Rural population growth in Latin America & the Caribbean (IDA & IBRD countries)
Latin America & the Caribbean (IDA & IBRD countries): Rural population growth was -0.6% in 2025. ◆ Volatile
Rural population growth in Latin America & the Caribbean (IDA & IBRD countries), 1961–2025
Source: World Urbanization Prospects, United Nations (UN). Measured in annual %.
Analysis
Latin America & the Caribbean (IDA & IBRD countries) recorded -0.6% for rural population growth in 2025. That is the lowest value across all 65 years on record.
Compared with earlier readings it is down 14.6% on the previous year and down 937.5% over ten years.
Over the whole period, rural population growth in Latin America & the Caribbean (IDA & IBRD countries) peaked at 1.4% in 1961 and was at its lowest, -0.6%, in 2025.
That places Latin America & the Caribbean (IDA & IBRD countries) 40th 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 in Latin America & the Caribbean (IDA & IBRD countries), year by year
| Year | annual % | Change |
|---|---|---|
| 1961 | 1.4% | — |
| 1962 | 1.3% | -2.8% |
| 1963 | 1.3% | -4.5% |
| 1964 | 1.2% | -5.4% |
| 1965 | 1.1% | -7.3% |
| 1966 | 1.0% | -8.8% |
| 1967 | 0.9% | -9.5% |
| 1968 | 0.8% | -10.2% |
| 1969 | 0.7% | -10.2% |
| 1970 | 0.7% | -11.6% |
| 1971 | 0.5% | -23.4% |
| 1972 | 0.4% | -26.7% |
| 1973 | 0.2% | -38.3% |
| 1974 | 0.1% | -52.2% |
| 1975 | 0.0% | -84.8% |
| 1976 | -0.0% | -340.8% |
| 1977 | -0.0% | -8.7% |
| 1978 | 0.0% | -156.1% |
| 1979 | 0.1% | +427.3% |
| 1980 | 0.3% | +133.8% |
| 1981 | 0.3% | +36.2% |
| 1982 | 0.4% | +5.8% |
| 1983 | 0.4% | +11.5% |
| 1984 | 0.4% | +3.7% |
| 1985 | 0.4% | -4.3% |
| 1986 | 0.4% | -7.1% |
| 1987 | 0.4% | -6.1% |
| 1988 | 0.3% | -4.1% |
| 1989 | 0.3% | -6.4% |
| 1990 | 0.3% | -5.6% |
| 1991 | 0.2% | -16.5% |
| 1992 | 0.2% | -9.0% |
| 1993 | 0.2% | -2.7% |
| 1994 | 0.2% | -27.5% |
| 1995 | 0.0% | -69.0% |
| 1996 | -0.1% | -335.1% |
| 1997 | -0.4% | +204.9% |
| 1998 | -0.5% | +53.5% |
| 1999 | -0.6% | +5.0% |
| 2000 | -0.4% | -23.7% |
| 2001 | -0.3% | -32.5% |
| 2002 | -0.3% | -14.6% |
| 2003 | -0.2% | -32.6% |
| 2004 | -0.1% | -59.3% |
| 2005 | 0.0% | -130.1% |
| 2006 | 0.1% | +595.9% |
| 2007 | 0.2% | +13.3% |
| 2008 | 0.2% | +4.3% |
| 2009 | 0.2% | -3.7% |
| 2010 | 0.1% | -11.5% |
| 2011 | 0.2% | +5.2% |
| 2012 | 0.1% | -7.8% |
| 2013 | 0.1% | -50.4% |
| 2014 | 0.0% | -79.7% |
| 2015 | -0.1% | -503.6% |
| 2016 | -0.1% | +79.9% |
| 2017 | -0.1% | +30.6% |
| 2018 | -0.1% | -33.2% |
| 2019 | -0.2% | +158.4% |
| 2020 | -0.4% | +55.8% |
| 2021 | -0.4% | +19.7% |
| 2022 | -0.4% | -6.7% |
| 2023 | -0.4% | +9.6% |
| 2024 | -0.5% | +17.0% |
| 2025 | -0.6% | +14.6% |
Biggest year-on-year movements
Years where Rural population growth in Latin America & the Caribbean (IDA & IBRD countries) 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 |
|---|---|---|---|
| 2006 | +595.9% | 0.0% | 0.1% |
| 2015 | -503.6% | 0.0% | -0.1% |
| 1979 | +427.3% | 0.0% | 0.1% |
| 1976 | -340.8% | 0.0% | -0.0% |
| 1996 | -335.1% | 0.0% | -0.1% |
| 1997 | -204.9% | -0.1% | -0.4% |
Averages by decade
| Decade | Average | Lowest | Highest | Years |
|---|---|---|---|---|
| 1960s | 1.1% | 0.7% | 1.4% | 9 |
| 1970s | 0.2% | -0.0% | 0.7% | 10 |
| 1980s | 0.4% | 0.3% | 0.4% | 10 |
| 1990s | -0.0% | -0.6% | 0.3% | 10 |
| 2000s | -0.1% | -0.4% | 0.2% | 10 |
| 2010s | -0.0% | -0.2% | 0.2% | 10 |
| 2020s | -0.5% | -0.6% | -0.4% | 6 |
Countries ranked near Latin America & the Caribbean (IDA & IBRD countries)
- 37 Liechtenstein 1.4% compare
- 38 Solomon Islands 1.4% compare
- 39 Armenia 1.4% compare
- 40 Burkina Faso 1.4% compare
- 41 Egypt 1.4% compare
- 42 Papua New Guinea 1.3% compare
- 43 Malta 1.3% compare
More agriculture & rural data for Latin America & the Caribbean (IDA & IBRD countries)
- Rural population, per capita 0.1849 units per person (2025)
- Agriculture, forestry, and fishing, value added 497.31 billion current US$ (2025)
- Agriculture, forestry, and fishing, value added 7.1% (2025)
- Rural population 120.45 million (2025)
- Rural population 18.5% (2025)
- Agricultural raw materials imports 0.8% (2024)
- Agricultural raw materials exports 2.1% (2025)
- Rural population, per unit of GDP 0 units per US$ of GDP (2025)
- Agriculture, forestry, and fishing, value added (current US$), per 0.0705 current US$ per US$ of GDP (2025)
- Rural population, annual growth rate -0.5917 % change on previous year (2025)
All data for Latin America & the Caribbean (IDA & IBRD countries) →
Frequently asked questions
- What is rural population growth in Latin America & the Caribbean (IDA & IBRD countries)?
- Rural population growth in Latin America & the Caribbean (IDA & IBRD countries) was -0.6% in 2025, according to World Urbanization Prospects, United Nations (UN).
- What is the highest rural population growth recorded in Latin America & the Caribbean (IDA & IBRD countries)?
- The highest recorded value was 1.4% in 1961.
- What is the lowest rural population growth recorded in Latin America & the Caribbean (IDA & IBRD countries)?
- The lowest recorded value was -0.6% in 2025.
- How does Latin America & the Caribbean (IDA & IBRD countries) rank for rural population growth?
- Latin America & the Caribbean (IDA & IBRD countries) ranks 40th out of 47 groups with data for 2025.
- Is rural population growth rising or falling in Latin America & the Caribbean (IDA & IBRD countries)?
- Over the last ten years it is down 937.5%. The long-run trend across the full record is volatile.
- Where does this Latin America & the Caribbean (IDA & IBRD countries) 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.
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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.