Share of population living in urban areas in Tonga
Tonga: Share of population living in urban areas was 60.6% in 2020. ▲ Rising
Share of population living in urban areas in Tonga, 1950–2020
Source: European Commission, Joint Research Centre (JRC) (2025) – with major processing by Our World in Data. Measured in %.
Analysis
The most recent figure for share of population living in urban areas in Tonga is 60.6%, measured in 2020.
Compared with earlier readings it is up 4.1% over ten years.
Over the whole period, share of population living in urban areas in Tonga peaked at 61.7% in 1975 and was at its lowest, 50.9%, in 1950.
Tonga ranks 177th 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 Tonga, year by year
| Year | % | Change |
|---|---|---|
| 1950 | 50.9% | — |
| 1955 | 53.4% | +5.0% |
| 1960 | 56.1% | +5.0% |
| 1965 | 58.5% | +4.3% |
| 1970 | 60.3% | +3.1% |
| 1975 | 61.7% | +2.3% |
| 1980 | 56.6% | -8.2% |
| 1985 | 57.0% | +0.7% |
| 1990 | 57.6% | +0.9% |
| 1995 | 58.7% | +2.0% |
| 2000 | 60.2% | +2.4% |
| 2005 | 56.9% | -5.5% |
| 2010 | 58.2% | +2.3% |
| 2015 | 59.3% | +2.0% |
| 2020 | 60.6% | +2.1% |
Tonga compared with similar countries
- Tonga's 60.6% is below the median for upper middle income countries, which is 74.7%, 81% of the median. (58 countries reporting)
- Tonga's 60.6% is below the median for East Asia & Pacific, which is 70.5%, 86% of the median. (37 countries reporting)
Averages by decade
| Decade | Average | Lowest | Highest | Years |
|---|---|---|---|---|
| 1950s | 52.2% | 50.9% | 53.4% | 2 |
| 1960s | 57.3% | 56.1% | 58.5% | 2 |
| 1970s | 61.0% | 60.3% | 61.7% | 2 |
| 1980s | 56.8% | 56.6% | 57.0% | 2 |
| 1990s | 58.2% | 57.6% | 58.7% | 2 |
| 2000s | 58.5% | 56.9% | 60.2% | 2 |
| 2010s | 58.8% | 58.2% | 59.3% | 2 |
| 2020s | 60.6% | 60.6% | 60.6% | 1 |
Countries ranked near Tonga
More reference data data for Tonga
- Emission Totals - Indirect emissions (N2O) - Manure applied to Soils 0.0105 (2050)
- Emission Totals - Indirect emissions (N2O) - Manure left on Pasture 0.0092 (2050)
- Emission Totals - Indirect emissions (N2O) - IPCC Agriculture 0.0197 (2050)
- Emission Totals - Indirect emissions (N2O) - Agricultural Soils 0.0197 (2050)
- Emission Totals - Emissions (N2O) - Manure applied to Soils 0.0353 (2050)
- Emission Totals - Emissions (N2O) - Manure Management 0.0269 (2050)
- Emission Totals - Emissions (N2O) - Manure left on Pasture 0.0446 (2050)
- Emission Totals - Emissions (N2O) - IPCC Agriculture 0.1068 (2050)
- Emission Totals - Emissions (N2O) - Agricultural Soils 0.0799 (2050)
- Emission Totals - Emissions (CO2eq) from N2O (AR5) - Manure applied 9.35 (2050)
Frequently asked questions
- What is share of population living in urban areas in Tonga?
- Share of population living in urban areas in Tonga was 60.6% 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 Tonga?
- The highest recorded value was 61.7% in 1975.
- What is the lowest share of population living in urban areas recorded in Tonga?
- The lowest recorded value was 50.9% in 1950.
- How does Tonga rank for share of population living in urban areas?
- Tonga ranks 177th out of 236 countries with data for 2020.
- Is share of population living in urban areas rising or falling in Tonga?
- Over the last ten years it is up 4.1%. The long-run trend across the full record is rising.
- Where does this Tonga 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.