Papua New Guinea vs Upper middle income: Rural population growth (annual %)
Rural population growth (annual %) over time
- Papua New Guinea
- Upper middle income
How they compare
Papua New Guinea currently reports 1.3% against -0.9% in Upper middle income, a difference of 2.2%.
That makes Papua New Guinea's figure about 1.4 times Upper middle income's.
The two have swapped places 4 times across 65 shared years of data; in 1961 it was Papua New Guinea ahead.
Papua New Guinea ranks 42nd and Upper middle income ranks 43rd of 210 countries.
Across the 7 decades both report, Papua New Guinea averaged higher in 6 and Upper middle income in 1.
Head to head by decade
| Decade | Papua New Guinea | Upper middle income | Difference | Ahead |
|---|---|---|---|---|
| 1960s | 1.6% | 2.0% | 0.4% | Upper middle income |
| 1970s | 1.8% | 1.6% | 0.2% | Papua New Guinea |
| 1980s | 1.9% | 0.7% | 1.2% | Papua New Guinea |
| 1990s | 3.7% | 0.1% | 3.6% | Papua New Guinea |
| 2000s | 3.3% | -1.1% | 4.3% | Papua New Guinea |
| 2010s | 2.5% | -1.6% | 4.1% | Papua New Guinea |
| 2020s | 1.5% | -1.1% | 2.6% | Papua New Guinea |
Averages of every year both report within each decade.
Frequently asked questions
- Which has higher rural population growth, Papua New Guinea or Upper middle income?
- Papua New Guinea, at 1.3% against -0.9% in Upper middle income as of 2025.
- What is the difference in rural population growth between Papua New Guinea and Upper middle income?
- 2.2%, with Papua New Guinea ahead.
- How many years of comparable data are there for Papua New Guinea and Upper middle income?
- 65 years are reported by both, from 1961 to 2025.
- How do Papua New Guinea and Upper middle income rank globally for rural population growth?
- Papua New Guinea ranks 42nd and Upper middle income ranks 43rd of 210 countries.
- Where does this data come from?
- World Urbanization Prospects, United Nations (UN), published as Rural population growth (annual %). Statizoid refreshes it automatically from the source and publishes the full history for both places.
Individual pages
About this data
Annual rural population growth rate for year t is the exponential rate of growth of midyear rural population from year t-1 to t, expressed as a percentage. Rural population refers to people living in rural areas as defined by national statistical offices. It is calculated as the difference between total population and urban population.