Rural population growth in Small states
Small states: Rural population growth was 0.4% in 2025. ▼ Falling
Rural population growth in Small states, 1961–2025
Source: World Urbanization Prospects, United Nations (UN). Measured in annual %.
Analysis
The most recent figure for rural population growth in Small states is 0.4%, measured in 2025.
Compared with earlier readings it is down 10.8% on the previous year and down 49.9% over ten years.
Over the whole period, rural population growth in Small states peaked at 1.4% in 2001 and was at its lowest, -0.1%, in 1999.
Small states ranks 21st of 45 groups 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 Small states, year by year
| Year | annual % | Change |
|---|---|---|
| 1961 | 0.9% | — |
| 1962 | 1.0% | +12.9% |
| 1963 | 1.0% | +1.1% |
| 1964 | 0.9% | -8.1% |
| 1965 | 0.8% | -10.1% |
| 1966 | 0.8% | -6.3% |
| 1967 | 0.7% | -11.5% |
| 1968 | 0.7% | -3.3% |
| 1969 | 0.8% | +15.4% |
| 1970 | 0.8% | +7.0% |
| 1971 | 0.9% | +3.5% |
| 1972 | 0.7% | -15.6% |
| 1973 | 0.6% | -18.2% |
| 1974 | 0.3% | -49.3% |
| 1975 | 0.2% | -21.8% |
| 1976 | 0.5% | +122.5% |
| 1977 | 0.7% | +33.5% |
| 1978 | 0.7% | +5.0% |
| 1979 | 0.9% | +17.2% |
| 1980 | 1.0% | +13.8% |
| 1981 | 1.0% | +3.1% |
| 1982 | 1.0% | -3.8% |
| 1983 | 0.9% | -1.7% |
| 1984 | 1.0% | +0.3% |
| 1985 | 1.0% | +3.4% |
| 1986 | 1.0% | +3.6% |
| 1987 | 1.0% | -1.7% |
| 1988 | 1.0% | +0.5% |
| 1989 | 1.1% | +7.0% |
| 1990 | 1.2% | +7.3% |
| 1991 | 1.2% | +6.1% |
| 1992 | 0.7% | -39.3% |
| 1993 | 0.6% | -13.8% |
| 1994 | 0.7% | +15.0% |
| 1995 | 0.6% | -13.4% |
| 1996 | 1.0% | +54.4% |
| 1997 | 1.1% | +13.2% |
| 1998 | 1.1% | -1.9% |
| 1999 | -0.1% | -111.7% |
| 2000 | 0.0% | -105.4% |
| 2001 | 1.4% | +20121.3% |
| 2002 | 1.4% | -1.1% |
| 2003 | 1.1% | -23.7% |
| 2004 | 0.8% | -25.5% |
| 2005 | 0.5% | -34.5% |
| 2006 | 0.9% | +66.5% |
| 2007 | 0.9% | -1.0% |
| 2008 | 0.8% | -3.8% |
| 2009 | 0.8% | -5.9% |
| 2010 | 0.9% | +11.8% |
| 2011 | 0.9% | -1.0% |
| 2012 | 0.8% | -2.8% |
| 2013 | 0.8% | -0.5% |
| 2014 | 0.8% | -3.5% |
| 2015 | 0.8% | -3.1% |
| 2016 | 0.7% | -5.6% |
| 2017 | 0.7% | -2.4% |
| 2018 | 0.9% | +21.0% |
| 2019 | 0.7% | -13.8% |
| 2020 | 0.6% | -20.0% |
| 2021 | 0.6% | +4.3% |
| 2022 | 0.7% | +7.1% |
| 2023 | 0.4% | -35.9% |
| 2024 | 0.4% | +2.0% |
| 2025 | 0.4% | -10.8% |
Averages by decade
| Decade | Average | Lowest | Highest | Years |
|---|---|---|---|---|
| 1960s | 0.8% | 0.7% | 1.0% | 9 |
| 1970s | 0.6% | 0.2% | 0.9% | 10 |
| 1980s | 1.0% | 0.9% | 1.1% | 10 |
| 1990s | 0.8% | -0.1% | 1.2% | 10 |
| 2000s | 0.9% | 0.0% | 1.4% | 10 |
| 2010s | 0.8% | 0.7% | 0.9% | 10 |
| 2020s | 0.5% | 0.4% | 0.7% | 6 |
Countries ranked near Small states
More agriculture & rural data for Small states
- Agriculture, forestry, and fishing, value added (current US$), annual 11.17 % change on previous year (2025)
- Agriculture, forestry, and fishing, value added 12.45 billion current US$ (2025)
- Rural population 9.75 million (2025)
- Rural population 47.9% (2025)
- Agricultural raw materials imports 1.2% (2024)
- Agricultural raw materials exports 2.2% (2024)
- Rural population, per capita 0.479 units per person (2025)
- Rural population, per unit of GDP 0 units per US$ of GDP (2025)
- Agriculture, forestry, and fishing, value added (current US$), per 611.84 current US$ per person (2025)
- Rural population, annual growth rate 0.39 % change on previous year (2025)
Frequently asked questions
- What is rural population growth in Small states?
- Rural population growth in Small states was 0.4% in 2025, according to World Urbanization Prospects, United Nations (UN).
- What is the highest rural population growth recorded in Small states?
- The highest recorded value was 1.4% in 2001.
- What is the lowest rural population growth recorded in Small states?
- The lowest recorded value was -0.1% in 1999.
- How does Small states rank for rural population growth?
- Small states ranks 21st out of 45 groups with data for 2025.
- Is rural population growth rising or falling in Small states?
- Over the last ten years it is down 49.9%. The long-run trend across the full record is falling.
- Where does this 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
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.