Botswana vs Papua New Guinea: Urban population

Botswana
1.74 million
in 2025
Papua New Guinea
1.70 million
in 2025
Botswana rank
138th
Papua New Guinea rank
139th

Urban population over time

  • Botswana
  • Papua New Guinea
0500.0k1.0M1.5M196019922025

How they compare

Botswana currently reports 1.74 million against 1.70 million in Papua New Guinea, a difference of 42,780.

The two have swapped places 1 time across 66 shared years of data; in 1960 it was Papua New Guinea ahead.

Botswana ranks 138th and Papua New Guinea ranks 139th of 215 countries.

Across the 7 decades both report, Botswana averaged higher in 4 and Papua New Guinea in 3.

Head to head by decade

Decade Botswana Papua New Guinea Difference Ahead
1960s 25,329 125,873 100,544 Papua New Guinea
1970s 86,128 345,176 259,048 Papua New Guinea
1980s 294,889 487,222 192,332 Papua New Guinea
1990s 723,082 658,796 64,286 Botswana
2000s 1.06 million 843,997 217,869 Botswana
2010s 1.42 million 1.15 million 275,620 Botswana
2020s 1.65 million 1.54 million 110,980 Botswana

Averages of every year both report within each decade.

Frequently asked questions

Which has higher urban population, Botswana or Papua New Guinea?
Botswana, at 1.74 million against 1.70 million in Papua New Guinea as of 2025.
What is the difference in urban population between Botswana and Papua New Guinea?
42,780, with Botswana ahead.
How many years of comparable data are there for Botswana and Papua New Guinea?
66 years are reported by both, from 1960 to 2025.
How do Botswana and Papua New Guinea rank globally for urban population?
Botswana ranks 138th and Papua New Guinea ranks 139th of 215 countries.
Where does this data come from?
World Urbanization Prospects, United Nations (UN), published as Urban population. Statizoid refreshes it automatically from the source and publishes the full history for both places.

Individual pages

About this data

Indicator
Urban population
Source
World Urbanization Prospects, United Nations (UN)
Licence
CC BY 4.0 (World Bank Open Data)
Coverage
264 places, 17,394 data points, 1960–2025
Last refreshed

Urban population refers to people living in urban areas as defined by national statistical offices. It is calculated using World Bank population estimates and urban ratios from the United Nations World Urbanization Prospects. Aggregation of urban and rural population may not add up to total population because of different country coverages.