Rural population growth (annual %) in Latin America & Caribbean (excluding high income)
Latin America & Caribbean (excluding high income): Rural population growth (annual %) was -0.6% in 2025. ◆ Volatile
Rural population growth in Latin America & Caribbean (excluding high income), 1961–2025
Source: World Urbanization Prospects, United Nations (UN). Measured in annual %.
Analysis
In 2025, rural population growth in Latin America & Caribbean (excluding high income) stood at -0.6%. That is the lowest value across all 65 years on record.
That represents a change of down 14.7% on the previous year and down 766.0% over ten years.
Over the whole period, rural population growth in Latin America & Caribbean (excluding high income) peaked at 1.4% in 1961 and was at its lowest, -0.6%, in 2025.
That places Latin America & Caribbean (excluding high income) 42nd out of 47 groups with data for 2025, putting it in the bottom quarter.
The series is highly variable year to year, so single readings are best treated with caution.
Rural population growth (annual %) in Latin America & Caribbean (excluding high income), year by year
| Year | annual % | Change |
|---|---|---|
| 1961 | 1.4% | — |
| 1962 | 1.4% | -2.1% |
| 1963 | 1.3% | -4.0% |
| 1964 | 1.3% | -4.8% |
| 1965 | 1.2% | -6.7% |
| 1966 | 1.1% | -8.4% |
| 1967 | 1.0% | -9.2% |
| 1968 | 0.9% | -9.9% |
| 1969 | 0.8% | -10.0% |
| 1970 | 0.7% | -11.5% |
| 1971 | 0.5% | -23.3% |
| 1972 | 0.4% | -28.5% |
| 1973 | 0.2% | -42.0% |
| 1974 | 0.1% | -60.8% |
| 1975 | -0.0% | -122.1% |
| 1976 | -0.1% | +351.9% |
| 1977 | -0.1% | +5.0% |
| 1978 | -0.0% | -57.5% |
| 1979 | 0.0% | -221.1% |
| 1980 | 0.2% | +312.5% |
| 1981 | 0.3% | +51.8% |
| 1982 | 0.3% | +3.2% |
| 1983 | 0.3% | +9.7% |
| 1984 | 0.4% | +8.5% |
| 1985 | 0.4% | +1.5% |
| 1986 | 0.3% | -13.6% |
| 1987 | 0.3% | -8.1% |
| 1988 | 0.3% | -2.5% |
| 1989 | 0.3% | -7.5% |
| 1990 | 0.3% | -2.6% |
| 1991 | 0.2% | -17.4% |
| 1992 | 0.2% | -3.6% |
| 1993 | 0.2% | +9.7% |
| 1994 | 0.2% | -20.1% |
| 1995 | 0.1% | -61.2% |
| 1996 | -0.1% | -251.3% |
| 1997 | -0.4% | +235.6% |
| 1998 | -0.5% | +54.1% |
| 1999 | -0.6% | +3.0% |
| 2000 | -0.4% | -20.5% |
| 2001 | -0.3% | -30.7% |
| 2002 | -0.2% | -20.2% |
| 2003 | -0.2% | -31.0% |
| 2004 | -0.1% | -58.8% |
| 2005 | 0.0% | -160.6% |
| 2006 | 0.2% | +252.8% |
| 2007 | 0.2% | +12.6% |
| 2008 | 0.2% | +4.0% |
| 2009 | 0.2% | -2.3% |
| 2010 | 0.2% | -11.1% |
| 2011 | 0.2% | +6.2% |
| 2012 | 0.1% | -23.6% |
| 2013 | 0.1% | -55.0% |
| 2014 | 0.0% | -97.5% |
| 2015 | -0.1% | -5019.7% |
| 2016 | -0.1% | +71.8% |
| 2017 | -0.2% | +33.7% |
| 2018 | -0.1% | -18.4% |
| 2019 | -0.3% | +106.9% |
| 2020 | -0.4% | +38.6% |
| 2021 | -0.4% | +17.8% |
| 2022 | -0.4% | -6.3% |
| 2023 | -0.5% | +9.2% |
| 2024 | -0.5% | +16.5% |
| 2025 | -0.6% | +14.7% |
Biggest year-on-year movements
Years where Rural population growth (annual %) in Latin America & Caribbean (excluding high income) 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 |
|---|---|---|---|
| 2015 | -5019.7% | 0.0% | -0.1% |
| 1976 | -351.9% | -0.0% | -0.1% |
| 1980 | +312.5% | 0.0% | 0.2% |
| 2006 | +252.8% | 0.0% | 0.2% |
| 1996 | -251.3% | 0.1% | -0.1% |
| 1979 | +221.1% | -0.0% | 0.0% |
Averages by decade
| Decade | Average | Lowest | Highest | Years |
|---|---|---|---|---|
| 1960s | 1.1% | 0.8% | 1.4% | 9 |
| 1970s | 0.2% | -0.1% | 0.7% | 10 |
| 1980s | 0.3% | 0.2% | 0.4% | 10 |
| 1990s | -0.0% | -0.6% | 0.3% | 10 |
| 2000s | -0.1% | -0.4% | 0.2% | 10 |
| 2010s | -0.0% | -0.3% | 0.2% | 10 |
| 2020s | -0.5% | -0.6% | -0.4% | 6 |
Countries ranked near Latin America & Caribbean (excluding high income)
More agriculture & rural data for Latin America & Caribbean (excluding high income)
- Agricultural raw materials imports 0.8% (2025)
- Rural population, annual growth rate -0.6002 % change on previous year (2025)
- Rural population, per unit of GDP 0 units per US$ of GDP (2025)
- Rural population, per capita 0.186 units per person (2025)
- Agricultural raw materials exports 1.9% (2025)
- Agriculture, forestry, and fishing, value added 477.34 billion current US$ (2025)
- Rural population 116.59 million (2025)
- Agriculture, forestry, and fishing, value added 7.3% (2025)
- Agriculture, forestry, and fishing, value added (current US$), per 761.54 current US$ per person (2025)
- Rural population 18.6% (2025)
All data for Latin America & Caribbean (excluding high income) →
Frequently asked questions
- What is rural population growth in Latin America & Caribbean (excluding high income)?
- Rural population growth in Latin America & Caribbean (excluding high income) was -0.6% in 2025, according to World Urbanization Prospects, United Nations (UN).
- What is the highest rural population growth recorded in Latin America & Caribbean (excluding high income)?
- The highest recorded value was 1.4% in 1961.
- What is the lowest rural population growth recorded in Latin America & Caribbean (excluding high income)?
- The lowest recorded value was -0.6% in 2025.
- How does Latin America & Caribbean (excluding high income) rank for rural population growth?
- Latin America & Caribbean (excluding high income) ranks 42nd out of 47 groups with data for 2025.
- Is rural population growth rising or falling in Latin America & Caribbean (excluding high income)?
- Over the last ten years it is down 766.0%. The long-run trend across the full record is volatile.
- Where does this Latin America & Caribbean (excluding high income) 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.