Rural population growth in Benin
Benin: Rural population growth was 0.7% in 2025. ▲ Rising
Rural population growth in Benin, 1961–2025
Source: World Urbanization Prospects, United Nations (UN). Measured in annual %.
Analysis
The most recent figure for rural population growth in Benin is 0.7%, measured in 2025. That is the lowest value across all 65 years on record.
The figure is down 15.6% on the previous year and down 61.9% over ten years.
Over the whole period, rural population growth in Benin peaked at 3.8% in 1993 and was at its lowest, 0.7%, in 2025.
That places Benin 73rd out of 209 countries with data for 2025, putting it in the middle of the range.
The long-run direction has been consistently rising across the 65 years of available data.
Rural population growth in Benin, year by year
| Year | annual % | Change |
|---|---|---|
| 1961 | 1.1% | — |
| 1962 | 1.1% | +0.1% |
| 1963 | 1.1% | -2.8% |
| 1964 | 1.1% | -2.4% |
| 1965 | 1.1% | -2.1% |
| 1966 | 1.0% | -3.1% |
| 1967 | 1.0% | -3.2% |
| 1968 | 1.0% | -1.8% |
| 1969 | 1.0% | -0.8% |
| 1970 | 1.0% | +0.3% |
| 1971 | 1.0% | +0.9% |
| 1972 | 1.0% | +2.2% |
| 1973 | 1.0% | +3.2% |
| 1974 | 1.1% | +3.8% |
| 1975 | 1.1% | +5.7% |
| 1976 | 1.2% | +7.1% |
| 1977 | 1.3% | +7.7% |
| 1978 | 1.4% | +7.6% |
| 1979 | 1.5% | +9.6% |
| 1980 | 1.7% | +7.5% |
| 1981 | 1.7% | +3.0% |
| 1982 | 1.7% | +1.5% |
| 1983 | 1.7% | +0.2% |
| 1984 | 1.8% | +1.2% |
| 1985 | 1.8% | +2.4% |
| 1986 | 1.9% | +2.9% |
| 1987 | 1.9% | +3.7% |
| 1988 | 2.0% | +4.1% |
| 1989 | 2.1% | +4.1% |
| 1990 | 2.2% | +4.4% |
| 1991 | 2.3% | +4.9% |
| 1992 | 2.4% | +5.0% |
| 1993 | 3.8% | +59.8% |
| 1994 | 3.2% | -16.4% |
| 1995 | 1.6% | -49.2% |
| 1996 | 2.2% | +33.1% |
| 1997 | 2.5% | +16.3% |
| 1998 | 2.6% | +5.2% |
| 1999 | 2.6% | -0.3% |
| 2000 | 2.6% | -2.1% |
| 2001 | 2.5% | -3.1% |
| 2002 | 2.4% | -3.5% |
| 2003 | 2.4% | -1.7% |
| 2004 | 2.3% | -1.2% |
| 2005 | 2.5% | +5.0% |
| 2006 | 2.3% | -5.7% |
| 2007 | 2.1% | -8.9% |
| 2008 | 2.1% | +1.2% |
| 2009 | 2.1% | -2.8% |
| 2010 | 2.0% | -2.6% |
| 2011 | 2.0% | -2.3% |
| 2012 | 1.9% | -2.5% |
| 2013 | 1.9% | -3.1% |
| 2014 | 1.8% | -3.7% |
| 2015 | 1.8% | -2.4% |
| 2016 | 1.7% | -4.2% |
| 2017 | 1.6% | -5.3% |
| 2018 | 1.5% | -7.3% |
| 2019 | 1.3% | -8.7% |
| 2020 | 1.2% | -9.3% |
| 2021 | 1.1% | -10.2% |
| 2022 | 1.0% | -9.2% |
| 2023 | 0.9% | -8.4% |
| 2024 | 0.8% | -13.4% |
| 2025 | 0.7% | -15.6% |
Averages by decade
| Decade | Average | Lowest | Highest | Years |
|---|---|---|---|---|
| 1960s | 1.1% | 1.0% | 1.1% | 9 |
| 1970s | 1.2% | 1.0% | 1.5% | 10 |
| 1980s | 1.8% | 1.7% | 2.1% | 10 |
| 1990s | 2.5% | 1.6% | 3.8% | 10 |
| 2000s | 2.3% | 2.1% | 2.6% | 10 |
| 2010s | 1.7% | 1.3% | 2.0% | 10 |
| 2020s | 0.9% | 0.7% | 1.2% | 6 |
Countries ranked near Benin
More agriculture & rural data for Benin
- Agriculture, forestry, and fishing, value added (current US$), annual 8.16 % change on previous year (2025)
- Agriculture, forestry, and fishing, value added (current US$), per 0.2292 current US$ per US$ of GDP (2025)
- Agriculture, forestry, and fishing, value added (current US$), per 380.06 current US$ per person (2025)
- Rural population, annual growth rate 0.6697 % change on previous year (2025)
- Rural population, per unit of GDP 0.0003 units per US$ of GDP (2025)
- Rural population, per capita 0.4664 units per person (2025)
- Agriculture share gdp 22.92 (2025)
- Value added in the agricultural sector as of gdp vs gdp per capita 22.92 (2025)
- Agricultural raw materials exports 52.9% (2024)
- Agricultural raw materials imports 1.8% (2024)
Frequently asked questions
- What is rural population growth in Benin?
- Rural population growth in Benin was 0.7% in 2025, according to World Urbanization Prospects, United Nations (UN).
- What is the highest rural population growth recorded in Benin?
- The highest recorded value was 3.8% in 1993.
- What is the lowest rural population growth recorded in Benin?
- The lowest recorded value was 0.7% in 2025.
- How does Benin rank for rural population growth?
- Benin ranks 73rd out of 209 countries with data for 2025.
- Is rural population growth rising or falling in Benin?
- Over the last ten years it is down 61.9%. The long-run trend across the full record is rising.
- Where does this Benin 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.