Rural population growth (annual %) in Arab World
Arab World: Rural population growth (annual %) was 1.6% in 2025. ▼ Falling
Rural population growth in Arab World, 1961–2025
Source: World Urbanization Prospects, United Nations (UN). Measured in annual %.
Analysis
Arab World recorded 1.6% for rural population growth in 2025.
Compared with earlier readings it is up 5.3% on the previous year and down 3.9% over ten years.
Over the whole period, rural population growth in Arab World peaked at 2.6% in 1979 and was at its lowest, 0.7%, in 2013.
Arab World ranks 4th of 47 groups on this measure, in the top 10%.
The long-run direction has been consistently falling across the 65 years of available data.
Rural population growth (annual %) in Arab World, year by year
| Year | annual % | Change |
|---|---|---|
| 1961 | 1.5% | — |
| 1962 | 1.4% | -3.6% |
| 1963 | 1.5% | +2.1% |
| 1964 | 1.5% | +3.2% |
| 1965 | 1.6% | +4.6% |
| 1966 | 1.7% | +9.3% |
| 1967 | 1.8% | +6.1% |
| 1968 | 1.8% | -0.4% |
| 1969 | 1.8% | -0.1% |
| 1970 | 1.8% | -1.0% |
| 1971 | 1.8% | -0.3% |
| 1972 | 1.8% | -0.8% |
| 1973 | 1.9% | +9.4% |
| 1974 | 2.0% | +3.6% |
| 1975 | 2.2% | +6.5% |
| 1976 | 2.3% | +7.1% |
| 1977 | 2.2% | -2.8% |
| 1978 | 2.4% | +7.4% |
| 1979 | 2.6% | +9.8% |
| 1980 | 2.5% | -4.1% |
| 1981 | 2.2% | -14.5% |
| 1982 | 2.1% | -4.8% |
| 1983 | 2.1% | +4.1% |
| 1984 | 2.0% | -6.2% |
| 1985 | 1.9% | -5.7% |
| 1986 | 1.9% | -2.5% |
| 1987 | 1.8% | -2.2% |
| 1988 | 1.6% | -9.5% |
| 1989 | 1.6% | -3.0% |
| 1990 | 2.3% | +46.3% |
| 1991 | 1.6% | -31.3% |
| 1992 | 1.7% | +4.2% |
| 1993 | 2.2% | +30.3% |
| 1994 | 2.2% | +2.1% |
| 1995 | 2.1% | -6.6% |
| 1996 | 1.9% | -6.3% |
| 1997 | 1.9% | -4.2% |
| 1998 | 1.9% | +1.7% |
| 1999 | 1.9% | -1.7% |
| 2000 | 1.8% | -1.2% |
| 2001 | 1.8% | -1.8% |
| 2002 | 1.7% | -2.9% |
| 2003 | 1.7% | -3.8% |
| 2004 | 1.7% | -1.5% |
| 2005 | 1.7% | +1.7% |
| 2006 | 1.7% | +0.9% |
| 2007 | 1.8% | +3.6% |
| 2008 | 1.8% | -0.3% |
| 2009 | 1.7% | -3.3% |
| 2010 | 1.5% | -13.2% |
| 2011 | 1.3% | -14.0% |
| 2012 | 0.8% | -40.2% |
| 2013 | 0.7% | -11.4% |
| 2014 | 1.3% | +89.4% |
| 2015 | 1.7% | +32.4% |
| 2016 | 1.8% | +7.6% |
| 2017 | 1.7% | -5.0% |
| 2018 | 1.5% | -11.3% |
| 2019 | 1.6% | +5.6% |
| 2020 | 1.6% | +1.2% |
| 2021 | 1.5% | -10.5% |
| 2022 | 1.8% | +20.2% |
| 2023 | 1.7% | -4.6% |
| 2024 | 1.5% | -8.2% |
| 2025 | 1.6% | +5.3% |
Biggest year-on-year movements
Years where Rural population growth (annual %) in Arab World changed far more than this series normally does. A large move can be a real event or a change in how the figure was measured — the source note below says who published it.
| Year | Change | From | To |
|---|---|---|---|
| 2014 | +89.4% | 0.7% | 1.3% |
| 1990 | +46.3% | 1.6% | 2.3% |
Averages by decade
| Decade | Average | Lowest | Highest | Years |
|---|---|---|---|---|
| 1960s | 1.6% | 1.4% | 1.8% | 9 |
| 1970s | 2.1% | 1.8% | 2.6% | 10 |
| 1980s | 2.0% | 1.6% | 2.5% | 10 |
| 1990s | 2.0% | 1.6% | 2.3% | 10 |
| 2000s | 1.7% | 1.7% | 1.8% | 10 |
| 2010s | 1.4% | 0.7% | 1.8% | 10 |
| 2020s | 1.6% | 1.5% | 1.8% | 6 |
Countries ranked near Arab World
More agriculture & rural data for Arab World
- Agriculture, forestry, and fishing, value added (current US$), per 0.0595 current US$ per US$ of GDP (2025)
- Rural population 40.0% (2025)
- Rural population 201.16 million (2025)
- Agriculture, forestry, and fishing, value added (current US$), annual 12.68 % change on previous year (2025)
- Agriculture, forestry, and fishing, value added 5.9% (2025)
- Agriculture, forestry, and fishing, value added 225.78 billion current US$ (2025)
- Agricultural raw materials imports 0.7% (2023)
- Agricultural raw materials exports 0.1% (2023)
- Rural population, per capita 0.3996 units per person (2025)
- Rural population, per unit of GDP 0.0001 units per US$ of GDP (2025)
Frequently asked questions
- What is rural population growth in Arab World?
- Rural population growth in Arab World was 1.6% in 2025, according to World Urbanization Prospects, United Nations (UN).
- What is the highest rural population growth recorded in Arab World?
- The highest recorded value was 2.6% in 1979.
- What is the lowest rural population growth recorded in Arab World?
- The lowest recorded value was 0.7% in 2013.
- How does Arab World rank for rural population growth?
- Arab World ranks 4th out of 47 groups with data for 2025.
- Is rural population growth rising or falling in Arab World?
- Over the last ten years it is down 3.9%. The long-run trend across the full record is falling.
- Where does this Arab World data come from?
- The figures come from World Urbanization Prospects, United Nations (UN), published as part of Rural population growth (annual %). Statizoid updates them automatically from the source API.
Download this data
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About this data
Annual rural population growth rate for year t is the exponential rate of growth of midyear rural population from year t-1 to t, expressed as a percentage. 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.