Rural population growth in Pacific island small states
Pacific island small states: Rural population growth was 0.7% in 2025. ▼ Falling
Rural population growth in Pacific island small states, 1961–2025
Source: World Urbanization Prospects, United Nations (UN). Measured in annual %.
Analysis
In 2025, rural population growth in Pacific island small states stood at 0.7%.
Compared with earlier readings it is down 3.1% on the previous year and down 22.4% over ten years.
Over the whole period, rural population growth in Pacific island small states peaked at 2.0% in 1980 and was at its lowest, 0.4%, in 2009.
That places Pacific island small states 18th out of 45 groups with data for 2025, putting it 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 Pacific island small states, year by year
| Year | annual % | Change |
|---|---|---|
| 1961 | 1.6% | — |
| 1962 | 1.7% | +4.5% |
| 1963 | 1.7% | +4.2% |
| 1964 | 1.8% | +3.1% |
| 1965 | 1.9% | +3.8% |
| 1966 | 1.9% | +1.5% |
| 1967 | 1.7% | -8.4% |
| 1968 | 1.6% | -9.0% |
| 1969 | 1.6% | +0.9% |
| 1970 | 1.6% | -0.8% |
| 1971 | 1.5% | -2.5% |
| 1972 | 1.5% | -0.5% |
| 1973 | 1.5% | +0.4% |
| 1974 | 1.6% | +6.7% |
| 1975 | 1.7% | +5.0% |
| 1976 | 1.8% | +4.8% |
| 1977 | 1.9% | +3.4% |
| 1978 | 1.9% | +2.1% |
| 1979 | 2.0% | +4.5% |
| 1980 | 2.0% | +0.7% |
| 1981 | 2.0% | -0.6% |
| 1982 | 2.0% | -1.6% |
| 1983 | 1.9% | -1.6% |
| 1984 | 1.9% | -0.6% |
| 1985 | 1.9% | -1.0% |
| 1986 | 1.8% | -5.6% |
| 1987 | 1.5% | -15.2% |
| 1988 | 1.2% | -19.1% |
| 1989 | 1.0% | -15.2% |
| 1990 | 0.9% | -13.4% |
| 1991 | 0.8% | -10.4% |
| 1992 | 0.8% | -1.3% |
| 1993 | 0.8% | +1.2% |
| 1994 | 0.8% | -2.4% |
| 1995 | 0.8% | +0.8% |
| 1996 | 0.9% | +14.8% |
| 1997 | 1.1% | +20.3% |
| 1998 | 1.2% | +5.5% |
| 1999 | 1.1% | -5.0% |
| 2000 | 1.0% | -7.9% |
| 2001 | 1.0% | -4.9% |
| 2002 | 0.9% | -5.4% |
| 2003 | 0.9% | -6.5% |
| 2004 | 0.8% | -4.6% |
| 2005 | 0.8% | -4.4% |
| 2006 | 0.7% | -7.5% |
| 2007 | 0.6% | -14.5% |
| 2008 | 0.5% | -19.3% |
| 2009 | 0.4% | -10.5% |
| 2010 | 0.7% | +61.3% |
| 2011 | 1.0% | +44.7% |
| 2012 | 1.0% | -4.2% |
| 2013 | 1.0% | -4.1% |
| 2014 | 0.9% | -2.8% |
| 2015 | 0.9% | -4.5% |
| 2016 | 0.8% | -5.9% |
| 2017 | 0.8% | -2.1% |
| 2018 | 0.9% | +9.9% |
| 2019 | 0.7% | -27.0% |
| 2020 | 0.7% | +14.1% |
| 2021 | 0.8% | +8.2% |
| 2022 | 0.7% | -14.9% |
| 2023 | 0.7% | +5.7% |
| 2024 | 0.7% | -2.3% |
| 2025 | 0.7% | -3.1% |
Averages by decade
| Decade | Average | Lowest | Highest | Years |
|---|---|---|---|---|
| 1960s | 1.7% | 1.6% | 1.9% | 9 |
| 1970s | 1.7% | 1.5% | 2.0% | 10 |
| 1980s | 1.7% | 1.0% | 2.0% | 10 |
| 1990s | 0.9% | 0.8% | 1.2% | 10 |
| 2000s | 0.8% | 0.4% | 1.0% | 10 |
| 2010s | 0.9% | 0.7% | 1.0% | 10 |
| 2020s | 0.7% | 0.7% | 0.8% | 6 |
Countries ranked near Pacific island small states
More agriculture & rural data for Pacific island small states
- Rural population, per unit of GDP 0.0001 units per US$ of GDP (2025)
- Agriculture, forestry, and fishing, value added 2.11 billion current US$ (2024)
- Rural population 1.63 million (2025)
- Rural population 59.1% (2025)
- Agricultural raw materials imports 1.0% (2021)
- Agricultural raw materials exports 26.3% (2018)
- Rural population, per capita 0.5912 units per person (2025)
- Agriculture, forestry, and fishing, value added (current US$), per 773.88 current US$ per person (2024)
- Agriculture, forestry, and fishing, value added (current US$), annual 8.88 % change on previous year (2024)
- Agriculture, forestry, and fishing, value added (current US$), per 0.1709 current US$ per US$ of GDP (2024)
Frequently asked questions
- What is rural population growth in Pacific island small states?
- Rural population growth in Pacific island small states was 0.7% in 2025, according to World Urbanization Prospects, United Nations (UN).
- What is the highest rural population growth recorded in Pacific island small states?
- The highest recorded value was 2.0% in 1980.
- What is the lowest rural population growth recorded in Pacific island small states?
- The lowest recorded value was 0.4% in 2009.
- How does Pacific island small states rank for rural population growth?
- Pacific island small states ranks 18th out of 45 groups with data for 2025.
- Is rural population growth rising or falling in Pacific island small states?
- Over the last ten years it is down 22.4%. The long-run trend across the full record is falling.
- Where does this Pacific island small states 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
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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.