Share of population living in urban areas vs. GDP per capita in Tonga
Tonga: Share of population living in urban areas vs. GDP per capita was 21.2% in 2025. ▲ Rising
Latest (2025)
21.2%
Change on year
up 0.0%
World rank
227th
of 236 countries
All-time high
23.5%
in 2011
All-time low
13.4%
in 1950
Years of data
76
1950–2025
Share of population living in urban areas vs. GDP per capita in Tonga, 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 Tonga stood at 21.2%.
That represents a change of down 9.0% over ten years.
Over the whole period, share of population living in urban areas vs. gdp per capita in Tonga peaked at 23.5% in 2011 and was at its lowest, 13.4%, in 1950.
Tonga ranks 227th 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 Tonga, year by year
| Year | % | Change |
|---|---|---|
| 1950 | 13.4% | — |
| 1951 | 13.9% | +3.7% |
| 1952 | 14.4% | +3.5% |
| 1953 | 14.9% | +3.3% |
| 1954 | 15.3% | +3.1% |
| 1955 | 15.8% | +2.9% |
| 1956 | 16.2% | +2.8% |
| 1957 | 16.7% | +3.4% |
| 1958 | 17.3% | +3.2% |
| 1959 | 17.8% | +3.0% |
| 1960 | 18.3% | +2.7% |
| 1961 | 18.7% | +2.4% |
| 1962 | 19.1% | +2.1% |
| 1963 | 19.4% | +1.8% |
| 1964 | 19.7% | +1.4% |
| 1965 | 19.9% | +1.0% |
| 1966 | 20.0% | +0.6% |
| 1967 | 20.1% | +0.3% |
| 1968 | 20.1% | +0.2% |
| 1969 | 20.2% | +0.1% |
| 1970 | 20.2% | +0.1% |
| 1971 | 20.2% | +0.1% |
| 1972 | 20.2% | +0.1% |
| 1973 | 20.2% | +0.1% |
| 1974 | 20.3% | +0.1% |
| 1975 | 20.3% | +0.1% |
| 1976 | 20.3% | +0.2% |
| 1977 | 20.4% | +0.2% |
| 1978 | 20.4% | +0.3% |
| 1979 | 20.5% | +0.4% |
| 1980 | 20.6% | +0.5% |
| 1981 | 20.7% | +0.6% |
| 1982 | 20.9% | +0.7% |
| 1983 | 21.0% | +0.7% |
| 1984 | 21.2% | +0.8% |
| 1985 | 21.4% | +0.8% |
| 1986 | 21.5% | +0.8% |
| 1987 | 21.7% | +0.8% |
| 1988 | 21.9% | +0.8% |
| 1989 | 22.0% | +0.8% |
| 1990 | 22.2% | +0.7% |
| 1991 | 22.4% | +0.7% |
| 1992 | 22.5% | +0.6% |
| 1993 | 22.6% | +0.6% |
| 1994 | 22.7% | +0.5% |
| 1995 | 22.8% | +0.4% |
| 1996 | 22.9% | +0.3% |
| 1997 | 22.9% | +0.2% |
| 1998 | 23.0% | +0.2% |
| 1999 | 23.0% | +0.1% |
| 2000 | 23.0% | +0.1% |
| 2001 | 23.0% | +0.1% |
| 2002 | 23.1% | +0.1% |
| 2003 | 23.1% | +0.1% |
| 2004 | 23.1% | +0.1% |
| 2005 | 23.1% | +0.1% |
| 2006 | 23.2% | +0.1% |
| 2007 | 23.2% | +0.2% |
| 2008 | 23.3% | +0.3% |
| 2009 | 23.4% | +0.3% |
| 2010 | 23.4% | +0.3% |
| 2011 | 23.5% | +0.2% |
| 2012 | 23.5% | -0.0% |
| 2013 | 23.4% | -0.2% |
| 2014 | 23.3% | -0.3% |
| 2015 | 23.2% | -0.4% |
| 2016 | 23.1% | -0.5% |
| 2017 | 23.0% | -0.7% |
| 2018 | 22.7% | -1.2% |
| 2019 | 22.3% | -1.6% |
| 2020 | 21.9% | -2.0% |
| 2021 | 21.3% | -2.8% |
| 2022 | 21.1% | -0.5% |
| 2023 | 21.1% | +0.0% |
| 2024 | 21.2% | +0.0% |
| 2025 | 21.2% | +0.0% |
Tonga compared with similar countries
- Tonga's 21.2% is below the median for upper middle income countries, which is 65.5%, 32% of the median. (58 countries reporting)
- Tonga's 21.2% is below the median for East Asia & Pacific, which is 65.4%, 32% of the median. (37 countries reporting)
Averages by decade
| Decade | Average | Lowest | Highest | Years |
|---|---|---|---|---|
| 1950s | 15.6% | 13.4% | 17.8% | 10 |
| 1960s | 19.6% | 18.3% | 20.2% | 10 |
| 1970s | 20.3% | 20.2% | 20.5% | 10 |
| 1980s | 21.3% | 20.6% | 22.0% | 10 |
| 1990s | 22.7% | 22.2% | 23.0% | 10 |
| 2000s | 23.2% | 23.0% | 23.4% | 10 |
| 2010s | 23.1% | 22.3% | 23.5% | 10 |
| 2020s | 21.3% | 21.1% | 21.9% | 6 |
Countries ranked near Tonga
More population data for Tonga
- Un population 2024 vs 2022, annual growth rate -0.5565 % change on previous year (2100)
- Population long run with projections, annual growth rate 0.0093 % change on previous year (2100)
- Urban and rural population 2050, annual growth rate -0.4068 % change on previous year (2050)
- Population regions with projections, annual growth rate 0.0093 % change on previous year (2100)
- Population growth rate, by level of development -0.0% (2100)
- Number of children under 5, by world region 6,812 people (2100)
- Population density 163.72 people per km² (2100)
- World population growth -0.0% (2100)
- Projected population under age 5, annual growth rate -0.3365 % change on previous year (2100)
- Africa's Development Dynamics (AfDD) Table 03 - Annual population 0.8047 Percent per annum (2030)
Frequently asked questions
- What is share of population living in urban areas vs. gdp per capita in Tonga?
- Share of population living in urban areas vs. gdp per capita in Tonga was 21.2% 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 Tonga?
- The highest recorded value was 23.5% in 2011.
- What is the lowest share of population living in urban areas vs. gdp per capita recorded in Tonga?
- The lowest recorded value was 13.4% in 1950.
- How does Tonga rank for share of population living in urban areas vs. gdp per capita?
- Tonga ranks 227th out of 236 countries with data for 2025.
- Is share of population living in urban areas vs. gdp per capita rising or falling in Tonga?
- Over the last ten years it is down 9.0%. The long-run trend across the full record is rising.
- Where does this Tonga 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.