Do more people live in urban or rural areas? in New Zealand
New Zealand: Do more people live in urban or rural areas? was 84.0% in 2025. ▲ Rising
Do more people live in urban or rural areas? in New Zealand, 1200–2025
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 New Zealand stood at 84.0%.
That represents a change of up 0.1% on the previous year and down 1.4% over ten years.
Over the whole period, do more people live in urban or rural areas? in New Zealand peaked at 85.9% in 2006 and was at its lowest, 0.0%, in 1200.
New Zealand ranks 58th of 238 countries on this measure, in the top quarter.
The long-run direction has been consistently rising across the 106 years of available data.
Averages by decade
| Decade | Average | Lowest | Highest | Years |
|---|---|---|---|---|
| 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 | 0.3% | 0.3% | 0.3% | 1 |
| 1700s | 1.0% | 1.0% | 1.0% | 1 |
| 1710s | 3.2% | 3.2% | 3.2% | 1 |
| 1720s | 5.3% | 5.3% | 5.3% | 1 |
| 1730s | 7.5% | 7.5% | 7.5% | 1 |
| 1740s | 9.7% | 9.7% | 9.7% | 1 |
| 1750s | 11.8% | 11.8% | 11.8% | 1 |
| 1760s | 14.0% | 14.0% | 14.0% | 1 |
| 1770s | 16.2% | 16.2% | 16.2% | 1 |
| 1780s | 18.3% | 18.3% | 18.3% | 1 |
| 1790s | 20.5% | 20.5% | 20.5% | 1 |
| 1800s | 22.7% | 22.7% | 22.7% | 1 |
| 1810s | 24.8% | 24.8% | 24.8% | 1 |
| 1820s | 27.0% | 27.0% | 27.0% | 1 |
| 1830s | 29.2% | 29.2% | 29.2% | 1 |
| 1840s | 31.3% | 31.3% | 31.3% | 1 |
| 1850s | 33.5% | 33.5% | 33.5% | 1 |
| 1860s | 35.7% | 35.7% | 35.7% | 1 |
| 1870s | 37.8% | 37.8% | 37.8% | 1 |
| 1880s | 40.0% | 40.0% | 40.0% | 1 |
| 1890s | 44.6% | 44.6% | 44.6% | 1 |
| 1900s | 49.3% | 49.3% | 49.3% | 1 |
| 1910s | 53.9% | 53.9% | 53.9% | 1 |
| 1920s | 58.6% | 58.6% | 58.6% | 1 |
| 1930s | 63.2% | 63.2% | 63.2% | 1 |
| 1940s | 67.9% | 67.9% | 67.9% | 1 |
| 1950s | 56.0% | 55.1% | 60.3% | 10 |
| 1960s | 68.3% | 62.4% | 77.9% | 10 |
| 1970s | 82.4% | 80.4% | 83.3% | 10 |
| 1980s | 83.8% | 83.4% | 84.6% | 10 |
| 1990s | 85.3% | 84.8% | 85.7% | 10 |
| 2000s | 85.9% | 85.7% | 85.9% | 10 |
| 2010s | 85.0% | 83.8% | 85.9% | 10 |
| 2020s | 83.9% | 83.8% | 84.0% | 6 |
Countries ranked near New Zealand
- 55 Switzerland 85.7% compare
- 56 Peru 85.6% compare
- 57 Saudi Arabia 84.6% compare
- 59 Norway 83.6% compare
- 60 United Kingdom 83.3% compare
- 61 Canada 82.9% compare
More reference data data for New Zealand
- Spring temperature anomalies 0.2008 °C (2026)
- Summer temperature anomalies 1.76 °C (2026)
- Temperature anomalies by month 0.0464 °C (2026)
- Universal right to vote in practice 2 (2025)
- Autumn temperature anomalies 0.5251 °C (2025)
- Winter temperature anomalies 0.5536 °C (2025)
- Consumer price index 144.86 2010 = 100 (2025)
- Universal right to vote 2 (2025)
- Competitive elections 1 (2025)
- Men's universal right to vote 1 (2025)
Frequently asked questions
- What is do more people live in urban or rural areas? in New Zealand?
- Do more people live in urban or rural areas? in New Zealand was 84.0% 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 New Zealand?
- The highest recorded value was 85.9% in 2006.
- What is the lowest do more people live in urban or rural areas? recorded in New Zealand?
- The lowest recorded value was 0.0% in 1200.
- How does New Zealand rank for do more people live in urban or rural areas??
- New Zealand ranks 58th out of 238 countries with data for 2025.
- Is do more people live in urban or rural areas? rising or falling in New Zealand?
- Over the last ten years it is down 1.4%. The long-run trend across the full record is rising.
- Where does this New Zealand 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 — 106 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 modelled historical data.