Urban population in New Zealand
New Zealand: Urban population was 4.47 million in 2025. ▲ Rising
Urban population in New Zealand, 1960–2025
Source: World Urbanization Prospects, United Nations (UN).
Analysis
New Zealand recorded 4.47 million for urban population in 2025. That is the highest value across all 66 years on record.
Compared with earlier readings it is up 0.7% on the previous year and up 14.0% over ten years.
Over the whole period, urban population in New Zealand peaked at 4.47 million in 2025 and was at its lowest, 1.48 million, in 1960.
That places New Zealand 105th out of 218 countries with data for 2025, putting it in the middle of the range.
The long-run direction has been consistently rising across the 66 years of available data.
Urban population in New Zealand, year by year
| Year | Value | Change |
|---|---|---|
| 1960 | 1.48 million | — |
| 1961 | 1.55 million | +4.5% |
| 1962 | 1.61 million | +4.2% |
| 1963 | 1.66 million | +3.3% |
| 1964 | 1.72 million | +3.4% |
| 1965 | 1.77 million | +3.1% |
| 1966 | 1.84 million | +3.9% |
| 1967 | 1.94 million | +5.5% |
| 1968 | 2.05 million | +5.6% |
| 1969 | 2.16 million | +5.4% |
| 1970 | 2.26 million | +4.7% |
| 1971 | 2.33 million | +2.9% |
| 1972 | 2.38 million | +2.3% |
| 1973 | 2.44 million | +2.4% |
| 1974 | 2.50 million | +2.4% |
| 1975 | 2.55 million | +2.2% |
| 1976 | 2.58 million | +1.1% |
| 1977 | 2.59 million | +0.5% |
| 1978 | 2.60 million | +0.2% |
| 1979 | 2.59 million | -0.3% |
| 1980 | 2.60 million | +0.2% |
| 1981 | 2.61 million | +0.5% |
| 1982 | 2.64 million | +1.1% |
| 1983 | 2.68 million | +1.4% |
| 1984 | 2.70 million | +0.9% |
| 1985 | 2.72 million | +0.7% |
| 1986 | 2.72 million | +0.1% |
| 1987 | 2.75 million | +1.1% |
| 1988 | 2.77 million | +0.6% |
| 1989 | 2.79 million | +0.8% |
| 1990 | 2.82 million | +1.2% |
| 1991 | 2.97 million | +5.2% |
| 1992 | 3.00 million | +1.2% |
| 1993 | 3.04 million | +1.3% |
| 1994 | 3.09 million | +1.5% |
| 1995 | 3.14 million | +1.6% |
| 1996 | 3.19 million | +1.7% |
| 1997 | 3.23 million | +1.4% |
| 1998 | 3.27 million | +1.0% |
| 1999 | 3.28 million | +0.6% |
| 2000 | 3.31 million | +0.6% |
| 2001 | 3.33 million | +0.6% |
| 2002 | 3.39 million | +1.8% |
| 2003 | 3.46 million | +2.1% |
| 2004 | 3.51 million | +1.5% |
| 2005 | 3.55 million | +1.2% |
| 2006 | 3.60 million | +1.2% |
| 2007 | 3.63 million | +0.9% |
| 2008 | 3.66 million | +0.8% |
| 2009 | 3.70 million | +1.0% |
| 2010 | 3.74 million | +1.1% |
| 2011 | 3.76 million | +0.7% |
| 2012 | 3.78 million | +0.5% |
| 2013 | 3.81 million | +0.7% |
| 2014 | 3.86 million | +1.4% |
| 2015 | 3.92 million | +1.6% |
| 2016 | 3.99 million | +1.7% |
| 2017 | 4.05 million | +1.5% |
| 2018 | 4.11 million | +1.4% |
| 2019 | 4.17 million | +1.4% |
| 2020 | 4.25 million | +2.1% |
| 2021 | 4.26 million | +0.3% |
| 2022 | 4.26 million | -0.0% |
| 2023 | 4.36 million | +2.4% |
| 2024 | 4.44 million | +1.8% |
| 2025 | 4.47 million | +0.7% |
New Zealand compared with similar countries
- New Zealand's 4.47 million is above the median for high income countries, which is 2.24 million, 2.0× the median. (85 countries reporting)
- New Zealand's 4.47 million is above the median for East Asia & Pacific, which is 685,900, 6.5× the median. (37 countries reporting)
Averages by decade
| Decade | Average | Lowest | Highest | Years |
|---|---|---|---|---|
| 1960s | 1.78 million | 1.48 million | 2.16 million | 10 |
| 1970s | 2.48 million | 2.26 million | 2.60 million | 10 |
| 1980s | 2.70 million | 2.60 million | 2.79 million | 10 |
| 1990s | 3.10 million | 2.82 million | 3.28 million | 10 |
| 2000s | 3.51 million | 3.31 million | 3.70 million | 10 |
| 2010s | 3.92 million | 3.74 million | 4.17 million | 10 |
| 2020s | 4.34 million | 4.25 million | 4.47 million | 6 |
Countries ranked near New Zealand
More climate change data for New Zealand
- Nutrient nitrogen N (total) — Synthetic fertilizers (Agricultural) 113.13 million kg (2050)
- Emissions from livestock — Emissions (CO2eq) 46,323 kt (2050)
- Emissions from livestock — Emissions (CO2eq) from N2O 11,983 kt (2050)
- Emissions from livestock — Emissions (CO2eq) from CH4 34,340 kt (2050)
- Emissions from livestock — Emissions 45.22 kt (2050)
- Emissions from livestock — Emissions 1,226 kt (2050)
- Emissions from crops — Emissions (CO2eq) 694.4 kt (2050)
- Emissions from crops — Emissions (CO2eq) from N2O 691.2 kt (2050)
- Emissions from crops — Emissions (CO2eq) from CH4 3.2 kt (2050)
- Emissions from crops — Emissions 2.61 kt (2050)
Frequently asked questions
- What is urban population in New Zealand?
- Urban population in New Zealand was 4.47 million in 2025, according to World Urbanization Prospects, United Nations (UN).
- What is the highest urban population recorded in New Zealand?
- The highest recorded value was 4.47 million in 2025.
- What is the lowest urban population recorded in New Zealand?
- The lowest recorded value was 1.48 million in 1960.
- How does New Zealand rank for urban population?
- New Zealand ranks 105th out of 218 countries with data for 2025.
- Is urban population rising or falling in New Zealand?
- Over the last ten years it is up 14.0%. The long-run trend across the full record is rising.
- Where does this New Zealand data come from?
- The figures come from World Urbanization Prospects, United Nations (UN), published as part of Urban 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. 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.