Rural population in Greenland
Greenland: Rural population was 11.4% in 2025. ▼ Falling
Rural population in Greenland, 1960–2025
Source: World Urbanization Prospects, United Nations (UN). Measured in % of total population.
Analysis
The most recent figure for rural population in Greenland is 11.4%, measured in 2025. That is the lowest value across all 66 years on record.
Compared with earlier readings it is down 2.2% on the previous year and down 18.1% over ten years.
Over the whole period, rural population in Greenland peaked at 41.7% in 1960 and was at its lowest, 11.4%, in 2025.
Greenland ranks 180th of 217 countries on this measure, in the bottom quarter.
The long-run direction has been consistently falling across the 66 years of available data.
Rural population in Greenland, year by year
| Year | % of total population | Change |
|---|---|---|
| 1960 | 41.7% | — |
| 1961 | 40.2% | -3.7% |
| 1962 | 38.0% | -5.4% |
| 1963 | 35.5% | -6.8% |
| 1964 | 32.9% | -7.1% |
| 1965 | 31.0% | -5.9% |
| 1966 | 29.8% | -4.0% |
| 1967 | 28.8% | -3.1% |
| 1968 | 28.0% | -2.7% |
| 1969 | 27.4% | -2.3% |
| 1970 | 26.9% | -1.8% |
| 1971 | 26.5% | -1.4% |
| 1972 | 26.3% | -1.0% |
| 1973 | 26.1% | -0.8% |
| 1974 | 25.9% | -0.7% |
| 1975 | 25.7% | -0.8% |
| 1976 | 25.4% | -1.0% |
| 1977 | 25.1% | -1.4% |
| 1978 | 24.8% | -1.0% |
| 1979 | 24.2% | -2.6% |
| 1980 | 23.6% | -2.3% |
| 1981 | 23.2% | -1.6% |
| 1982 | 22.9% | -1.5% |
| 1983 | 22.5% | -1.7% |
| 1984 | 22.0% | -2.2% |
| 1985 | 21.5% | -2.3% |
| 1986 | 20.9% | -2.7% |
| 1987 | 20.6% | -1.6% |
| 1988 | 20.5% | -0.6% |
| 1989 | 20.3% | -1.0% |
| 1990 | 20.0% | -1.2% |
| 1991 | 19.8% | -1.0% |
| 1992 | 19.7% | -0.6% |
| 1993 | 19.5% | -0.9% |
| 1994 | 19.2% | -1.7% |
| 1995 | 18.9% | -1.4% |
| 1996 | 18.9% | -0.1% |
| 1997 | 18.9% | -0.0% |
| 1998 | 18.9% | -0.3% |
| 1999 | 18.8% | -0.2% |
| 2000 | 18.5% | -1.5% |
| 2001 | 18.2% | -1.8% |
| 2002 | 17.9% | -1.6% |
| 2003 | 17.7% | -1.5% |
| 2004 | 17.4% | -1.2% |
| 2005 | 17.3% | -0.7% |
| 2006 | 17.2% | -0.9% |
| 2007 | 16.8% | -2.1% |
| 2008 | 16.4% | -2.5% |
| 2009 | 16.1% | -1.4% |
| 2010 | 15.7% | -2.6% |
| 2011 | 15.5% | -1.6% |
| 2012 | 15.1% | -2.3% |
| 2013 | 14.6% | -3.2% |
| 2014 | 14.3% | -2.1% |
| 2015 | 14.0% | -2.6% |
| 2016 | 13.8% | -1.3% |
| 2017 | 13.6% | -1.2% |
| 2018 | 13.3% | -2.5% |
| 2019 | 13.0% | -2.2% |
| 2020 | 12.7% | -2.0% |
| 2021 | 12.5% | -2.1% |
| 2022 | 12.2% | -2.1% |
| 2023 | 11.9% | -2.1% |
| 2024 | 11.7% | -2.1% |
| 2025 | 11.4% | -2.2% |
Averages by decade
| Decade | Average | Lowest | Highest | Years |
|---|---|---|---|---|
| 1960s | 33.3% | 27.4% | 41.7% | 10 |
| 1970s | 25.7% | 24.2% | 26.9% | 10 |
| 1980s | 21.8% | 20.3% | 23.6% | 10 |
| 1990s | 19.3% | 18.8% | 20.0% | 10 |
| 2000s | 17.4% | 16.1% | 18.5% | 10 |
| 2010s | 14.3% | 13.0% | 15.7% | 10 |
| 2020s | 12.1% | 11.4% | 12.7% | 6 |
Countries ranked near Greenland
More agriculture & rural data for Greenland
- Agriculture, forestry, and fishing, value added (current US$), annual 9.03 % change on previous year (2023)
- Share of GDP from agriculture 16.6% (2023)
- Agriculture as a share of GDP vs. GDP per capita 16.6% (2023)
- Rural population, per capita 0.1143 units per person (2025)
- Agricultural raw materials exports 0.0% (2018)
- Agricultural raw materials imports 0.5% (2018)
- Rural population growth -2.2% (2025)
- Rural population 6,494 (2025)
- Agriculture, forestry, and fishing, value added 550.81 million current US$ (2023)
- Agriculture, forestry, and fishing, value added (current US$), per 0.1656 current US$ per US$ of GDP (2023)
Frequently asked questions
- What is rural population in Greenland?
- Rural population in Greenland was 11.4% in 2025, according to World Urbanization Prospects, United Nations (UN).
- What is the highest rural population recorded in Greenland?
- The highest recorded value was 41.7% in 1960.
- What is the lowest rural population recorded in Greenland?
- The lowest recorded value was 11.4% in 2025.
- How does Greenland rank for rural population?
- Greenland ranks 180th out of 217 countries with data for 2025.
- Is rural population rising or falling in Greenland?
- Over the last ten years it is down 18.1%. The long-run trend across the full record is falling.
- Where does this Greenland data come from?
- The figures come from World Urbanization Prospects, United Nations (UN), published as part of Rural population (% of total population). Statizoid updates them automatically from the source API.
Download this data
CSV · JSON — 66 observations, free to reuse under CC BY 4.0 (World Bank Open Data).
About this data
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.