India vs World: Rural population
India
941.42 million
in 2025
World
3.46 billion
in 2025
India rank
1st
World rank
1st
Rural population over time
- India
- World
How they compare
World currently reports 3.46 billion against 941.42 million in India, a difference of 2.52 billion.
That makes World's figure about 3.7 times India's.
Across all 66 years both countries report, World has been ahead every year.
India ranks 1st and World ranks 1st of 218 countries.
World has averaged higher in every one of the 7 decades both report.
Head to head by decade
| Decade | India | World | Difference | Ahead |
|---|---|---|---|---|
| 1960s | 394.34 million | 2.13 billion | 1.74 billion | World |
| 1970s | 476.23 million | 2.51 billion | 2.03 billion | World |
| 1980s | 577.11 million | 2.83 billion | 2.25 billion | World |
| 1990s | 698.96 million | 3.16 billion | 2.46 billion | World |
| 2000s | 811.68 million | 3.32 billion | 2.51 billion | World |
| 2010s | 891.24 million | 3.39 billion | 2.50 billion | World |
| 2020s | 932.31 million | 3.44 billion | 2.51 billion | World |
Averages of every year both report within each decade.
Frequently asked questions
- Which has higher rural population, India or World?
- World, at 3.46 billion against 941.42 million in India as of 2025.
- What is the difference in rural population between India and World?
- 2.52 billion, with World ahead.
- How many years of comparable data are there for India and World?
- 66 years are reported by both, from 1960 to 2025.
- How do India and World rank globally for rural population?
- India ranks 1st and World ranks 1st of 218 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.