Rural population growth (annual %) in Australia
Australia: Rural population growth (annual %) was 0.6% in 2025. ◆ Volatile
Rural population growth in Australia, 1961–2025
Source: World Urbanization Prospects, United Nations (UN). Measured in annual %.
Analysis
Australia recorded 0.6% for rural population growth in 2025.
Compared with earlier readings it is down 44.8% on the previous year and up 125.1% over ten years.
Over the whole period, rural population growth in Australia peaked at 2.3% in 1982 and was at its lowest, -1.7%, in 1968.
That places Australia 79th out of 210 countries with data for 2025, putting it in the middle of the range.
The series is highly variable year to year, so single readings are best treated with caution.
Rural population growth (annual %) in Australia, year by year
| Year | annual % | Change |
|---|---|---|
| 1961 | 0.1% | — |
| 1962 | 0.9% | +837.1% |
| 1963 | 0.6% | -30.8% |
| 1964 | 0.7% | +19.8% |
| 1965 | 0.6% | -18.3% |
| 1966 | 0.6% | -2.3% |
| 1967 | -1.3% | -338.0% |
| 1968 | -1.7% | +29.2% |
| 1969 | -1.7% | -4.4% |
| 1970 | -1.3% | -21.7% |
| 1971 | 1.4% | -209.6% |
| 1972 | 0.9% | -38.7% |
| 1973 | 0.7% | -20.7% |
| 1974 | 1.9% | +170.5% |
| 1975 | 0.8% | -57.3% |
| 1976 | 0.8% | +6.0% |
| 1977 | 1.3% | +49.2% |
| 1978 | 1.5% | +20.2% |
| 1979 | 1.6% | +3.2% |
| 1980 | 1.8% | +11.6% |
| 1981 | 2.1% | +17.2% |
| 1982 | 2.3% | +10.7% |
| 1983 | 2.0% | -11.4% |
| 1984 | 1.8% | -9.6% |
| 1985 | 1.8% | -1.3% |
| 1986 | 1.6% | -9.3% |
| 1987 | 1.5% | -8.7% |
| 1988 | 1.6% | +4.6% |
| 1989 | 1.6% | +2.7% |
| 1990 | 1.4% | -12.4% |
| 1991 | 1.2% | -11.4% |
| 1992 | 1.2% | -4.7% |
| 1993 | 1.1% | -10.5% |
| 1994 | 1.2% | +14.2% |
| 1995 | 1.4% | +16.5% |
| 1996 | 1.5% | +8.5% |
| 1997 | 1.4% | -9.2% |
| 1998 | 1.3% | -8.7% |
| 1999 | 1.3% | +2.7% |
| 2000 | 1.3% | -3.1% |
| 2001 | 1.0% | -20.0% |
| 2002 | 0.2% | -78.5% |
| 2003 | 0.3% | +35.4% |
| 2004 | 0.3% | +8.6% |
| 2005 | 0.5% | +63.7% |
| 2006 | 0.4% | -15.7% |
| 2007 | 0.8% | +78.1% |
| 2008 | 1.1% | +38.8% |
| 2009 | 1.3% | +21.8% |
| 2010 | 0.9% | -32.8% |
| 2011 | 0.6% | -31.5% |
| 2012 | 0.9% | +43.9% |
| 2013 | 0.8% | -12.8% |
| 2014 | 0.4% | -50.0% |
| 2015 | 0.3% | -32.2% |
| 2016 | 0.5% | +92.3% |
| 2017 | 0.8% | +57.3% |
| 2018 | 0.7% | -7.4% |
| 2019 | 0.9% | +22.1% |
| 2020 | 1.5% | +66.2% |
| 2021 | 0.4% | -71.3% |
| 2022 | 0.5% | +20.7% |
| 2023 | 1.2% | +139.7% |
| 2024 | 1.1% | -13.6% |
| 2025 | 0.6% | -44.8% |
Australia compared with similar countries
- Australia's 0.6% is above the median for high income countries, which is -0.3%. (77 countries reporting)
- Australia's 0.6% is above the median for East Asia & Pacific, which is 0.0%, 11.9× the median. (35 countries reporting)
Biggest year-on-year movements
Years where Rural population growth (annual %) in Australia 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 |
|---|---|---|---|
| 1962 | +837.1% | 0.1% | 0.9% |
| 1967 | -338.0% | 0.6% | -1.3% |
| 1971 | +209.6% | -1.3% | 1.4% |
Averages by decade
| Decade | Average | Lowest | Highest | Years |
|---|---|---|---|---|
| 1960s | -0.2% | -1.7% | 0.9% | 9 |
| 1970s | 1.0% | -1.3% | 1.9% | 10 |
| 1980s | 1.8% | 1.5% | 2.3% | 10 |
| 1990s | 1.3% | 1.1% | 1.5% | 10 |
| 2000s | 0.7% | 0.2% | 1.3% | 10 |
| 2010s | 0.7% | 0.3% | 0.9% | 10 |
| 2020s | 0.9% | 0.4% | 1.5% | 6 |
Countries ranked near Australia
More agriculture & rural data for Australia
- Agriculture, forestry, and fishing, value added (current US$), annual 13.97 % change on previous year (2025)
- Agriculture, forestry, and fishing, value added (current US$), per 0.0227 current US$ per US$ of GDP (2025)
- Agriculture, forestry, and fishing, value added (current US$), per 1,476 current US$ per person (2025)
- Rural population, annual growth rate 0.5855 % change on previous year (2025)
- Rural population, per unit of GDP 0 units per US$ of GDP (2025)
- Rural population, per capita 0.1228 units per person (2025)
- Share of GDP from agriculture 2.3% (2025)
- Agriculture as a share of GDP vs. GDP per capita 2.3% (2025)
- Agricultural raw materials exports 1.7% (2025)
- Agricultural raw materials imports 0.5% (2025)
Frequently asked questions
- What is rural population growth in Australia?
- Rural population growth in Australia was 0.6% in 2025, according to World Urbanization Prospects, United Nations (UN).
- What is the highest rural population growth recorded in Australia?
- The highest recorded value was 2.3% in 1982.
- What is the lowest rural population growth recorded in Australia?
- The lowest recorded value was -1.7% in 1968.
- How does Australia rank for rural population growth?
- Australia ranks 79th out of 210 countries with data for 2025.
- Is rural population growth rising or falling in Australia?
- Over the last ten years it is up 125.1%. The long-run trend across the full record is volatile.
- Where does this Australia 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
CSV · JSON — 65 observations, free to reuse under CC BY 4.0 (World Bank Open Data).
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.