Greenland vs Papua New Guinea: Share of population living in urban and rural areas
Greenland
42.5%
in 2020
Papua New Guinea
46.3%
in 2020
Greenland rank
215th
Papua New Guinea rank
212th
Share of population living in urban and rural areas over time
- Greenland
- Papua New Guinea
How they compare
Papua New Guinea currently reports 46.3% against 42.5% in Greenland, a difference of 3.8%.
That makes Papua New Guinea's figure about 1.1 times Greenland's.
The two have swapped places 4 times across 15 shared years of data; in 1950 it was Papua New Guinea ahead.
Greenland ranks 215th and Papua New Guinea ranks 212th of 236 countries.
Across the 8 decades both report, Greenland averaged higher in 1 and Papua New Guinea in 7.
Head to head by decade
| Decade | Greenland | Papua New Guinea | Difference | Ahead |
|---|---|---|---|---|
| 1950s | 0.0% | 9.9% | 9.9% | Papua New Guinea |
| 1960s | 0.0% | 12.8% | 12.8% | Papua New Guinea |
| 1970s | 13.6% | 16.1% | 2.5% | Papua New Guinea |
| 1980s | 19.1% | 19.5% | 0.4% | Papua New Guinea |
| 1990s | 22.4% | 24.4% | 2.0% | Papua New Guinea |
| 2000s | 34.3% | 30.2% | 4.0% | Greenland |
| 2010s | 38.6% | 39.4% | 0.8% | Papua New Guinea |
| 2020s | 42.5% | 46.3% | 3.7% | Papua New Guinea |
Averages of every year both report within each decade.
Frequently asked questions
- Which has higher share of population living in urban and rural areas, Greenland or Papua New Guinea?
- Papua New Guinea, at 46.3% against 42.5% in Greenland as of 2020.
- What is the difference in share of population living in urban and rural areas between Greenland and Papua New Guinea?
- 3.8%, with Papua New Guinea ahead.
- How many years of comparable data are there for Greenland and Papua New Guinea?
- 15 years are reported by both, from 1950 to 2020.
- How do Greenland and Papua New Guinea rank globally for share of population living in urban and rural areas?
- Greenland ranks 215th and Papua New Guinea ranks 212th of 236 countries.
- Where does this data come from?
- European Commission, Joint Research Centre (JRC) (2025) – with major processing by Our World in Data, published as Share of population living in urban and rural areas. Statizoid refreshes it automatically from the source and publishes the full history for both places.
Individual pages
About this data
Estimated share of the population living in urban areas (the sum of cities and towns and suburbs). Urban areas are identified using satellite imagery and population data, applying the same definitions across countries.