Rural population in Tonga
Tonga: Rural population was 81,794 in 2025. ▲ Rising
Rural population in Tonga, 1960–2025
Source: World Urbanization Prospects, United Nations (UN).
Analysis
Tonga recorded 81,794 for rural population in 2025.
The figure is down 0.4% on the previous year and up 0.4% over ten years.
Over the whole period, rural population in Tonga peaked at 83,065 in 2021 and was at its lowest, 54,087, in 1960.
That places Tonga 176th out of 218 countries with data for 2025, putting it in the bottom quarter.
The long-run direction has been consistently rising across the 66 years of available data.
Rural population in Tonga, year by year
| Year | Value | Change |
|---|---|---|
| 1960 | 54,087 | — |
| 1961 | 55,312 | +2.3% |
| 1962 | 56,583 | +2.3% |
| 1963 | 57,911 | +2.3% |
| 1964 | 59,313 | +2.4% |
| 1965 | 60,798 | +2.5% |
| 1966 | 62,367 | +2.6% |
| 1967 | 63,770 | +2.2% |
| 1968 | 64,971 | +1.9% |
| 1969 | 66,171 | +1.8% |
| 1970 | 67,363 | +1.8% |
| 1971 | 68,541 | +1.7% |
| 1972 | 69,692 | +1.7% |
| 1973 | 70,833 | +1.6% |
| 1974 | 72,313 | +2.1% |
| 1975 | 74,152 | +2.5% |
| 1976 | 75,963 | +2.4% |
| 1977 | 77,037 | +1.4% |
| 1978 | 77,354 | +0.4% |
| 1979 | 77,538 | +0.2% |
| 1980 | 77,612 | +0.1% |
| 1981 | 77,600 | -0.0% |
| 1982 | 77,520 | -0.1% |
| 1983 | 77,385 | -0.2% |
| 1984 | 77,221 | -0.2% |
| 1985 | 77,053 | -0.2% |
| 1986 | 76,905 | -0.2% |
| 1987 | 77,023 | +0.2% |
| 1988 | 77,317 | +0.4% |
| 1989 | 77,490 | +0.2% |
| 1990 | 77,561 | +0.1% |
| 1991 | 77,561 | +0.0% |
| 1992 | 77,520 | -0.1% |
| 1993 | 77,457 | -0.1% |
| 1994 | 77,397 | -0.1% |
| 1995 | 77,353 | -0.1% |
| 1996 | 77,326 | -0.0% |
| 1997 | 77,587 | +0.3% |
| 1998 | 78,101 | +0.7% |
| 1999 | 78,577 | +0.6% |
| 2000 | 79,035 | +0.6% |
| 2001 | 79,481 | +0.6% |
| 2002 | 79,909 | +0.5% |
| 2003 | 80,339 | +0.5% |
| 2004 | 80,779 | +0.5% |
| 2005 | 81,211 | +0.5% |
| 2006 | 81,623 | +0.5% |
| 2007 | 81,940 | +0.4% |
| 2008 | 82,096 | +0.2% |
| 2009 | 82,159 | +0.1% |
| 2010 | 82,242 | +0.1% |
| 2011 | 82,333 | +0.1% |
| 2012 | 82,251 | -0.1% |
| 2013 | 82,003 | -0.3% |
| 2014 | 81,723 | -0.3% |
| 2015 | 81,435 | -0.4% |
| 2016 | 81,119 | -0.4% |
| 2017 | 81,155 | +0.0% |
| 2018 | 81,601 | +0.5% |
| 2019 | 82,074 | +0.6% |
| 2020 | 82,580 | +0.6% |
| 2021 | 83,065 | +0.6% |
| 2022 | 82,829 | -0.3% |
| 2023 | 82,477 | -0.4% |
| 2024 | 82,141 | -0.4% |
| 2025 | 81,794 | -0.4% |
Tonga compared with similar countries
- Tonga's 81,794 is below the median for upper middle income countries, which is 1.53 million, 5% of the median. (59 countries reporting)
- Tonga's 81,794 is below the median for East Asia & Pacific, which is 377,513, 22% of the median. (37 countries reporting)
Averages by decade
| Decade | Average | Lowest | Highest | Years |
|---|---|---|---|---|
| 1960s | 60,128 | 54,087 | 66,171 | 10 |
| 1970s | 73,079 | 67,363 | 77,538 | 10 |
| 1980s | 77,313 | 76,905 | 77,612 | 10 |
| 1990s | 77,644 | 77,326 | 78,577 | 10 |
| 2000s | 80,857 | 79,035 | 82,159 | 10 |
| 2010s | 81,794 | 81,119 | 82,333 | 10 |
| 2020s | 82,481 | 81,794 | 83,065 | 6 |
Countries ranked near Tonga
- 173 French Polynesia 108,019 compare
- 174 New Caledonia 93,999 compare
- 175 Micronesia (country) 88,126 compare
- 177 Bahamas 75,243 compare
- 178 Grenada 74,287 compare
- 179 Sao Tome and Principe 74,065 compare
More agriculture & rural data for Tonga
- Agriculture, forestry, and fishing, value added (current US$), annual 7.27 % change on previous year (2024)
- Agriculture, forestry, and fishing, value added (current US$), per 0.1857 current US$ per US$ of GDP (2024)
- Agriculture, forestry, and fishing, value added (current US$), per 1,154 current US$ per person (2024)
- Rural population, annual growth rate -0.4224 % change on previous year (2025)
- Rural population, per unit of GDP 0.0001 units per US$ of GDP (2025)
- Rural population, per capita 0.7884 units per person (2025)
- Share of GDP from agriculture 18.6% (2024)
- Agriculture as a share of GDP vs. GDP per capita 18.6% (2024)
- Agricultural raw materials exports 0.6% (2023)
- Agricultural raw materials imports 1.7% (2023)
Frequently asked questions
- What is rural population in Tonga?
- Rural population in Tonga was 81,794 in 2025, according to World Urbanization Prospects, United Nations (UN).
- What is the highest rural population recorded in Tonga?
- The highest recorded value was 83,065 in 2021.
- What is the lowest rural population recorded in Tonga?
- The lowest recorded value was 54,087 in 1960.
- How does Tonga rank for rural population?
- Tonga ranks 176th out of 218 countries with data for 2025.
- Is rural population rising or falling in Tonga?
- Over the last ten years it is up 0.4%. The long-run trend across the full record is rising.
- Where does this Tonga 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.