Rural population growth in Somalia
Somalia: Rural population growth was 2.2% in 2025. ◆ Volatile
Rural population growth in Somalia, 1961–2025
Source: World Urbanization Prospects, United Nations (UN). Measured in annual %.
Analysis
In 2025, rural population growth in Somalia stood at 2.2%.
The figure is down 4.5% on the previous year and up 176.4% over ten years.
Over the whole period, rural population growth in Somalia peaked at 12.0% in 1979 and was at its lowest, -5.2%, in 1992.
Somalia ranks 15th of 209 countries on this measure, in the top 10%.
The series is highly variable year to year, so single readings are best treated with caution.
Rural population growth in Somalia, year by year
| Year | annual % | Change |
|---|---|---|
| 1961 | 2.0% | — |
| 1962 | 2.0% | +0.1% |
| 1963 | 2.0% | -0.1% |
| 1964 | 2.0% | -1.4% |
| 1965 | 1.9% | -1.4% |
| 1966 | 1.9% | -1.8% |
| 1967 | 1.9% | -1.2% |
| 1968 | 1.9% | -0.1% |
| 1969 | 1.9% | +0.1% |
| 1970 | 1.9% | +1.6% |
| 1971 | 1.9% | +0.4% |
| 1972 | 1.9% | +2.0% |
| 1973 | 2.0% | +5.0% |
| 1974 | 2.0% | +0.1% |
| 1975 | 2.0% | +0.0% |
| 1976 | 2.1% | +2.4% |
| 1977 | 2.3% | +9.5% |
| 1978 | 6.8% | +195.4% |
| 1979 | 12.0% | +78.0% |
| 1980 | 8.3% | -31.5% |
| 1981 | 0.5% | -94.1% |
| 1982 | 0.1% | -88.6% |
| 1983 | 2.9% | +5106.8% |
| 1984 | 3.3% | +15.3% |
| 1985 | 3.7% | +11.3% |
| 1986 | 3.8% | +1.5% |
| 1987 | 3.2% | -15.5% |
| 1988 | -0.3% | -110.0% |
| 1989 | -2.1% | +560.4% |
| 1990 | -0.9% | -58.0% |
| 1991 | -4.3% | +388.3% |
| 1992 | -5.2% | +21.5% |
| 1993 | 2.4% | -144.9% |
| 1994 | 4.5% | +93.2% |
| 1995 | 3.1% | -31.9% |
| 1996 | 3.1% | +0.0% |
| 1997 | 3.0% | -4.7% |
| 1998 | 3.6% | +20.4% |
| 1999 | 3.4% | -3.5% |
| 2000 | 3.4% | -2.2% |
| 2001 | 3.3% | -1.3% |
| 2002 | 3.0% | -8.3% |
| 2003 | 3.0% | -2.7% |
| 2004 | 2.9% | -0.7% |
| 2005 | 2.7% | -8.2% |
| 2006 | 2.2% | -16.8% |
| 2007 | 2.2% | -0.6% |
| 2008 | 2.0% | -10.4% |
| 2009 | 1.5% | -26.9% |
| 2010 | 1.3% | -11.0% |
| 2011 | -0.6% | -147.4% |
| 2012 | -0.6% | -6.1% |
| 2013 | 1.6% | -370.2% |
| 2014 | 1.7% | +9.7% |
| 2015 | 0.8% | -53.8% |
| 2016 | 0.1% | -90.9% |
| 2017 | -0.7% | -1080.4% |
| 2018 | -1.6% | +129.7% |
| 2019 | 2.3% | -240.1% |
| 2020 | 2.5% | +8.8% |
| 2021 | 2.3% | -4.3% |
| 2022 | 1.8% | -25.4% |
| 2023 | 1.8% | +5.2% |
| 2024 | 2.3% | +23.9% |
| 2025 | 2.2% | -4.5% |
Averages by decade
| Decade | Average | Lowest | Highest | Years |
|---|---|---|---|---|
| 1960s | 1.9% | 1.9% | 2.0% | 9 |
| 1970s | 3.5% | 1.9% | 12.0% | 10 |
| 1980s | 2.3% | -2.1% | 8.3% | 10 |
| 1990s | 1.3% | -5.2% | 4.5% | 10 |
| 2000s | 2.6% | 1.5% | 3.4% | 10 |
| 2010s | 0.4% | -1.6% | 2.3% | 10 |
| 2020s | 2.1% | 1.8% | 2.5% | 6 |
Countries ranked near Somalia
More agriculture & rural data for Somalia
- Agriculture, forestry, and fishing, value added (current US$), annual -13.31 % change on previous year (1990)
- Agriculture, forestry, and fishing, value added (current US$), per 0.5579 current US$ per US$ of GDP (1990)
- Agriculture, forestry, and fishing, value added (current US$), per 81.24 current US$ per person (1990)
- Rural population, annual growth rate 2.21 % change on previous year (2025)
- Rural population, per unit of GDP 0.0007 units per US$ of GDP (2025)
- Rural population, per capita 0.4486 units per person (2025)
- Agriculture share gdp 55.79 (1990)
- Value added in the agricultural sector as of gdp vs gdp per capita 55.79 (1990)
- Agricultural raw materials exports 0.7% (1982)
- Agricultural raw materials imports 7.1% (1982)
Frequently asked questions
- What is rural population growth in Somalia?
- Rural population growth in Somalia was 2.2% in 2025, according to World Urbanization Prospects, United Nations (UN).
- What is the highest rural population growth recorded in Somalia?
- The highest recorded value was 12.0% in 1979.
- What is the lowest rural population growth recorded in Somalia?
- The lowest recorded value was -5.2% in 1992.
- How does Somalia rank for rural population growth?
- Somalia ranks 15th out of 209 countries with data for 2025.
- Is rural population growth rising or falling in Somalia?
- Over the last ten years it is up 176.4%. The long-run trend across the full record is volatile.
- Where does this Somalia 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.