Kenya vs Tanzania: Rural population
Kenya
39.00 million
in 2025
Tanzania
44.53 million
in 2025
Kenya rank
14th
Tanzania rank
13th
Rural population over time
- Kenya
- Tanzania
How they compare
Tanzania currently reports 44.53 million against 39.00 million in Kenya, a difference of 5.53 million.
That makes Tanzania's figure about 1.1 times Kenya's.
Across all 66 years both countries report, Tanzania has been ahead every year.
Kenya ranks 14th and Tanzania ranks 13th of 215 countries.
Tanzania has averaged higher in every one of the 7 decades both report.
Head to head by decade
| Decade | Kenya | Tanzania | Difference | Ahead |
|---|---|---|---|---|
| 1960s | 8.38 million | 10.79 million | 2.41 million | Tanzania |
| 1970s | 11.60 million | 14.22 million | 2.62 million | Tanzania |
| 1980s | 15.69 million | 18.48 million | 2.79 million | Tanzania |
| 1990s | 21.37 million | 23.61 million | 2.24 million | Tanzania |
| 2000s | 26.01 million | 29.20 million | 3.19 million | Tanzania |
| 2010s | 31.79 million | 35.56 million | 3.77 million | Tanzania |
| 2020s | 37.49 million | 42.51 million | 5.01 million | Tanzania |
Averages of every year both report within each decade.
Frequently asked questions
- Which has higher rural population, Kenya or Tanzania?
- Tanzania, at 44.53 million against 39.00 million in Kenya as of 2025.
- What is the difference in rural population between Kenya and Tanzania?
- 5.53 million, with Tanzania ahead.
- How many years of comparable data are there for Kenya and Tanzania?
- 66 years are reported by both, from 1960 to 2025.
- How do Kenya and Tanzania rank globally for rural population?
- Kenya ranks 14th and Tanzania ranks 13th 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
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.