Rural population growth in India
India: Rural population growth was 0.4% in 2025. ▼ Falling
Rural population growth in India, 1961–2025
Source: World Urbanization Prospects, United Nations (UN). Measured in annual %.
Analysis
In 2025, rural population growth in India stood at 0.4%.
Compared with earlier readings it is down 1.1% on the previous year and down 43.8% over ten years.
Over the whole period, rural population growth in India peaked at 2.3% in 1961 and was at its lowest, 0.3%, in 2022.
India ranks 90th of 209 countries on this measure, in the middle of the range.
The long-run direction has been consistently falling across the 65 years of available data.
Rural population growth in India, year by year
| Year | annual % | Change |
|---|---|---|
| 1961 | 2.3% | — |
| 1962 | 2.2% | -2.2% |
| 1963 | 2.2% | -2.3% |
| 1964 | 2.1% | -1.3% |
| 1965 | 2.0% | -5.2% |
| 1966 | 1.9% | -6.5% |
| 1967 | 1.9% | -0.6% |
| 1968 | 1.9% | -0.8% |
| 1969 | 1.8% | -2.7% |
| 1970 | 1.9% | +5.1% |
| 1971 | 1.9% | -1.2% |
| 1972 | 1.8% | -4.2% |
| 1973 | 1.8% | -1.2% |
| 1974 | 1.8% | -0.3% |
| 1975 | 1.8% | +1.4% |
| 1976 | 1.8% | -1.5% |
| 1977 | 1.8% | +0.4% |
| 1978 | 1.8% | -2.0% |
| 1979 | 1.8% | +3.6% |
| 1980 | 1.9% | +6.6% |
| 1981 | 2.0% | +2.2% |
| 1982 | 2.0% | +1.5% |
| 1983 | 2.0% | +1.6% |
| 1984 | 2.1% | +1.3% |
| 1985 | 2.1% | -0.1% |
| 1986 | 2.1% | -0.4% |
| 1987 | 2.0% | -1.1% |
| 1988 | 2.0% | -1.5% |
| 1989 | 2.0% | -1.1% |
| 1990 | 2.0% | -1.6% |
| 1991 | 1.9% | -3.0% |
| 1992 | 1.9% | -2.0% |
| 1993 | 1.8% | -1.3% |
| 1994 | 1.8% | -2.9% |
| 1995 | 1.7% | -1.9% |
| 1996 | 1.7% | -1.2% |
| 1997 | 1.7% | -2.3% |
| 1998 | 1.6% | -2.6% |
| 1999 | 1.6% | -3.1% |
| 2000 | 1.5% | -2.7% |
| 2001 | 1.5% | -2.2% |
| 2002 | 1.4% | -5.6% |
| 2003 | 1.3% | -7.2% |
| 2004 | 1.3% | -4.2% |
| 2005 | 1.2% | -7.5% |
| 2006 | 1.1% | -7.6% |
| 2007 | 1.0% | -7.3% |
| 2008 | 0.9% | -8.7% |
| 2009 | 0.9% | -1.4% |
| 2010 | 0.9% | -1.1% |
| 2011 | 0.9% | -2.1% |
| 2012 | 0.9% | +4.0% |
| 2013 | 0.9% | -5.5% |
| 2014 | 0.8% | -8.4% |
| 2015 | 0.7% | -8.8% |
| 2016 | 0.7% | -0.3% |
| 2017 | 0.7% | -4.2% |
| 2018 | 0.6% | -9.6% |
| 2019 | 0.6% | -9.4% |
| 2020 | 0.5% | -12.0% |
| 2021 | 0.3% | -30.6% |
| 2022 | 0.3% | -9.7% |
| 2023 | 0.4% | +29.6% |
| 2024 | 0.4% | +1.6% |
| 2025 | 0.4% | -1.1% |
Averages by decade
| Decade | Average | Lowest | Highest | Years |
|---|---|---|---|---|
| 1960s | 2.0% | 1.8% | 2.3% | 9 |
| 1970s | 1.8% | 1.8% | 1.9% | 10 |
| 1980s | 2.0% | 1.9% | 2.1% | 10 |
| 1990s | 1.8% | 1.6% | 2.0% | 10 |
| 2000s | 1.2% | 0.9% | 1.5% | 10 |
| 2010s | 0.8% | 0.6% | 0.9% | 10 |
| 2020s | 0.4% | 0.3% | 0.5% | 6 |
Countries ranked near India
- 87 Ecuador 0.4% compare
- 88 Eswatini 0.4% compare
- 89 Dominican Republic 0.4% compare
- 91 Bahamas 0.4% compare
- 92 Kazakhstan 0.4% compare
- 93 Bangladesh 0.4% compare
More agriculture & rural data for India
- Agriculture, forestry, and fishing, value added (current US$), annual -2.83 % change on previous year (2025)
- Agriculture, forestry, and fishing, value added (current US$), per 0.1623 current US$ per US$ of GDP (2025)
- Agriculture, forestry, and fishing, value added (current US$), per 438.73 current US$ per person (2025)
- Rural population, annual growth rate 0.4067 % change on previous year (2025)
- Rural population, per unit of GDP 0.0002 units per US$ of GDP (2025)
- Rural population, per capita 0.6431 units per person (2025)
- Agriculture share gdp 16.23 (2025)
- Value added in the agricultural sector as of gdp vs gdp per capita 16.23 (2025)
- Agricultural raw materials exports 0.9% (2024)
- Agricultural raw materials imports 1.5% (2024)
Frequently asked questions
- What is rural population growth in India?
- Rural population growth in India was 0.4% in 2025, according to World Urbanization Prospects, United Nations (UN).
- What is the highest rural population growth recorded in India?
- The highest recorded value was 2.3% in 1961.
- What is the lowest rural population growth recorded in India?
- The lowest recorded value was 0.3% in 2022.
- How does India rank for rural population growth?
- India ranks 90th out of 209 countries with data for 2025.
- Is rural population growth rising or falling in India?
- Over the last ten years it is down 43.8%. The long-run trend across the full record is falling.
- Where does this India 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.