Rural population in New Caledonia
New Caledonia: Rural population was 31.8% in 2025. ▼ Falling
Rural population in New Caledonia, 1960–2025
Source: World Urbanization Prospects, United Nations (UN). Measured in % of total population.
Analysis
In 2025, rural population in New Caledonia stood at 31.8%. That is the lowest value across all 66 years on record.
Compared with earlier readings it is down 0.7% on the previous year and down 4.1% over ten years.
Over the whole period, rural population in New Caledonia peaked at 63.4% in 1960 and was at its lowest, 31.8%, in 2025.
New Caledonia ranks 122nd of 218 countries on this measure, in the middle of the range.
The long-run direction has been consistently falling across the 66 years of available data.
Rural population in New Caledonia, year by year
| Year | % of total population | Change |
|---|---|---|
| 1960 | 63.4% | — |
| 1961 | 62.1% | -2.1% |
| 1962 | 60.7% | -2.2% |
| 1963 | 59.3% | -2.3% |
| 1964 | 57.7% | -2.7% |
| 1965 | 55.9% | -3.2% |
| 1966 | 54.0% | -3.4% |
| 1967 | 52.2% | -3.3% |
| 1968 | 50.7% | -3.0% |
| 1969 | 49.5% | -2.4% |
| 1970 | 48.5% | -2.0% |
| 1971 | 47.5% | -1.9% |
| 1972 | 46.7% | -1.8% |
| 1973 | 46.0% | -1.6% |
| 1974 | 45.3% | -1.5% |
| 1975 | 44.7% | -1.4% |
| 1976 | 44.1% | -1.2% |
| 1977 | 43.6% | -1.1% |
| 1978 | 43.1% | -1.1% |
| 1979 | 42.7% | -1.0% |
| 1980 | 42.3% | -0.9% |
| 1981 | 41.9% | -0.8% |
| 1982 | 41.6% | -0.7% |
| 1983 | 41.4% | -0.6% |
| 1984 | 41.2% | -0.5% |
| 1985 | 41.1% | -0.4% |
| 1986 | 40.9% | -0.3% |
| 1987 | 40.8% | -0.3% |
| 1988 | 40.7% | -0.3% |
| 1989 | 40.5% | -0.3% |
| 1990 | 40.4% | -0.3% |
| 1991 | 40.3% | -0.3% |
| 1992 | 40.2% | -0.3% |
| 1993 | 40.0% | -0.3% |
| 1994 | 39.9% | -0.3% |
| 1995 | 39.7% | -0.4% |
| 1996 | 39.6% | -0.5% |
| 1997 | 39.3% | -0.6% |
| 1998 | 39.1% | -0.7% |
| 1999 | 38.7% | -0.8% |
| 2000 | 38.4% | -0.9% |
| 2001 | 38.0% | -1.0% |
| 2002 | 37.6% | -1.1% |
| 2003 | 37.1% | -1.2% |
| 2004 | 36.7% | -1.2% |
| 2005 | 36.1% | -1.7% |
| 2006 | 35.2% | -2.3% |
| 2007 | 34.4% | -2.5% |
| 2008 | 33.7% | -2.1% |
| 2009 | 33.3% | -1.0% |
| 2010 | 33.3% | -0.1% |
| 2011 | 33.3% | -0.1% |
| 2012 | 33.3% | -0.0% |
| 2013 | 33.2% | -0.1% |
| 2014 | 33.2% | -0.1% |
| 2015 | 33.2% | -0.1% |
| 2016 | 33.1% | -0.2% |
| 2017 | 33.0% | -0.2% |
| 2018 | 32.9% | -0.3% |
| 2019 | 32.8% | -0.3% |
| 2020 | 32.7% | -0.4% |
| 2021 | 32.6% | -0.4% |
| 2022 | 32.4% | -0.5% |
| 2023 | 32.2% | -0.6% |
| 2024 | 32.0% | -0.6% |
| 2025 | 31.8% | -0.7% |
Averages by decade
| Decade | Average | Lowest | Highest | Years |
|---|---|---|---|---|
| 1960s | 56.5% | 49.5% | 63.4% | 10 |
| 1970s | 45.2% | 42.7% | 48.5% | 10 |
| 1980s | 41.3% | 40.5% | 42.3% | 10 |
| 1990s | 39.7% | 38.7% | 40.4% | 10 |
| 2000s | 36.1% | 33.3% | 38.4% | 10 |
| 2010s | 33.1% | 32.8% | 33.3% | 10 |
| 2020s | 32.3% | 31.8% | 32.7% | 6 |
Countries ranked near New Caledonia
More agriculture & rural data for New Caledonia
- Rural population, per unit of GDP 0 units per US$ of GDP (2024)
- Rural population, annual growth rate 0.2271 % change on previous year (2025)
- Agriculture, forestry, and fishing, value added (current US$), per 596.77 current US$ per person (2019)
- Agriculture, forestry, and fishing, value added (current US$), per 0.0179 current US$ per US$ of GDP (2019)
- Agriculture, forestry, and fishing, value added (current US$), annual 9.8 % change on previous year (2017)
- Rural population, per capita 0.3183 units per person (2025)
- Agriculture, forestry, and fishing, value added 1.8% (2019)
- Agriculture as a share of GDP vs. GDP per capita 1.8% (2019)
- Agriculture, forestry, and fishing, value added 169.25 million current US$ (2019)
- Share of GDP from agriculture 1.8% (2019)
Frequently asked questions
- What is rural population in New Caledonia?
- Rural population in New Caledonia was 31.8% in 2025, according to World Urbanization Prospects, United Nations (UN).
- What is the highest rural population recorded in New Caledonia?
- The highest recorded value was 63.4% in 1960.
- What is the lowest rural population recorded in New Caledonia?
- The lowest recorded value was 31.8% in 2025.
- How does New Caledonia rank for rural population?
- New Caledonia ranks 122nd out of 218 countries with data for 2025.
- Is rural population rising or falling in New Caledonia?
- Over the last ten years it is down 4.1%. The long-run trend across the full record is falling.
- Where does this New Caledonia 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.