Do more people live in urban or rural areas? in Greenland
Greenland: Do more people live in urban or rural areas? was 88.6% in 2025. ◆ Volatile
Latest (2025)
88.6%
Change on year
up 0.3%
World rank
46th
of 238 countries
All-time high
88.6%
in 2025
All-time low
0.0%
in 1000
Years of data
108
1000–2025
Do more people live in urban or rural areas? in Greenland, 1000–2025
Source: HYDE (2023); United Nations Department of Economic and Social Affairs, Population Division (2025) – with minor processing by Our World in Data. Measured in %.
Analysis
In 2025, do more people live in urban or rural areas? in Greenland stood at 88.6%. That is the highest value across all 108 years on record.
Compared with earlier readings it is up 0.3% on the previous year and up 2.9% over ten years.
Over the whole period, do more people live in urban or rural areas? in Greenland peaked at 88.6% in 2025 and was at its lowest, 0.0%, in 1000.
Greenland ranks 46th of 238 countries on this measure, in the top quarter.
The series is highly variable year to year, so single readings are best treated with caution.
Do more people live in urban or rural areas? in Greenland, year by year
| Year | % | Change |
|---|---|---|
| 1000 | 0.0% | — |
| 1100 | 0.0% | +200.0% |
| 1200 | 0.0% | +200.0% |
| 1300 | 0.0% | +200.0% |
| 1400 | 0.0% | +200.0% |
| 1500 | 0.1% | +200.0% |
| 1600 | 0.2% | +200.0% |
| 1700 | 0.5% | +200.0% |
| 1710 | 0.6% | +23.3% |
| 1720 | 0.7% | +20.0% |
| 1730 | 0.9% | +20.0% |
| 1740 | 1.1% | +20.0% |
| 1750 | 1.3% | +20.0% |
| 1760 | 1.5% | +20.0% |
| 1770 | 1.8% | +20.0% |
| 1780 | 2.2% | +20.0% |
| 1790 | 2.7% | +20.0% |
| 1800 | 3.2% | +20.0% |
| 1810 | 3.8% | +20.0% |
| 1820 | 4.6% | +20.0% |
| 1830 | 5.5% | +20.0% |
| 1840 | 6.6% | +20.0% |
| 1850 | 7.9% | +20.0% |
| 1860 | 9.5% | +20.0% |
| 1870 | 11.4% | +20.0% |
| 1880 | 13.7% | +20.0% |
| 1890 | 16.4% | +20.0% |
| 1900 | 19.7% | +20.0% |
| 1910 | 23.6% | +20.0% |
| 1920 | 28.4% | +20.0% |
| 1930 | 34.0% | +20.0% |
| 1940 | 40.8% | +20.0% |
| 1950 | 49.0% | +20.0% |
| 1951 | 49.2% | +0.5% |
| 1952 | 49.7% | +0.9% |
| 1953 | 50.3% | +1.3% |
| 1954 | 51.1% | +1.6% |
| 1955 | 52.1% | +1.9% |
| 1956 | 53.2% | +2.1% |
| 1957 | 54.3% | +2.2% |
| 1958 | 55.6% | +2.3% |
| 1959 | 56.9% | +2.4% |
| 1960 | 58.3% | +2.3% |
| 1961 | 59.8% | +2.6% |
| 1962 | 62.0% | +3.7% |
| 1963 | 64.5% | +4.2% |
| 1964 | 67.1% | +3.9% |
| 1965 | 69.0% | +2.9% |
| 1966 | 70.2% | +1.8% |
| 1967 | 71.2% | +1.3% |
| 1968 | 72.0% | +1.1% |
| 1969 | 72.6% | +0.9% |
| 1970 | 73.1% | +0.7% |
| 1971 | 73.5% | +0.5% |
| 1972 | 73.7% | +0.4% |
| 1973 | 73.9% | +0.3% |
| 1974 | 74.1% | +0.3% |
| 1975 | 74.3% | +0.3% |
| 1976 | 74.6% | +0.3% |
| 1977 | 74.9% | +0.5% |
| 1978 | 75.2% | +0.3% |
| 1979 | 75.8% | +0.9% |
| 1980 | 76.4% | +0.7% |
| 1981 | 76.8% | +0.5% |
| 1982 | 77.1% | +0.5% |
| 1983 | 77.5% | +0.5% |
| 1984 | 78.0% | +0.6% |
| 1985 | 78.5% | +0.7% |
| 1986 | 79.1% | +0.7% |
| 1987 | 79.4% | +0.4% |
| 1988 | 79.5% | +0.2% |
| 1989 | 79.7% | +0.2% |
| 1990 | 80.0% | +0.3% |
| 1991 | 80.2% | +0.3% |
| 1992 | 80.3% | +0.2% |
| 1993 | 80.5% | +0.2% |
| 1994 | 80.8% | +0.4% |
| 1995 | 81.1% | +0.3% |
| 1996 | 81.1% | +0.0% |
| 1997 | 81.1% | +0.0% |
| 1998 | 81.1% | +0.1% |
| 1999 | 81.2% | +0.1% |
| 2000 | 81.5% | +0.4% |
| 2001 | 81.8% | +0.4% |
| 2002 | 82.1% | +0.3% |
| 2003 | 82.3% | +0.3% |
| 2004 | 82.6% | +0.3% |
| 2005 | 82.7% | +0.2% |
| 2006 | 82.8% | +0.2% |
| 2007 | 83.2% | +0.4% |
| 2008 | 83.6% | +0.5% |
| 2009 | 83.9% | +0.3% |
| 2010 | 84.3% | +0.5% |
| 2011 | 84.5% | +0.3% |
| 2012 | 84.9% | +0.4% |
| 2013 | 85.4% | +0.6% |
| 2014 | 85.7% | +0.4% |
| 2015 | 86.0% | +0.4% |
| 2016 | 86.2% | +0.2% |
| 2017 | 86.4% | +0.2% |
| 2018 | 86.7% | +0.4% |
| 2019 | 87.0% | +0.3% |
| 2020 | 87.3% | +0.3% |
| 2021 | 87.5% | +0.3% |
| 2022 | 87.8% | +0.3% |
| 2023 | 88.1% | +0.3% |
| 2024 | 88.3% | +0.3% |
| 2025 | 88.6% | +0.3% |
Greenland compared with similar countries
- Greenland's 88.6% is above the median for high income countries, which is 81.3%, 1.1× the median. (85 countries reporting)
- Greenland's 88.6% is above the median for Europe & Central Asia, which is 69.6%, 1.3× the median. (56 countries reporting)
Biggest year-on-year movements
Years where Do more people live in urban or rural areas? in Greenland changed far more than this series normally does. A large move can be a real event or a change in how the figure was measured — the source note below says who published it.
| Year | Change | From | To |
|---|---|---|---|
| 1100 | +200.0% | 0.0% | 0.0% |
| 1200 | +200.0% | 0.0% | 0.0% |
| 1300 | +200.0% | 0.0% | 0.0% |
| 1400 | +200.0% | 0.0% | 0.0% |
| 1500 | +200.0% | 0.0% | 0.1% |
| 1600 | +200.0% | 0.1% | 0.2% |
Averages by decade
| Decade | Average | Lowest | Highest | Years |
|---|---|---|---|---|
| 1000s | 0.0% | 0.0% | 0.0% | 1 |
| 1100s | 0.0% | 0.0% | 0.0% | 1 |
| 1200s | 0.0% | 0.0% | 0.0% | 1 |
| 1300s | 0.0% | 0.0% | 0.0% | 1 |
| 1400s | 0.0% | 0.0% | 0.0% | 1 |
| 1500s | 0.1% | 0.1% | 0.1% | 1 |
| 1600s | 0.2% | 0.2% | 0.2% | 1 |
| 1700s | 0.5% | 0.5% | 0.5% | 1 |
| 1710s | 0.6% | 0.6% | 0.6% | 1 |
| 1720s | 0.7% | 0.7% | 0.7% | 1 |
| 1730s | 0.9% | 0.9% | 0.9% | 1 |
| 1740s | 1.1% | 1.1% | 1.1% | 1 |
| 1750s | 1.3% | 1.3% | 1.3% | 1 |
| 1760s | 1.5% | 1.5% | 1.5% | 1 |
| 1770s | 1.8% | 1.8% | 1.8% | 1 |
| 1780s | 2.2% | 2.2% | 2.2% | 1 |
| 1790s | 2.7% | 2.7% | 2.7% | 1 |
| 1800s | 3.2% | 3.2% | 3.2% | 1 |
| 1810s | 3.8% | 3.8% | 3.8% | 1 |
| 1820s | 4.6% | 4.6% | 4.6% | 1 |
| 1830s | 5.5% | 5.5% | 5.5% | 1 |
| 1840s | 6.6% | 6.6% | 6.6% | 1 |
| 1850s | 7.9% | 7.9% | 7.9% | 1 |
| 1860s | 9.5% | 9.5% | 9.5% | 1 |
| 1870s | 11.4% | 11.4% | 11.4% | 1 |
| 1880s | 13.7% | 13.7% | 13.7% | 1 |
| 1890s | 16.4% | 16.4% | 16.4% | 1 |
| 1900s | 19.7% | 19.7% | 19.7% | 1 |
| 1910s | 23.6% | 23.6% | 23.6% | 1 |
| 1920s | 28.4% | 28.4% | 28.4% | 1 |
| 1930s | 34.0% | 34.0% | 34.0% | 1 |
| 1940s | 40.8% | 40.8% | 40.8% | 1 |
| 1950s | 52.2% | 49.0% | 56.9% | 10 |
| 1960s | 66.7% | 58.3% | 72.6% | 10 |
| 1970s | 74.3% | 73.1% | 75.8% | 10 |
| 1980s | 78.2% | 76.4% | 79.7% | 10 |
| 1990s | 80.7% | 80.0% | 81.2% | 10 |
| 2000s | 82.6% | 81.5% | 83.9% | 10 |
| 2010s | 85.7% | 84.3% | 87.0% | 10 |
| 2020s | 87.9% | 87.3% | 88.6% | 6 |
Countries ranked near Greenland
More reference data data for Greenland
- Emission Totals - Emissions (CO2eq) (AR5) - IPCC Agriculture 0.2128 (2019)
- Emission Totals - Emissions (N2O) - IPCC Agriculture 0.0004 (2019)
- Emission Totals - Emissions (CO2eq) from N2O (AR5) - IPCC Agriculture 0.0986 (2019)
- Emission Totals - Emissions (CO2eq) from CH4 (AR5) - IPCC Agriculture 0.1141 (2019)
- Emission Totals - Emissions (CH4) - IPCC Agriculture 0.0041 (2019)
- Official exchange rate, LCU per USD, period average 6.82 (2017)
- Annual precipitation, annual growth rate 7.26 % change on previous year (2025)
- Seafood production: wild fish catch vs. aquaculture, per unit of GDP 0 metric tons per US$ of GDP (2023)
- Seafood production: wild fish catch vs. aquaculture, per capita 0.0005 metric tons per person (2024)
- Seafood production: wild fish catch vs. aquaculture 30 metric tons (2024)
Frequently asked questions
- What is do more people live in urban or rural areas? in Greenland?
- Do more people live in urban or rural areas? in Greenland was 88.6% in 2025, according to HYDE (2023); United Nations Department of Economic and Social Affairs, Population Division (2025) – with minor processing by Our World in Data.
- What is the highest do more people live in urban or rural areas? recorded in Greenland?
- The highest recorded value was 88.6% in 2025.
- What is the lowest do more people live in urban or rural areas? recorded in Greenland?
- The lowest recorded value was 0.0% in 1000.
- How does Greenland rank for do more people live in urban or rural areas??
- Greenland ranks 46th out of 238 countries with data for 2025.
- Is do more people live in urban or rural areas? rising or falling in Greenland?
- Over the last ten years it is up 2.9%. The long-run trend across the full record is volatile.
- Where does this Greenland data come from?
- The figures 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 part of Do more people live in urban or rural areas?. Statizoid updates them automatically from the source API.
Download this data
CSV · JSON — 108 observations, free to reuse under CC BY 4.0 (Our World in Data).
About this data
Share of the population living in urban areas, combining UN estimates with modeled historical data.