China vs Pakistan: Rural population

China
473.41 million
in 2025
Pakistan
154.34 million
in 2025
China rank
2nd
Pakistan rank
3rd

Rural population over time

  • China
  • Pakistan
0200.0M400.0M600.0M800.0M196019922025

How they compare

China currently reports 473.41 million against 154.34 million in Pakistan, a difference of 319.07 million.

That makes China's figure about 3.1 times Pakistan's.

Across all 66 years both countries report, China has been ahead every year.

China ranks 2nd and Pakistan ranks 3rd of 215 countries.

China has averaged higher in every one of the 7 decades both report.

Head to head by decade

Decade China Pakistan Difference Ahead
1960s 586.28 million 39.54 million 546.74 million China
1970s 743.63 million 50.77 million 692.86 million China
1980s 804.53 million 68.51 million 736.02 million China
1990s 840.80 million 90.66 million 750.14 million China
2000s 747.24 million 115.03 million 632.21 million China
2010s 596.97 million 138.14 million 458.83 million China
2020s 490.73 million 150.71 million 340.02 million China

Averages of every year both report within each decade.

Frequently asked questions

Which has higher rural population, China or Pakistan?
China, at 473.41 million against 154.34 million in Pakistan as of 2025.
What is the difference in rural population between China and Pakistan?
319.07 million, with China ahead.
How many years of comparable data are there for China and Pakistan?
66 years are reported by both, from 1960 to 2025.
How do China and Pakistan rank globally for rural population?
China ranks 2nd and Pakistan ranks 3rd of 215 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

Indicator
Rural population
Source
World Urbanization Prospects, United Nations (UN)
Licence
CC BY 4.0 (World Bank Open Data)
Coverage
264 places, 17,394 data points, 1960–2025
Last refreshed

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.