Rural population growth in Pakistan
Pakistan: Rural population growth was 1.0% in 2025. ▼ Falling
Rural population growth in Pakistan, 1961–2025
Source: World Urbanization Prospects, United Nations (UN). Measured in annual %.
Analysis
In 2025, rural population growth in Pakistan stood at 1.0%.
That represents a change of up 5.4% on the previous year and down 4.5% over ten years.
Over the whole period, rural population growth in Pakistan peaked at 3.8% in 1981 and was at its lowest, 0.8%, in 2023.
Pakistan ranks 55th 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 Pakistan, year by year
| Year | annual % | Change |
|---|---|---|
| 1961 | 2.2% | — |
| 1962 | 2.2% | +0.8% |
| 1963 | 2.3% | +3.8% |
| 1964 | 2.4% | +3.4% |
| 1965 | 2.4% | +2.5% |
| 1966 | 2.5% | +2.2% |
| 1967 | 2.5% | +2.1% |
| 1968 | 2.6% | +1.1% |
| 1969 | 2.6% | +0.3% |
| 1970 | 2.6% | -0.1% |
| 1971 | 2.4% | -5.6% |
| 1972 | 2.4% | -0.8% |
| 1973 | 2.5% | +4.4% |
| 1974 | 2.5% | -0.5% |
| 1975 | 2.5% | +0.8% |
| 1976 | 2.6% | +2.1% |
| 1977 | 2.6% | +2.6% |
| 1978 | 2.7% | +2.7% |
| 1979 | 3.0% | +10.2% |
| 1980 | 3.6% | +21.7% |
| 1981 | 3.8% | +3.6% |
| 1982 | 3.4% | -10.6% |
| 1983 | 3.1% | -8.6% |
| 1984 | 2.8% | -10.4% |
| 1985 | 2.8% | +1.5% |
| 1986 | 3.0% | +7.8% |
| 1987 | 3.0% | +1.2% |
| 1988 | 3.0% | -1.4% |
| 1989 | 2.9% | -2.9% |
| 1990 | 3.0% | +2.7% |
| 1991 | 3.0% | -1.1% |
| 1992 | 2.5% | -14.9% |
| 1993 | 2.4% | -3.4% |
| 1994 | 2.6% | +5.0% |
| 1995 | 2.6% | -0.0% |
| 1996 | 2.6% | +0.8% |
| 1997 | 2.5% | -3.2% |
| 1998 | 2.4% | -2.6% |
| 1999 | 2.4% | -1.2% |
| 2000 | 2.5% | +4.9% |
| 2001 | 2.5% | -0.6% |
| 2002 | 2.2% | -13.4% |
| 2003 | 2.1% | -4.1% |
| 2004 | 2.2% | +5.7% |
| 2005 | 2.1% | -2.8% |
| 2006 | 2.1% | -1.0% |
| 2007 | 2.4% | +12.2% |
| 2008 | 2.4% | +1.3% |
| 2009 | 2.3% | -5.9% |
| 2010 | 2.2% | -3.5% |
| 2011 | 1.9% | -11.3% |
| 2012 | 1.6% | -17.9% |
| 2013 | 1.3% | -18.7% |
| 2014 | 1.1% | -11.4% |
| 2015 | 1.0% | -10.6% |
| 2016 | 0.9% | -12.3% |
| 2017 | 1.0% | +9.2% |
| 2018 | 1.1% | +15.2% |
| 2019 | 1.1% | -1.0% |
| 2020 | 1.2% | +4.3% |
| 2021 | 1.2% | +3.1% |
| 2022 | 1.0% | -14.0% |
| 2023 | 0.8% | -20.4% |
| 2024 | 0.9% | +12.7% |
| 2025 | 1.0% | +5.4% |
Averages by decade
| Decade | Average | Lowest | Highest | Years |
|---|---|---|---|---|
| 1960s | 2.4% | 2.2% | 2.6% | 9 |
| 1970s | 2.6% | 2.4% | 3.0% | 10 |
| 1980s | 3.1% | 2.8% | 3.8% | 10 |
| 1990s | 2.6% | 2.4% | 3.0% | 10 |
| 2000s | 2.3% | 2.1% | 2.5% | 10 |
| 2010s | 1.3% | 0.9% | 2.2% | 10 |
| 2020s | 1.0% | 0.8% | 1.2% | 6 |
Countries ranked near Pakistan
More agriculture & rural data for Pakistan
- Agriculture, forestry, and fishing, value added (current US$), annual 6.28 % change on previous year (2025)
- Agriculture, forestry, and fishing, value added (current US$), per 0.2302 current US$ per US$ of GDP (2025)
- Agriculture, forestry, and fishing, value added (current US$), per 367.4 current US$ per person (2025)
- Rural population, annual growth rate 0.984 % change on previous year (2025)
- Rural population, per unit of GDP 0.0004 units per US$ of GDP (2025)
- Rural population, per capita 0.6047 units per person (2025)
- Share of GDP from agriculture 23.0% (2025)
- Agriculture as a share of GDP vs. GDP per capita 23.0% (2025)
- Agricultural raw materials exports 1.6% (2024)
- Agricultural raw materials imports 4.3% (2024)
Frequently asked questions
- What is rural population growth in Pakistan?
- Rural population growth in Pakistan was 1.0% in 2025, according to World Urbanization Prospects, United Nations (UN).
- What is the highest rural population growth recorded in Pakistan?
- The highest recorded value was 3.8% in 1981.
- What is the lowest rural population growth recorded in Pakistan?
- The lowest recorded value was 0.8% in 2023.
- How does Pakistan rank for rural population growth?
- Pakistan ranks 55th out of 209 countries with data for 2025.
- Is rural population growth rising or falling in Pakistan?
- Over the last ten years it is down 4.5%. The long-run trend across the full record is falling.
- Where does this Pakistan 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.