New Zealand vs Norway: Do more people live in urban or rural areas?
New Zealand
84.0%
in 2025
Norway
83.6%
in 2025
New Zealand rank
58th
Norway rank
59th
Do more people live in urban or rural areas? over time
- New Zealand
- Norway
How they compare
New Zealand currently reports 84.0% against 83.6% in Norway, a difference of 0.4%.
The two have swapped places 1 time across 106 shared years of data; in 1200 it was Norway ahead.
New Zealand ranks 58th and Norway ranks 59th of 238 countries.
Across the 38 decades both report, New Zealand averaged higher in 23 and Norway in 15.
Head to head by decade
| Decade | New Zealand | Norway | Difference | Ahead |
|---|---|---|---|---|
| 1200s | 0.0% | 0.3% | 0.3% | Norway |
| 1300s | 0.0% | 0.4% | 0.4% | Norway |
| 1400s | 0.0% | 0.6% | 0.6% | Norway |
| 1500s | 0.1% | 0.9% | 0.8% | Norway |
| 1600s | 0.3% | 1.4% | 1.1% | Norway |
| 1700s | 1.0% | 4.0% | 3.0% | Norway |
| 1710s | 3.2% | 5.9% | 2.7% | Norway |
| 1720s | 5.3% | 7.7% | 2.4% | Norway |
| 1730s | 7.5% | 9.6% | 2.1% | Norway |
| 1740s | 9.7% | 11.4% | 1.8% | Norway |
| 1750s | 11.8% | 13.3% | 1.5% | Norway |
| 1760s | 14.0% | 15.1% | 1.1% | Norway |
| 1770s | 16.2% | 17.0% | 0.8% | Norway |
| 1780s | 18.3% | 18.9% | 0.5% | Norway |
| 1790s | 20.5% | 20.7% | 0.2% | Norway |
| 1800s | 22.7% | 22.6% | 0.1% | New Zealand |
| 1810s | 24.8% | 24.4% | 0.4% | New Zealand |
| 1820s | 27.0% | 26.3% | 0.7% | New Zealand |
| 1830s | 29.2% | 28.2% | 1.0% | New Zealand |
| 1840s | 31.3% | 30.0% | 1.3% | New Zealand |
| 1850s | 33.5% | 31.9% | 1.6% | New Zealand |
| 1860s | 35.7% | 33.7% | 1.9% | New Zealand |
| 1870s | 37.8% | 35.6% | 2.2% | New Zealand |
| 1880s | 40.0% | 37.4% | 2.6% | New Zealand |
| 1890s | 44.6% | 39.3% | 5.3% | New Zealand |
| 1900s | 49.3% | 41.2% | 8.1% | New Zealand |
| 1910s | 53.9% | 43.0% | 10.9% | New Zealand |
| 1920s | 58.6% | 44.9% | 13.7% | New Zealand |
| 1930s | 63.2% | 46.7% | 16.5% | New Zealand |
| 1940s | 67.9% | 48.6% | 19.3% | New Zealand |
| 1950s | 56.0% | 48.2% | 7.8% | New Zealand |
| 1960s | 68.3% | 55.5% | 12.9% | New Zealand |
| 1970s | 82.4% | 68.4% | 14.0% | New Zealand |
| 1980s | 83.8% | 71.2% | 12.6% | New Zealand |
| 1990s | 85.3% | 73.8% | 11.5% | New Zealand |
| 2000s | 85.9% | 77.6% | 8.2% | New Zealand |
| 2010s | 85.0% | 80.8% | 4.2% | New Zealand |
| 2020s | 83.9% | 83.1% | 0.8% | New Zealand |
Averages of every year both report within each decade.
Frequently asked questions
- Which has higher do more people live in urban or rural areas?, New Zealand or Norway?
- New Zealand, at 84.0% against 83.6% in Norway as of 2025.
- What is the difference in do more people live in urban or rural areas? between New Zealand and Norway?
- 0.4%, with New Zealand ahead.
- How many years of comparable data are there for New Zealand and Norway?
- 106 years are reported by both, from 1200 to 2025.
- How do New Zealand and Norway rank globally for do more people live in urban or rural areas??
- New Zealand ranks 58th and Norway ranks 59th of 238 countries.
- Where does this data come from?
- HYDE (2023); United Nations Department of Economic and Social Affairs, Population Division (2025) – with minor processing by Our World in Data, published as Do more people live in urban or rural areas?. Statizoid refreshes it automatically from the source and publishes the full history for both places.
Individual pages
About this data
Share of the population living in urban areas, combining UN estimates with modelled historical data.