New Zealand vs Switzerland: Do more people live in urban or rural areas?
New Zealand
84.0%
in 2025
Switzerland
85.7%
in 2025
New Zealand rank
58th
Switzerland rank
55th
Do more people live in urban or rural areas? over time
- New Zealand
- Switzerland
How they compare
Switzerland currently reports 85.7% against 84.0% in New Zealand, a difference of 1.7%.
The two have swapped places 3 times across 106 shared years of data; in 1200 it was New Zealand ahead.
New Zealand ranks 58th and Switzerland ranks 55th of 238 countries.
Across the 38 decades both report, New Zealand averaged higher in 32 and Switzerland in 6.
Head to head by decade
| Decade | New Zealand | Switzerland | Difference | Ahead |
|---|---|---|---|---|
| 1200s | 0.0% | 0.0% | 0.0% | New Zealand |
| 1300s | 0.0% | 0.0% | 0.0% | New Zealand |
| 1400s | 0.0% | 0.7% | 0.7% | Switzerland |
| 1500s | 0.1% | 2.4% | 2.3% | Switzerland |
| 1600s | 0.3% | 2.5% | 2.1% | Switzerland |
| 1700s | 1.0% | 3.3% | 2.3% | Switzerland |
| 1710s | 3.2% | 3.5% | 0.4% | Switzerland |
| 1720s | 5.3% | 3.9% | 1.4% | New Zealand |
| 1730s | 7.5% | 4.3% | 3.2% | New Zealand |
| 1740s | 9.7% | 4.8% | 4.8% | New Zealand |
| 1750s | 11.8% | 5.4% | 6.5% | New Zealand |
| 1760s | 14.0% | 6.0% | 8.0% | New Zealand |
| 1770s | 16.2% | 6.6% | 9.5% | New Zealand |
| 1780s | 18.3% | 7.4% | 11.0% | New Zealand |
| 1790s | 20.5% | 8.2% | 12.3% | New Zealand |
| 1800s | 22.7% | 9.1% | 13.6% | New Zealand |
| 1810s | 24.8% | 10.1% | 14.7% | New Zealand |
| 1820s | 27.0% | 11.2% | 15.8% | New Zealand |
| 1830s | 29.2% | 12.5% | 16.7% | New Zealand |
| 1840s | 31.3% | 13.8% | 17.5% | New Zealand |
| 1850s | 33.5% | 15.4% | 18.1% | New Zealand |
| 1860s | 35.7% | 17.0% | 18.7% | New Zealand |
| 1870s | 37.8% | 18.9% | 19.0% | New Zealand |
| 1880s | 40.0% | 20.9% | 19.1% | New Zealand |
| 1890s | 44.6% | 23.1% | 21.5% | New Zealand |
| 1900s | 49.3% | 25.5% | 23.8% | New Zealand |
| 1910s | 53.9% | 28.2% | 25.7% | New Zealand |
| 1920s | 58.6% | 31.3% | 27.2% | New Zealand |
| 1930s | 63.2% | 34.8% | 28.5% | New Zealand |
| 1940s | 67.9% | 38.6% | 29.3% | New Zealand |
| 1950s | 56.0% | 47.3% | 8.8% | New Zealand |
| 1960s | 68.3% | 54.0% | 14.3% | New Zealand |
| 1970s | 82.4% | 59.2% | 23.2% | New Zealand |
| 1980s | 83.8% | 64.5% | 19.3% | New Zealand |
| 1990s | 85.3% | 71.1% | 14.2% | New Zealand |
| 2000s | 85.9% | 73.5% | 12.4% | New Zealand |
| 2010s | 85.0% | 76.0% | 9.0% | New Zealand |
| 2020s | 83.9% | 84.6% | 0.8% | Switzerland |
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 Switzerland?
- Switzerland, at 85.7% against 84.0% in New Zealand as of 2025.
- What is the difference in do more people live in urban or rural areas? between New Zealand and Switzerland?
- 1.7%, with Switzerland ahead.
- How many years of comparable data are there for New Zealand and Switzerland?
- 106 years are reported by both, from 1200 to 2025.
- How do New Zealand and Switzerland rank globally for do more people live in urban or rural areas??
- New Zealand ranks 58th and Switzerland ranks 55th of 238 countries.
- Where does this data come from?
- HYDE (2023); United Nations Department of Economic and Social Affairs, Population Division (2025) β 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 modeled historical data.