Urban population in New Zealand
New Zealand: Urban population was 4.47 million in 2025. ▲ Rising
Urban population in New Zealand, 1960–2025
Source: World Urbanization Prospects, United Nations (UN).
Analysis
New Zealand recorded 4.47 million for urban population in 2025. That is the highest value across all 66 years on record.
Compared with earlier readings it is up 0.7% on the previous year and up 14.0% over ten years.
Over the whole period, urban population in New Zealand peaked at 4.47 million in 2025 and was at its lowest, 1.48 million, in 1960.
That places New Zealand 105th out of 215 countries with data for 2025, putting it in the middle of the range.
The long-run direction has been consistently rising across the 66 years of available data.
Averages by decade
| Decade | Average | Lowest | Highest | Years |
|---|---|---|---|---|
| 1960s | 1.78 million | 1.48 million | 2.16 million | 10 |
| 1970s | 2.48 million | 2.26 million | 2.60 million | 10 |
| 1980s | 2.70 million | 2.60 million | 2.79 million | 10 |
| 1990s | 3.10 million | 2.82 million | 3.28 million | 10 |
| 2000s | 3.51 million | 3.31 million | 3.70 million | 10 |
| 2010s | 3.92 million | 3.74 million | 4.17 million | 10 |
| 2020s | 4.34 million | 4.25 million | 4.47 million | 6 |
Countries ranked near New Zealand
More climate change data for New Zealand
- Population growth 0.7% (2025)
- Population, total 5.32 million (2025)
- Urban population growth 0.7% (2025)
- Urban population 84.0% (2025)
- Population in urban agglomerations of more than 1 million 32.1% (2025)
- Annual freshwater withdrawals, total 9.88 billion cubic meters (2022)
- Annual freshwater withdrawals, total 3.0% (2022)
- Terrestrial protected areas 33.4% (2025)
- Terrestrial and marine protected areas 30.6% (2025)
- Marine protected areas 30.4% (2025)
Frequently asked questions
- What is urban population in New Zealand?
- Urban population in New Zealand was 4.47 million in 2025, according to World Urbanization Prospects, United Nations (UN).
- What is the highest urban population recorded in New Zealand?
- The highest recorded value was 4.47 million in 2025.
- What is the lowest urban population recorded in New Zealand?
- The lowest recorded value was 1.48 million in 1960.
- How does New Zealand rank for urban population?
- New Zealand ranks 105th out of 215 countries with data for 2025.
- Is urban population rising or falling in New Zealand?
- Over the last ten years it is up 14.0%. 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 Urban 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
Urban population refers to people living in urban areas as defined by national statistical offices. It is calculated using World Bank population estimates and urban ratios from the United Nations World Urbanization Prospects. Aggregation of urban and rural population may not add up to total population because of different country coverages.