Brazil vs South Africa: Rural population
Brazil
25.16 million
in 2025
South Africa
23.43 million
in 2025
Brazil rank
23rd
South Africa rank
24th
Rural population over time
- Brazil
- South Africa
How they compare
Brazil currently reports 25.16 million against 23.43 million in South Africa, a difference of 1.73 million.
That makes Brazil's figure about 1.1 times South Africa's.
Across all 66 years both countries report, Brazil has been ahead every year.
Brazil ranks 23rd and South Africa ranks 24th of 217 countries.
Brazil has averaged higher in every one of the 7 decades both report.
Head to head by decade
| Decade | Brazil | South Africa | Difference | Ahead |
|---|---|---|---|---|
| 1960s | 42.56 million | 9.96 million | 32.60 million | Brazil |
| 1970s | 42.73 million | 13.18 million | 29.54 million | Brazil |
| 1980s | 38.59 million | 17.42 million | 21.17 million | Brazil |
| 1990s | 35.88 million | 20.51 million | 15.37 million | Brazil |
| 2000s | 31.60 million | 19.99 million | 11.61 million | Brazil |
| 2010s | 28.99 million | 20.62 million | 8.37 million | Brazil |
| 2020s | 26.31 million | 22.85 million | 3.46 million | Brazil |
Averages of every year both report within each decade.
Frequently asked questions
- Which has higher rural population, Brazil or South Africa?
- Brazil, at 25.16 million against 23.43 million in South Africa as of 2025.
- What is the difference in rural population between Brazil and South Africa?
- 1.73 million, with Brazil ahead.
- How many years of comparable data are there for Brazil and South Africa?
- 66 years are reported by both, from 1960 to 2025.
- How do Brazil and South Africa rank globally for rural population?
- Brazil ranks 23rd and South Africa ranks 24th of 217 countries.
- Where does this data come from?
- World Urbanization Prospects, United Nations (UN), published as Rural population. Statizoid refreshes it automatically from the source and publishes the full history for both places.
Individual pages
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.