Rural population in Greenland
Greenland: Rural population was 6,494 in 2025. ▼ Falling
Rural population in Greenland, 1960–2025
Source: World Urbanization Prospects, United Nations (UN).
Analysis
In 2025, rural population in Greenland stood at 6,494. That is the lowest value across all 66 years on record.
That represents a change of down 2.2% on the previous year and down 17.1% over ten years.
Over the whole period, rural population in Greenland peaked at 13,569 in 1960 and was at its lowest, 6,494, in 2025.
That places Greenland 197th out of 215 countries with data for 2025, putting it in the bottom quarter.
The long-run direction has been consistently falling across the 66 years of available data.
Averages by decade
| Decade | Average | Lowest | Highest | Years |
|---|---|---|---|---|
| 1960s | 12,648 | 12,049 | 13,569 | 10 |
| 1970s | 12,523 | 11,987 | 12,809 | 10 |
| 1980s | 11,495 | 11,132 | 11,852 | 10 |
| 1990s | 10,738 | 10,566 | 11,135 | 10 |
| 2000s | 9,818 | 9,093 | 10,421 | 10 |
| 2010s | 8,055 | 7,297 | 8,888 | 10 |
| 2020s | 6,842 | 6,494 | 7,168 | 6 |
Countries ranked near Greenland
- 194 Andorra 9,161 compare
- 195 American Samoa 8,970 compare
- 196 Marshall Islands 7,581 compare
- 198 United States Virgin Islands 4,786 compare
- 199 Palau 3,659 compare
- 200 Northern Mariana Islands 3,406 compare
More agriculture & rural data for Greenland
- Agriculture, forestry, and fishing, value added 550.81 million current US$ (2023)
- Agriculture, forestry, and fishing, value added 16.6% (2023)
- Rural population growth -2.2% (2025)
- Rural population 11.4% (2025)
- Agricultural raw materials imports 0.5% (2018)
- Agricultural raw materials exports 0.0% (2018)
- Agricultural land 2,431 sq. km (2023)
- Agricultural land 0.6% (2023)
- Land area 410,450 sq. km (2023)
- Forest area 2.2 sq. km (2023)
Frequently asked questions
- What is rural population in Greenland?
- Rural population in Greenland was 6,494 in 2025, according to World Urbanization Prospects, United Nations (UN).
- What is the highest rural population recorded in Greenland?
- The highest recorded value was 13,569 in 1960.
- What is the lowest rural population recorded in Greenland?
- The lowest recorded value was 6,494 in 2025.
- How does Greenland rank for rural population?
- Greenland ranks 197th out of 215 countries with data for 2025.
- Is rural population rising or falling in Greenland?
- Over the last ten years it is down 17.1%. 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. 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.