Rural population growth in South Asia
South Asia: Rural population growth was 0.4% in 2025. ▼ Falling
Rural population growth in South Asia, 1961–2025
Source: World Urbanization Prospects, United Nations (UN). Measured in annual %.
Analysis
The most recent figure for rural population growth in South Asia is 0.4%, measured in 2025.
That represents a change of down 3.4% on the previous year and down 45.2% over ten years.
Over the whole period, rural population growth in South Asia peaked at 2.3% in 1961 and was at its lowest, 0.3%, in 2022.
That places South Asia 23rd 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 South Asia, year by year
| Year | annual % | Change |
|---|---|---|
| 1961 | 2.3% | — |
| 1962 | 2.3% | -1.4% |
| 1963 | 2.2% | -1.8% |
| 1964 | 2.2% | -1.1% |
| 1965 | 2.1% | -4.4% |
| 1966 | 2.0% | -5.4% |
| 1967 | 2.0% | -0.3% |
| 1968 | 2.0% | -0.7% |
| 1969 | 1.9% | -2.9% |
| 1970 | 2.0% | +2.3% |
| 1971 | 1.8% | -6.3% |
| 1972 | 1.8% | -3.0% |
| 1973 | 1.9% | +4.5% |
| 1974 | 1.8% | -1.4% |
| 1975 | 1.8% | -2.1% |
| 1976 | 1.7% | -3.9% |
| 1977 | 1.7% | -1.1% |
| 1978 | 1.7% | -2.4% |
| 1979 | 1.7% | +3.4% |
| 1980 | 1.8% | +7.0% |
| 1981 | 1.9% | +4.8% |
| 1982 | 2.0% | +3.1% |
| 1983 | 2.0% | +0.9% |
| 1984 | 2.0% | +0.5% |
| 1985 | 2.0% | -0.2% |
| 1986 | 2.0% | -0.3% |
| 1987 | 2.0% | -1.5% |
| 1988 | 1.9% | -2.0% |
| 1989 | 1.9% | -1.2% |
| 1990 | 1.9% | -2.0% |
| 1991 | 1.8% | -2.9% |
| 1992 | 1.8% | -1.1% |
| 1993 | 1.8% | -1.2% |
| 1994 | 1.7% | -3.0% |
| 1995 | 1.7% | -1.7% |
| 1996 | 1.7% | -1.3% |
| 1997 | 1.6% | -2.3% |
| 1998 | 1.6% | -2.5% |
| 1999 | 1.6% | -3.1% |
| 2000 | 1.5% | -3.6% |
| 2001 | 1.4% | -4.2% |
| 2002 | 1.3% | -8.2% |
| 2003 | 1.2% | -10.1% |
| 2004 | 1.1% | -6.8% |
| 2005 | 1.0% | -9.8% |
| 2006 | 0.9% | -9.5% |
| 2007 | 0.8% | -8.5% |
| 2008 | 0.7% | -9.1% |
| 2009 | 0.7% | -0.3% |
| 2010 | 0.8% | +1.2% |
| 2011 | 0.8% | +2.4% |
| 2012 | 0.8% | +7.3% |
| 2013 | 0.7% | -11.7% |
| 2014 | 0.7% | -0.0% |
| 2015 | 0.7% | -7.8% |
| 2016 | 0.7% | +0.5% |
| 2017 | 0.6% | -4.5% |
| 2018 | 0.6% | -9.2% |
| 2019 | 0.5% | -7.3% |
| 2020 | 0.5% | -9.4% |
| 2021 | 0.4% | -24.8% |
| 2022 | 0.3% | -9.0% |
| 2023 | 0.4% | +13.0% |
| 2024 | 0.4% | +0.0% |
| 2025 | 0.4% | -3.4% |
Averages by decade
| Decade | Average | Lowest | Highest | Years |
|---|---|---|---|---|
| 1960s | 2.1% | 1.9% | 2.3% | 9 |
| 1970s | 1.8% | 1.7% | 2.0% | 10 |
| 1980s | 2.0% | 1.8% | 2.0% | 10 |
| 1990s | 1.7% | 1.6% | 1.9% | 10 |
| 2000s | 1.1% | 0.7% | 1.5% | 10 |
| 2010s | 0.7% | 0.5% | 0.8% | 10 |
| 2020s | 0.4% | 0.3% | 0.5% | 6 |
Countries ranked near South Asia
- 20 Zambia 1.9% compare
- 21 Iraq 1.9% compare
- 22 Ethiopia 1.9% compare
- 23 Tajikistan 1.9% compare
- 24 Uzbekistan 1.8% compare
- 25 Uganda 1.7% compare
- 26 Tanzania, United Republic of 1.7% compare
More agriculture & rural data for South Asia
- Agriculture, forestry, and fishing, value added (current US$), annual -2.13 % change on previous year (2025)
- Agriculture, forestry, and fishing, value added 714.12 billion current US$ (2025)
- Rural population 1.09 billion (2025)
- Rural population 64.2% (2025)
- Agricultural raw materials imports 1.6% (2024)
- Agricultural raw materials exports 1.0% (2024)
- Rural population, per capita 0.6421 units per person (2025)
- Rural population, per unit of GDP 0.0002 units per US$ of GDP (2025)
- Agriculture, forestry, and fishing, value added (current US$), per 421.99 current US$ per person (2025)
- Rural population, annual growth rate 0.3704 % change on previous year (2025)
Frequently asked questions
- What is rural population growth in South Asia?
- Rural population growth in South Asia was 0.4% in 2025, according to World Urbanization Prospects, United Nations (UN).
- What is the highest rural population growth recorded in South Asia?
- The highest recorded value was 2.3% in 1961.
- What is the lowest rural population growth recorded in South Asia?
- The lowest recorded value was 0.3% in 2022.
- How does South Asia rank for rural population growth?
- South Asia ranks 23rd out of 45 groups with data for 2025.
- Is rural population growth rising or falling in South Asia?
- Over the last ten years it is down 45.2%. The long-run trend across the full record is falling.
- Where does this South Asia 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.