Share of population living in urban areas in New Caledonia
New Caledonia: Share of population living in urban areas was 65.6% in 2020. ▲ Rising
Share of population living in urban areas in New Caledonia, 1950–2020
Source: European Commission, Joint Research Centre (JRC) (2025) – with major processing by Our World in Data. Measured in %.
Analysis
New Caledonia recorded 65.6% for share of population living in urban areas in 2020. That is the highest value across all 15 years on record.
That represents a change of up 13.0% over ten years.
Over the whole period, share of population living in urban areas in New Caledonia peaked at 65.6% in 2020 and was at its lowest, 36.4%, in 1950.
New Caledonia ranks 159th of 236 countries on this measure, in the middle of the range.
The long-run direction has been consistently rising across the 15 years of available data.
Share of population living in urban areas in New Caledonia, year by year
| Year | % | Change |
|---|---|---|
| 1950 | 36.4% | — |
| 1955 | 37.0% | +1.8% |
| 1960 | 38.9% | +5.1% |
| 1965 | 41.3% | +6.1% |
| 1970 | 43.6% | +5.5% |
| 1975 | 47.6% | +9.1% |
| 1980 | 50.4% | +6.1% |
| 1985 | 51.4% | +1.8% |
| 1990 | 50.3% | -2.0% |
| 1995 | 50.6% | +0.4% |
| 2000 | 51.4% | +1.7% |
| 2005 | 52.6% | +2.2% |
| 2010 | 58.1% | +10.5% |
| 2015 | 59.4% | +2.2% |
| 2020 | 65.6% | +10.5% |
New Caledonia compared with similar countries
- New Caledonia's 65.6% is below the median for high income countries, which is 76.2%, 86% of the median. (85 countries reporting)
- New Caledonia's 65.6% is below the median for East Asia & Pacific, which is 70.5%, 93% of the median. (37 countries reporting)
Averages by decade
| Decade | Average | Lowest | Highest | Years |
|---|---|---|---|---|
| 1950s | 36.7% | 36.4% | 37.0% | 2 |
| 1960s | 40.1% | 38.9% | 41.3% | 2 |
| 1970s | 45.6% | 43.6% | 47.6% | 2 |
| 1980s | 50.9% | 50.4% | 51.4% | 2 |
| 1990s | 50.5% | 50.3% | 50.6% | 2 |
| 2000s | 52.0% | 51.4% | 52.6% | 2 |
| 2010s | 58.7% | 58.1% | 59.4% | 2 |
| 2020s | 65.6% | 65.6% | 65.6% | 1 |
Countries ranked near New Caledonia
More reference data data for New Caledonia
- Emission Totals - Indirect emissions (N2O) - Agricultural Soils 0.0675 (2050)
- Emission Totals - Emissions (CH4) - Burning - Crop residues 0.0036 (2050)
- Emission Totals - Emissions (CO2eq) from N2O (AR5) - Crop Residues 0.4777 (2050)
- Emission Totals - Emissions (CO2eq) from CH4 (AR5) - IPCC Agriculture 260.54 (2050)
- Emission Totals - Emissions (CO2eq) from CH4 (AR5) - Manure Management 36.97 (2050)
- Emission Totals - Emissions (CO2eq) from N2O (AR5) - Manure left on 73.42 (2050)
- Emission Totals - Emissions (CO2eq) from N2O (AR5) - Manure Management 10.68 (2050)
- Emission Totals - Emissions (CO2eq) from N2O (AR5) - Manure applied 10.44 (2050)
- Emission Totals - Emissions (CO2eq) from N2O (AR5) - IPCC Agriculture 101.22 (2050)
- Emission Totals - Emissions (N2O) - Agricultural Soils 0.3416 (2050)
Frequently asked questions
- What is share of population living in urban areas in New Caledonia?
- Share of population living in urban areas in New Caledonia was 65.6% in 2020, according to European Commission, Joint Research Centre (JRC) (2025) – with major processing by Our World in Data.
- What is the highest share of population living in urban areas recorded in New Caledonia?
- The highest recorded value was 65.6% in 2020.
- What is the lowest share of population living in urban areas recorded in New Caledonia?
- The lowest recorded value was 36.4% in 1950.
- How does New Caledonia rank for share of population living in urban areas?
- New Caledonia ranks 159th out of 236 countries with data for 2020.
- Is share of population living in urban areas rising or falling in New Caledonia?
- Over the last ten years it is up 13.0%. The long-run trend across the full record is rising.
- Where does this New Caledonia data come from?
- The figures come from European Commission, Joint Research Centre (JRC) (2025) – with major processing by Our World in Data, published as part of Share of population living in urban areas. Statizoid updates them automatically from the source API.
Download this data
CSV · JSON — 15 observations, free to reuse under CC BY 4.0 (Our World in Data).
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.