Kenya vs Uganda: Rural population
Kenya
39.00 million
in 2025
Uganda
34.97 million
in 2025
Kenya rank
14th
Uganda rank
17th
Rural population over time
- Kenya
- Uganda
How they compare
Kenya currently reports 39.00 million against 34.97 million in Uganda, a difference of 4.03 million.
That makes Kenya's figure about 1.1 times Uganda's.
The two have swapped places 1 time across 66 shared years of data; in 1960 it was Uganda ahead.
Kenya ranks 14th and Uganda ranks 17th of 215 countries.
Kenya has averaged higher in every one of the 7 decades both report.
Head to head by decade
| Decade | Kenya | Uganda | Difference | Ahead |
|---|---|---|---|---|
| 1960s | 8.38 million | 8.30 million | 87,547 | Kenya |
| 1970s | 11.60 million | 10.88 million | 726,781 | Kenya |
| 1980s | 15.69 million | 13.74 million | 1.95 million | Kenya |
| 1990s | 21.37 million | 18.19 million | 3.19 million | Kenya |
| 2000s | 26.01 million | 23.72 million | 2.29 million | Kenya |
| 2010s | 31.79 million | 28.27 million | 3.51 million | Kenya |
| 2020s | 37.49 million | 33.42 million | 4.07 million | Kenya |
Averages of every year both report within each decade.
Frequently asked questions
- Which has higher rural population, Kenya or Uganda?
- Kenya, at 39.00 million against 34.97 million in Uganda as of 2025.
- What is the difference in rural population between Kenya and Uganda?
- 4.03 million, with Kenya ahead.
- How many years of comparable data are there for Kenya and Uganda?
- 66 years are reported by both, from 1960 to 2025.
- How do Kenya and Uganda rank globally for rural population?
- Kenya ranks 14th and Uganda ranks 17th 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.