South Africa vs Yemen: Rural population

South Africa
23.43 million
in 2025
Yemen
26.30 million
in 2025
South Africa rank
24th
Yemen rank
22nd

Rural population over time

  • South Africa
  • Yemen
5.0M10.0M15.0M20.0M25.0M196019922025

How they compare

Yemen currently reports 26.30 million against 23.43 million in South Africa, a difference of 2.87 million.

That makes Yemen's figure about 1.1 times South Africa's.

The two have swapped places 1 time across 66 shared years of data; in 1960 it was South Africa ahead.

South Africa ranks 24th and Yemen ranks 22nd of 217 countries.

Across the 7 decades both report, South Africa averaged higher in 5 and Yemen in 2.

Head to head by decade

Decade South Africa Yemen Difference Ahead
1960s 9.96 million 5.88 million 4.08 million South Africa
1970s 13.18 million 7.37 million 5.82 million South Africa
1980s 17.42 million 9.50 million 7.91 million South Africa
1990s 20.51 million 12.57 million 7.93 million South Africa
2000s 19.99 million 16.11 million 3.88 million South Africa
2010s 20.62 million 20.77 million 156,440 Yemen
2020s 22.85 million 24.71 million 1.86 million Yemen

Averages of every year both report within each decade.

Frequently asked questions

Which has higher rural population, South Africa or Yemen?
Yemen, at 26.30 million against 23.43 million in South Africa as of 2025.
What is the difference in rural population between South Africa and Yemen?
2.87 million, with Yemen ahead.
How many years of comparable data are there for South Africa and Yemen?
66 years are reported by both, from 1960 to 2025.
How do South Africa and Yemen rank globally for rural population?
South Africa ranks 24th and Yemen ranks 22nd 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.

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South Africa vs Yemen: Rural population. Statizoid, drawing on World Urbanization Prospects, United Nations (UN). Retrieved 29 August 2026, from https://agriculture.statizoid.com/compare/rural-population/south-africa/yemen-rep/

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About this data

Indicator
Rural population
Source
World Urbanization Prospects, United Nations (UN)
Licence
CC BY 4.0 (World Bank Open Data)
Coverage
266 places, 17,526 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.