2100)
- Projected population under age 5 256,010 (2100)
- Population density 22.07 (2100)
- Population growth rate -0.077 (2100)
- Projected population under age 5, annual growth rate -0.191 % change on previous year (2100)
- Africa's Development Dynamics (AfDD) Table 03 - Annual population 0.628 Percent per annum (2030)
- Africa's Development Dynamics (AfDD) Table 05 - Demographic estimates 5,949 Persons (2050)
- Fertility and wanted fertility 1.57 (2024)
- Refugee population by country or territory of asylum 2,063 (2024)
- Fertility vs unmet contraception 1.57 (2024)
Frequently asked questions
- What is urban and rural population in New Zealand?
- Urban and rural population in New Zealand was 4.41 million in 2025, according to Our World in Data.
- What is the highest urban and rural population recorded in New Zealand?
- The highest recorded value was 4.41 million in 2025.
- What is the lowest urban and rural population recorded in New Zealand?
- The lowest recorded value was 1.06 million in 1950.
- How does New Zealand rank for urban and rural population?
- New Zealand ranks 107th out of 229 countries with data for 2025.
- Is urban and rural population rising or falling in New Zealand?
- Over the last ten years it is up 12.3%. The long-run trend across the full record is rising.
- Where does this New Zealand data come from?
- The figures come from Our World in Data, published as part of Urban and rural population. Statizoid updates them automatically from the source API.
Download this data
CSV Β· JSON β 76 observations, free to reuse under CC BY 4.0 (Our World in Data).