Rural population in New Zealand
New Zealand: Rural population was 852,066 in 2025. ▲ Rising
Rural population in New Zealand, 1960–2025
Source: World Urbanization Prospects, United Nations (UN).
Analysis
The most recent figure for rural population in New Zealand is 852,066, measured in 2025.
Compared with earlier readings it is up 0.3% on the previous year and up 24.5% over ten years.
Over the whole period, rural population in New Zealand peaked at 892,376 in 1960 and was at its lowest, 506,660, in 1990.
New Zealand ranks 137th of 218 countries on this measure, in the middle of the range.
The long-run direction has been consistently rising across the 66 years of available data.
Rural population in New Zealand, year by year
| Year | Value | Change |
|---|---|---|
| 1960 | 892,376 | — |
| 1961 | 874,225 | -2.0% |
| 1962 | 872,215 | -0.2% |
| 1963 | 869,174 | -0.3% |
| 1964 | 866,822 | -0.3% |
| 1965 | 855,826 | -1.3% |
| 1966 | 834,005 | -2.5% |
| 1967 | 781,790 | -6.3% |
| 1968 | 697,926 | -10.7% |
| 1969 | 612,437 | -12.2% |
| 1970 | 549,612 | -10.3% |
| 1971 | 527,215 | -4.1% |
| 1972 | 524,691 | -0.5% |
| 1973 | 525,246 | +0.1% |
| 1974 | 528,660 | +0.6% |
| 1975 | 532,811 | +0.8% |
| 1976 | 532,049 | -0.1% |
| 1977 | 528,799 | -0.6% |
| 1978 | 524,783 | -0.8% |
| 1979 | 519,121 | -1.1% |
| 1980 | 516,586 | -0.5% |
| 1981 | 515,741 | -0.2% |
| 1982 | 518,567 | +0.5% |
| 1983 | 523,762 | +1.0% |
| 1984 | 526,376 | +0.5% |
| 1985 | 527,234 | +0.2% |
| 1986 | 523,578 | -0.7% |
| 1987 | 522,160 | -0.3% |
| 1988 | 515,624 | -1.3% |
| 1989 | 509,599 | -1.2% |
| 1990 | 506,660 | -0.6% |
| 1991 | 526,002 | +3.8% |
| 1992 | 526,906 | +0.2% |
| 1993 | 528,746 | +0.3% |
| 1994 | 532,063 | +0.6% |
| 1995 | 536,582 | +0.8% |
| 1996 | 542,228 | +1.1% |
| 1997 | 546,792 | +0.8% |
| 1998 | 549,339 | +0.5% |
| 1999 | 550,126 | +0.1% |
| 2000 | 551,421 | +0.2% |
| 2001 | 552,796 | +0.2% |
| 2002 | 560,444 | +1.4% |
| 2003 | 569,528 | +1.6% |
| 2004 | 576,265 | +1.2% |
| 2005 | 581,643 | +0.9% |
| 2006 | 588,535 | +1.2% |
| 2007 | 594,323 | +1.0% |
| 2008 | 600,015 | +1.0% |
| 2009 | 607,018 | +1.2% |
| 2010 | 615,128 | +1.3% |
| 2011 | 621,506 | +1.0% |
| 2012 | 626,933 | +0.9% |
| 2013 | 634,864 | +1.3% |
| 2014 | 654,546 | +3.1% |
| 2015 | 684,409 | +4.6% |
| 2016 | 721,664 | +5.4% |
| 2017 | 761,988 | +5.6% |
| 2018 | 793,810 | +4.2% |
| 2019 | 804,942 | +1.4% |
| 2020 | 821,024 | +2.0% |
| 2021 | 822,183 | +0.1% |
| 2022 | 820,454 | -0.2% |
| 2023 | 837,725 | +2.1% |
| 2024 | 849,729 | +1.4% |
| 2025 | 852,066 | +0.3% |
New Zealand compared with similar countries
- New Zealand's 852,066 is above the median for high income countries, which is 456,529, 1.9× the median. (85 countries reporting)
- New Zealand's 852,066 is above the median for East Asia & Pacific, which is 377,513, 2.3× the median. (37 countries reporting)
Averages by decade
| Decade | Average | Lowest | Highest | Years |
|---|---|---|---|---|
| 1960s | 815,680 | 612,437 | 892,376 | 10 |
| 1970s | 529,299 | 519,121 | 549,612 | 10 |
| 1980s | 519,923 | 509,599 | 527,234 | 10 |
| 1990s | 534,544 | 506,660 | 550,126 | 10 |
| 2000s | 578,199 | 551,421 | 607,018 | 10 |
| 2010s | 691,979 | 615,128 | 804,942 | 10 |
| 2020s | 833,864 | 820,454 | 852,066 | 6 |
Countries ranked near New Zealand
More agriculture & rural data for New Zealand
- Agriculture, forestry, and fishing, value added (current US$), annual -10.07 % change on previous year (2023)
- Agriculture, forestry, and fishing, value added (current US$), per 0.0401 current US$ per US$ of GDP (2023)
- Agriculture, forestry, and fishing, value added (current US$), per 1,976 current US$ per person (2023)
- Rural population, annual growth rate 0.275 % change on previous year (2025)
- Rural population, per unit of GDP 0 units per US$ of GDP (2025)
- Rural population, per capita 0.16 units per person (2025)
- Share of GDP from agriculture 4.0% (2023)
- Agriculture as a share of GDP vs. GDP per capita 4.0% (2023)
- Agricultural raw materials exports 9.3% (2025)
- Agricultural raw materials imports 0.8% (2025)
Frequently asked questions
- What is rural population in New Zealand?
- Rural population in New Zealand was 852,066 in 2025, according to World Urbanization Prospects, United Nations (UN).
- What is the highest rural population recorded in New Zealand?
- The highest recorded value was 892,376 in 1960.
- What is the lowest rural population recorded in New Zealand?
- The lowest recorded value was 506,660 in 1990.
- How does New Zealand rank for rural population?
- New Zealand ranks 137th out of 218 countries with data for 2025.
- Is rural population rising or falling in New Zealand?
- Over the last ten years it is up 24.5%. The long-run trend across the full record is rising.
- Where does this New Zealand data come from?
- The figures come from World Urbanization Prospects, United Nations (UN), published as part of Rural 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. Aggregation of urban and rural population may not add up to total population because of different country coverages.