Madagascar vs South Africa: Rural population
Madagascar
21.97 million
in 2025
South Africa
23.43 million
in 2025
Madagascar rank
27th
South Africa rank
24th
Rural population over time
- Madagascar
- South Africa
How they compare
South Africa currently reports 23.43 million against 21.97 million in Madagascar, a difference of 1.46 million.
That makes South Africa's figure about 1.1 times Madagascar's.
Across all 66 years both countries report, South Africa has been ahead every year.
Madagascar ranks 27th and South Africa ranks 24th of 217 countries.
South Africa has averaged higher in every one of the 7 decades both report.
Head to head by decade
| Decade | Madagascar | South Africa | Difference | Ahead |
|---|---|---|---|---|
| 1960s | 5.05 million | 9.96 million | 4.90 million | South Africa |
| 1970s | 6.41 million | 13.18 million | 6.78 million | South Africa |
| 1980s | 8.23 million | 17.42 million | 9.18 million | South Africa |
| 1990s | 10.66 million | 20.51 million | 9.85 million | South Africa |
| 2000s | 13.95 million | 19.99 million | 6.05 million | South Africa |
| 2010s | 17.82 million | 20.62 million | 2.80 million | South Africa |
| 2020s | 21.02 million | 22.85 million | 1.83 million | South Africa |
Averages of every year both report within each decade.
Frequently asked questions
- Which has higher rural population, Madagascar or South Africa?
- South Africa, at 23.43 million against 21.97 million in Madagascar as of 2025.
- What is the difference in rural population between Madagascar and South Africa?
- 1.46 million, with South Africa ahead.
- How many years of comparable data are there for Madagascar and South Africa?
- 66 years are reported by both, from 1960 to 2025.
- How do Madagascar and South Africa rank globally for rural population?
- Madagascar ranks 27th 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.