Urban population growth in Vanuatu
Vanuatu: Urban population growth was 2.4% in 2025. ▼ Falling
Urban population growth in Vanuatu, 1961–2025
Source: World Urbanization Prospects, United Nations (UN). Measured in annual %.
Analysis
In 2025, urban population growth in Vanuatu stood at 2.4%.
Compared with earlier readings it is up 0.7% on the previous year and up 5.7% over ten years.
Over the whole period, urban population growth in Vanuatu peaked at 6.4% in 1968 and was at its lowest, -2.4%, in 2020.
Vanuatu ranks 60th of 218 countries on this measure, in the middle of the range.
The long-run direction has been consistently falling across the 65 years of available data.
Urban population growth in Vanuatu, year by year
| Year | annual % | Change |
|---|---|---|
| 1961 | 6.2% | — |
| 1962 | 6.2% | +0.1% |
| 1963 | 6.1% | -0.6% |
| 1964 | 6.1% | -0.3% |
| 1965 | 6.1% | -0.4% |
| 1966 | 6.1% | -0.7% |
| 1967 | 6.1% | +0.8% |
| 1968 | 6.4% | +4.2% |
| 1969 | 6.3% | -1.6% |
| 1970 | 6.2% | -1.2% |
| 1971 | 6.1% | -0.9% |
| 1972 | 6.1% | -0.6% |
| 1973 | 6.1% | -0.7% |
| 1974 | 6.0% | -0.8% |
| 1975 | 6.0% | -0.5% |
| 1976 | 5.9% | -0.7% |
| 1977 | 5.9% | -0.6% |
| 1978 | 5.8% | -0.8% |
| 1979 | 5.5% | -6.1% |
| 1980 | 5.0% | -8.2% |
| 1981 | 5.0% | -0.9% |
| 1982 | 5.1% | +2.0% |
| 1983 | 5.1% | +0.8% |
| 1984 | 5.1% | -0.3% |
| 1985 | 5.1% | -1.1% |
| 1986 | 5.0% | -2.0% |
| 1987 | 4.8% | -2.7% |
| 1988 | 4.7% | -3.2% |
| 1989 | 4.5% | -4.1% |
| 1990 | 4.3% | -4.5% |
| 1991 | 4.2% | -3.0% |
| 1992 | 4.1% | -2.5% |
| 1993 | 3.9% | -2.7% |
| 1994 | 3.8% | -3.0% |
| 1995 | 3.7% | -3.1% |
| 1996 | 3.6% | -3.0% |
| 1997 | 3.5% | -2.8% |
| 1998 | 3.4% | -1.8% |
| 1999 | 3.4% | +0.0% |
| 2000 | 3.6% | +6.0% |
| 2001 | 3.8% | +4.0% |
| 2002 | 3.7% | -2.1% |
| 2003 | 3.6% | -1.8% |
| 2004 | 3.6% | -0.7% |
| 2005 | 3.6% | +0.1% |
| 2006 | 3.7% | +1.1% |
| 2007 | 3.8% | +2.7% |
| 2008 | 3.9% | +4.0% |
| 2009 | 4.0% | +2.9% |
| 2010 | 4.2% | +4.5% |
| 2011 | 2.3% | -44.2% |
| 2012 | 2.3% | -0.8% |
| 2013 | 2.3% | -0.6% |
| 2014 | 2.3% | -0.8% |
| 2015 | 2.3% | -1.7% |
| 2016 | 2.2% | -1.0% |
| 2017 | 1.9% | -13.9% |
| 2018 | 0.4% | -79.7% |
| 2019 | -0.9% | -329.1% |
| 2020 | -2.4% | +167.6% |
| 2021 | 1.6% | -165.3% |
| 2022 | 2.3% | +49.5% |
| 2023 | 2.4% | +1.6% |
| 2024 | 2.4% | -0.2% |
| 2025 | 2.4% | +0.7% |
Vanuatu compared with similar countries
- Vanuatu's 2.4% is below the median for lower middle income countries, which is 2.7%, 87% of the median. (47 countries reporting)
- Vanuatu's 2.4% is above the median for East Asia & Pacific, which is 0.9%, 2.6× the median. (37 countries reporting)
Biggest year-on-year movements
Years where Urban population growth in Vanuatu 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 |
|---|---|---|---|
| 2019 | -329.1% | 0.4% | -0.9% |
| 2020 | -167.6% | -0.9% | -2.4% |
| 2021 | +165.3% | -2.4% | 1.6% |
| 2018 | -79.7% | 1.9% | 0.4% |
| 2022 | +49.5% | 1.6% | 2.3% |
| 2011 | -44.2% | 4.2% | 2.3% |
Averages by decade
| Decade | Average | Lowest | Highest | Years |
|---|---|---|---|---|
| 1960s | 6.2% | 6.1% | 6.4% | 9 |
| 1970s | 6.0% | 5.5% | 6.2% | 10 |
| 1980s | 4.9% | 4.5% | 5.1% | 10 |
| 1990s | 3.8% | 3.4% | 4.3% | 10 |
| 2000s | 3.7% | 3.6% | 4.0% | 10 |
| 2010s | 1.9% | -0.9% | 4.2% | 10 |
| 2020s | 1.4% | -2.4% | 2.4% | 6 |
Countries ranked near Vanuatu
More climate change data for Vanuatu
- Nutrient nitrogen N (total) — Synthetic fertilizers (Agricultural) 0 kg (2023)
- Emissions from livestock — Emissions (CO2eq) 645.34 kt (2050)
- Emissions from livestock — Emissions (CO2eq) from N2O 155.08 kt (2050)
- Emissions from livestock — Emissions (CO2eq) from CH4 490.27 kt (2050)
- Emissions from livestock — Emissions 0.5852 kt (2050)
- Emissions from livestock — Emissions 17.51 kt (2050)
- Emissions from crops — Emissions (CO2eq) 0.2124 kt (2050)
- Emissions from crops — Emissions (CO2eq) from N2O 0.106 kt (2050)
- Emissions from crops — Emissions (CO2eq) from CH4 0.1064 kt (2050)
- Emissions from crops — Emissions 0.0004 kt (2050)
Frequently asked questions
- What is urban population growth in Vanuatu?
- Urban population growth in Vanuatu was 2.4% in 2025, according to World Urbanization Prospects, United Nations (UN).
- What is the highest urban population growth recorded in Vanuatu?
- The highest recorded value was 6.4% in 1968.
- What is the lowest urban population growth recorded in Vanuatu?
- The lowest recorded value was -2.4% in 2020.
- How does Vanuatu rank for urban population growth?
- Vanuatu ranks 60th out of 218 countries with data for 2025.
- Is urban population growth rising or falling in Vanuatu?
- Over the last ten years it is up 5.7%. The long-run trend across the full record is falling.
- Where does this Vanuatu 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.