Urban population growth in Tonga
Tonga: Urban population growth was -0.4% in 2025. ◆ Volatile
Urban population growth in Tonga, 1961–2025
Source: World Urbanization Prospects, United Nations (UN). Measured in annual %.
Analysis
In 2025, urban population growth in Tonga stood at -0.4%.
Compared with earlier readings it is down 0.4% on the previous year and up 57.1% over ten years.
Over the whole period, urban population growth in Tonga peaked at 5.2% in 1961 and was at its lowest, -3.1%, in 2021.
Tonga ranks 204th of 218 countries on this measure, in the bottom quarter.
The series is highly variable year to year, so single readings are best treated with caution.
Urban population growth in Tonga, year by year
| Year | annual % | Change |
|---|---|---|
| 1961 | 5.2% | — |
| 1962 | 4.8% | -6.4% |
| 1963 | 4.5% | -6.8% |
| 1964 | 4.1% | -8.1% |
| 1965 | 3.8% | -9.1% |
| 1966 | 3.3% | -12.3% |
| 1967 | 2.6% | -22.0% |
| 1968 | 2.1% | -19.3% |
| 1969 | 2.0% | -3.8% |
| 1970 | 1.9% | -4.3% |
| 1971 | 1.8% | -4.0% |
| 1972 | 1.8% | -4.3% |
| 1973 | 1.7% | -2.0% |
| 1974 | 2.2% | +26.7% |
| 1975 | 2.7% | +21.4% |
| 1976 | 2.6% | -2.2% |
| 1977 | 1.7% | -35.8% |
| 1978 | 0.8% | -50.9% |
| 1979 | 0.8% | -4.5% |
| 1980 | 0.8% | -3.9% |
| 1981 | 0.8% | -0.1% |
| 1982 | 0.7% | -1.4% |
| 1983 | 0.7% | +0.6% |
| 1984 | 0.8% | +1.2% |
| 1985 | 0.8% | +3.1% |
| 1986 | 0.8% | +6.5% |
| 1987 | 1.2% | +41.1% |
| 1988 | 1.4% | +19.0% |
| 1989 | 1.2% | -13.8% |
| 1990 | 1.0% | -14.4% |
| 1991 | 0.9% | -14.5% |
| 1992 | 0.7% | -14.5% |
| 1993 | 0.6% | -14.9% |
| 1994 | 0.5% | -15.1% |
| 1995 | 0.5% | -16.7% |
| 1996 | 0.3% | -25.5% |
| 1997 | 0.6% | +78.4% |
| 1998 | 0.9% | +43.9% |
| 1999 | 0.8% | -9.7% |
| 2000 | 0.7% | -5.7% |
| 2001 | 0.7% | -5.3% |
| 2002 | 0.7% | -4.9% |
| 2003 | 0.7% | +0.6% |
| 2004 | 0.7% | +3.7% |
| 2005 | 0.7% | -0.1% |
| 2006 | 0.7% | +0.5% |
| 2007 | 0.6% | -8.8% |
| 2008 | 0.6% | -12.1% |
| 2009 | 0.5% | -13.5% |
| 2010 | 0.5% | -5.4% |
| 2011 | 0.3% | -31.0% |
| 2012 | -0.1% | -135.4% |
| 2013 | -0.5% | +380.1% |
| 2014 | -0.8% | +42.0% |
| 2015 | -0.9% | +20.6% |
| 2016 | -1.0% | +13.9% |
| 2017 | -0.8% | -19.2% |
| 2018 | -1.0% | +16.2% |
| 2019 | -1.6% | +59.9% |
| 2020 | -2.0% | +29.2% |
| 2021 | -3.1% | +52.2% |
| 2022 | -0.9% | -69.1% |
| 2023 | -0.4% | -55.8% |
| 2024 | -0.4% | -7.2% |
| 2025 | -0.4% | +0.4% |
Tonga compared with similar countries
- Tonga's -0.4% is below the median for upper middle income countries, which is 1.0%. (59 countries reporting)
- Tonga's -0.4% is below the median for East Asia & Pacific, which is 0.9%. (37 countries reporting)
Biggest year-on-year movements
Years where Urban population growth in Tonga changed far more than this series normally does. A large move can be a real event or a change in how the figure was measured — the source note below says who published it.
| Year | Change | From | To |
|---|---|---|---|
| 2013 | -380.1% | -0.1% | -0.5% |
| 2012 | -135.4% | 0.3% | -0.1% |
| 1997 | +78.4% | 0.3% | 0.6% |
Averages by decade
| Decade | Average | Lowest | Highest | Years |
|---|---|---|---|---|
| 1960s | 3.6% | 2.0% | 5.2% | 9 |
| 1970s | 1.8% | 0.8% | 2.7% | 10 |
| 1980s | 0.9% | 0.7% | 1.4% | 10 |
| 1990s | 0.7% | 0.3% | 1.0% | 10 |
| 2000s | 0.6% | 0.5% | 0.7% | 10 |
| 2010s | -0.6% | -1.6% | 0.5% | 10 |
| 2020s | -1.2% | -3.1% | -0.4% | 6 |
Countries ranked near Tonga
More climate change data for Tonga
- Nutrient nitrogen N (total) — Synthetic fertilizers (Agricultural) 0 kg (2050)
- Emissions from livestock — Emissions (CO2eq) 138.67 kt (2050)
- Emissions from livestock — Emissions (CO2eq) from N2O 28.3 kt (2050)
- Emissions from livestock — Emissions (CO2eq) from CH4 110.37 kt (2050)
- Emissions from livestock — Emissions 0.1068 kt (2050)
- Emissions from livestock — Emissions 3.94 kt (2050)
- Emissions from crops — Emissions (CO2eq) 0 kt (2050)
- Emissions from crops — Emissions (CO2eq) from N2O 0 kt (2050)
- Emissions from crops — Emissions 0 kt (2050)
- Synthetic Fertilizers — Emissions (CO2eq) 0 kt (2050)
Frequently asked questions
- What is urban population growth in Tonga?
- Urban population growth in Tonga was -0.4% in 2025, according to World Urbanization Prospects, United Nations (UN).
- What is the highest urban population growth recorded in Tonga?
- The highest recorded value was 5.2% in 1961.
- What is the lowest urban population growth recorded in Tonga?
- The lowest recorded value was -3.1% in 2021.
- How does Tonga rank for urban population growth?
- Tonga ranks 204th out of 218 countries with data for 2025.
- Is urban population growth rising or falling in Tonga?
- Over the last ten years it is up 57.1%. The long-run trend across the full record is volatile.
- Where does this Tonga data come from?
- The figures come from World Urbanization Prospects, United Nations (UN), published as part of Urban population growth (annual %). Statizoid updates them automatically from the source API.
Download this data
CSV · JSON — 65 observations, free to reuse under CC BY 4.0 (World Bank Open Data).
About this data
Annual urban population growth rate for year t is the exponential rate of growth of midyear urban population from year t-1 to t, expressed as a percentage. Urban population refers to people living in urban areas as defined by national statistical offices. It is calculated using World Bank total population estimates and urban ratios from the United Nations World Urbanization Prospects.