Urban population in Papua New Guinea
Papua New Guinea: Urban population was 15.8% in 2025. ▲ Rising
Urban population in Papua New Guinea, 1960–2025
Source: World Urbanization Prospects, United Nations (UN). Measured in % of total population.
Analysis
In 2025, urban population in Papua New Guinea stood at 15.8%. That is the highest value across all 66 years on record.
The figure is up 2.4% on the previous year and up 19.2% over ten years.
Over the whole period, urban population in Papua New Guinea peaked at 15.8% in 2025 and was at its lowest, 3.5%, in 1960.
Papua New Guinea ranks 216th of 217 countries on this measure, in the bottom quarter.
The long-run direction has been consistently rising across the 66 years of available data.
Urban population in Papua New Guinea, year by year
| Year | % of total population | Change |
|---|---|---|
| 1960 | 3.5% | — |
| 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% |
Averages by decade
| Decade | Average | Lowest | Highest | Years |
|---|---|---|---|---|
| 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
More climate change data for Papua New Guinea
- Emissions from livestock — Emissions (CO2eq) 2,290 kt (2050)
- Emissions from livestock — Emissions (CO2eq) from N2O 396.23 kt (2050)
- Emissions from livestock — Emissions (CO2eq) from CH4 1,894 kt (2050)
- Emissions from livestock — Emissions 1.5 kt (2050)
- Emissions from livestock — Emissions 67.64 kt (2050)
- Emissions from crops — Emissions (CO2eq) 108.7 kt (2050)
- Emissions from crops — Emissions (CO2eq) from N2O 105.81 kt (2050)
- Emissions from crops — Emissions (CO2eq) from CH4 2.88 kt (2050)
- Emissions from crops — Emissions 0.3993 kt (2050)
- Emissions from crops — Emissions 0.1029 kt (2050)
Frequently asked questions
- What is urban population in Papua New Guinea?
- Urban population in Papua New Guinea was 15.8% in 2025, according to World Urbanization Prospects, United Nations (UN).
- What is the highest urban population recorded in Papua New Guinea?
- The highest recorded value was 15.8% in 2025.
- What is the lowest urban population recorded in Papua New Guinea?
- The lowest recorded value was 3.5% in 1960.
- How does Papua New Guinea rank for urban population?
- Papua New Guinea ranks 216th out of 217 countries with data for 2025.
- Is urban population 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 World Urbanization Prospects, United Nations (UN), published as part of Urban population (% of total population). Statizoid updates them automatically from the source API.
Download this data
CSV · JSON — 66 observations, free to reuse under CC BY 4.0 (World Bank Open Data).
About this data
Urban population refers to people living in urban areas as defined by national statistical offices. The data are collected and smoothed by United Nations Population Division.