Share of population living in urban areas vs. GDP per capita in Papua New Guinea
Papua New Guinea: Share of population living in urban areas vs. GDP per capita was 15.8% in 2025. ▲ Rising
Latest (2025)
15.8%
Change on year
up 2.4%
World rank
232nd
of 236 countries
All-time high
15.8%
in 2025
All-time low
1.7%
in 1950
Years of data
76
1950–2025
Share of population living in urban areas vs. GDP per capita in Papua New Guinea, 1950–2025
Source: United Nations Department of Economic and Social Affairs, Population Division (2025) – with minor processing by Our World in Data. Measured in %.
Analysis
In 2025, share of population living in urban areas vs. gdp per capita in Papua New Guinea stood at 15.8%. That is the highest value across all 76 years on record.
The figure is up 2.4% on the previous year and up 19.2% over ten years.
Over the whole period, share of population living in urban areas vs. gdp per capita in Papua New Guinea peaked at 15.8% in 2025 and was at its lowest, 1.7%, in 1950.
Papua New Guinea ranks 232nd of 236 countries on this measure, in the bottom quarter.
The long-run direction has been consistently rising across the 76 years of available data.
Share of population living in urban areas vs. GDP per capita in Papua New Guinea, year by year
| Year | % | Change |
|---|---|---|
| 1950 | 1.7% | — |
| 1951 | 1.7% | +1.2% |
| 1952 | 1.8% | +3.4% |
| 1953 | 1.9% | +5.3% |
| 1954 | 2.0% | +7.0% |
| 1955 | 2.2% | +8.2% |
| 1956 | 2.4% | +9.1% |
| 1957 | 2.6% | +9.7% |
| 1958 | 2.9% | +10.0% |
| 1959 | 3.1% | +10.1% |
| 1960 | 3.5% | +10.1% |
| 1961 | 3.8% | +9.9% |
| 1962 | 4.2% | +9.7% |
| 1963 | 4.6% | +9.4% |
| 1964 | 5.0% | +9.1% |
| 1965 | 5.4% | +8.7% |
| 1966 | 5.9% | +8.5% |
| 1967 | 6.6% | +12.8% |
| 1968 | 7.8% | +17.2% |
| 1969 | 9.1% | +16.5% |
| 1970 | 10.2% | +13.1% |
| 1971 | 11.1% | +8.3% |
| 1972 | 11.7% | +5.3% |
| 1973 | 12.2% | +4.8% |
| 1974 | 12.7% | +3.8% |
| 1975 | 13.0% | +2.5% |
| 1976 | 13.1% | +0.9% |
| 1977 | 13.1% | -0.1% |
| 1978 | 13.1% | -0.2% |
| 1979 | 13.1% | -0.2% |
| 1980 | 13.1% | -0.1% |
| 1981 | 13.1% | +0.3% |
| 1982 | 13.3% | +1.2% |
| 1983 | 13.5% | +1.9% |
| 1984 | 13.8% | +2.3% |
| 1985 | 14.2% | +2.5% |
| 1986 | 14.5% | +2.5% |
| 1987 | 14.8% | +2.2% |
| 1988 | 15.1% | +1.8% |
| 1989 | 15.3% | +1.2% |
| 1990 | 15.4% | +0.5% |
| 1991 | 15.3% | -0.3% |
| 1992 | 15.2% | -1.0% |
| 1993 | 14.9% | -1.5% |
| 1994 | 14.7% | -1.9% |
| 1995 | 14.4% | -2.1% |
| 1996 | 14.0% | -2.2% |
| 1997 | 13.7% | -2.1% |
| 1998 | 13.5% | -1.8% |
| 1999 | 13.3% | -1.4% |
| 2000 | 13.2% | -0.7% |
| 2001 | 13.2% | -0.3% |
| 2002 | 13.2% | -0.3% |
| 2003 | 13.1% | -0.2% |
| 2004 | 13.1% | -0.2% |
| 2005 | 13.1% | -0.2% |
| 2006 | 13.0% | -0.2% |
| 2007 | 13.0% | -0.1% |
| 2008 | 13.0% | -0.1% |
| 2009 | 13.0% | -0.1% |
| 2010 | 13.0% | -0.0% |
| 2011 | 13.0% | -0.0% |
| 2012 | 13.0% | +0.1% |
| 2013 | 13.1% | +0.3% |
| 2014 | 13.1% | +0.6% |
| 2015 | 13.2% | +0.8% |
| 2016 | 13.4% | +1.0% |
| 2017 | 13.5% | +1.2% |
| 2018 | 13.7% | +1.4% |
| 2019 | 13.9% | +1.6% |
| 2020 | 14.2% | +1.7% |
| 2021 | 14.4% | +1.9% |
| 2022 | 14.7% | +2.1% |
| 2023 | 15.1% | +2.2% |
| 2024 | 15.4% | +2.3% |
| 2025 | 15.8% | +2.4% |
Papua New Guinea compared with similar countries
- Papua New Guinea's 15.8% is below the median for lower middle income countries, which is 50.9%, 31% of the median. (47 countries reporting)
- Papua New Guinea's 15.8% is below the median for East Asia & Pacific, which is 65.4%, 24% of the median. (37 countries reporting)
Averages by decade
| Decade | Average | Lowest | Highest | Years |
|---|---|---|---|---|
| 1950s | 2.2% | 1.7% | 3.1% | 10 |
| 1960s | 5.6% | 3.5% | 9.1% | 10 |
| 1970s | 12.3% | 10.2% | 13.1% | 10 |
| 1980s | 14.1% | 13.1% | 15.3% | 10 |
| 1990s | 14.4% | 13.3% | 15.4% | 10 |
| 2000s | 13.1% | 13.0% | 13.2% | 10 |
| 2010s | 13.3% | 13.0% | 13.9% | 10 |
| 2020s | 14.9% | 14.2% | 15.8% | 6 |
Countries ranked near Papua New Guinea
- 229 Niger 18.4% compare
- 230 Malawi 17.6% compare
- 231 Samoa 17.5% compare
- 233 Liechtenstein 14.6% compare
- 234 Montserrat 9.0% compare
- 235 Tokelau 0.0%
- 235 Wallis and Futuna 0.0%
More population data for Papua New Guinea
- Un population 2024 vs 2022, annual growth rate 0.0669 % change on previous year (2100)
- Population long run 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 regions with projections, annual growth rate 0.0564 % change on previous year (2100)
- Population growth rate, by level of development 0.0% (2100)
- Number of children under 5, by world region 1.15 million people (2100)
- Population density 41.16 people per km² (2100)
- World population growth 0.0% (2100)
- Projected population under age 5, annual growth rate -0.5424 % change on previous year (2100)
- Africa's Development Dynamics (AfDD) Table 03 - Annual population 1.58 Percent per annum (2030)
Frequently asked questions
- What is share of population living in urban areas vs. gdp per capita in Papua New Guinea?
- Share of population living in urban areas vs. gdp per capita in Papua New Guinea was 15.8% in 2025, according to United Nations Department of Economic and Social Affairs, Population Division (2025) – with minor processing by Our World in Data.
- What is the highest share of population living in urban areas vs. gdp per capita recorded in Papua New Guinea?
- The highest recorded value was 15.8% in 2025.
- What is the lowest share of population living in urban areas vs. gdp per capita recorded in Papua New Guinea?
- The lowest recorded value was 1.7% in 1950.
- How does Papua New Guinea rank for share of population living in urban areas vs. gdp per capita?
- Papua New Guinea ranks 232nd out of 236 countries with data for 2025.
- Is share of population living in urban areas vs. gdp 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 United Nations Department of Economic and Social Affairs, Population Division (2025) – with minor processing by Our World in Data, published as part of Share of population living in urban areas vs. GDP per capita. Statizoid updates them automatically from the source API.
Download this data
CSV · JSON — 76 observations, free to reuse under CC BY 4.0 (Our World in Data).
About this data
Share of the population living in urban areas, based on each country's national definition.