Rural population growth in Yemen
Yemen: Rural population growth was 2.5% in 2025. ▲ Rising
Rural population growth in Yemen, 1961–2025
Source: World Urbanization Prospects, United Nations (UN). Measured in annual %.
Analysis
Yemen recorded 2.5% for rural population growth in 2025.
That represents a change of down 2.8% on the previous year and up 11.8% over ten years.
Over the whole period, rural population growth in Yemen peaked at 2.9% in 1987 and was at its lowest, 1.6%, in 2020.
Yemen ranks 11th of 209 countries on this measure, in the top 10%.
The long-run direction has been consistently rising across the 65 years of available data.
Rural population growth in Yemen, year by year
| Year | annual % | Change |
|---|---|---|
| 1961 | 2.0% | — |
| 1962 | 2.0% | +0.6% |
| 1963 | 2.0% | -1.4% |
| 1964 | 2.0% | +3.5% |
| 1965 | 2.2% | +5.1% |
| 1966 | 2.2% | +2.6% |
| 1967 | 2.3% | +2.6% |
| 1968 | 2.3% | +2.1% |
| 1969 | 2.4% | +3.0% |
| 1970 | 2.3% | -1.8% |
| 1971 | 2.3% | -3.8% |
| 1972 | 2.2% | -0.3% |
| 1973 | 2.2% | -0.5% |
| 1974 | 2.2% | +0.1% |
| 1975 | 2.3% | +0.9% |
| 1976 | 2.3% | +1.2% |
| 1977 | 2.3% | +1.0% |
| 1978 | 2.3% | +1.2% |
| 1979 | 2.4% | +3.4% |
| 1980 | 2.5% | +4.0% |
| 1981 | 2.6% | +2.9% |
| 1982 | 2.6% | +2.5% |
| 1983 | 2.7% | +3.1% |
| 1984 | 2.8% | +3.4% |
| 1985 | 2.9% | +3.2% |
| 1986 | 2.9% | +1.0% |
| 1987 | 2.9% | +0.0% |
| 1988 | 2.9% | -1.1% |
| 1989 | 2.8% | -2.2% |
| 1990 | 2.8% | -0.6% |
| 1991 | 2.8% | -0.3% |
| 1992 | 2.8% | -0.2% |
| 1993 | 2.8% | -0.0% |
| 1994 | 2.8% | -0.1% |
| 1995 | 2.8% | -1.4% |
| 1996 | 2.6% | -7.1% |
| 1997 | 2.4% | -6.2% |
| 1998 | 2.4% | -0.7% |
| 1999 | 2.4% | -0.6% |
| 2000 | 2.4% | -0.5% |
| 2001 | 2.3% | -1.3% |
| 2002 | 2.3% | -1.2% |
| 2003 | 2.3% | +0.1% |
| 2004 | 2.3% | +1.3% |
| 2005 | 2.5% | +8.1% |
| 2006 | 2.7% | +6.9% |
| 2007 | 2.7% | +0.2% |
| 2008 | 2.7% | -0.3% |
| 2009 | 2.7% | +0.2% |
| 2010 | 2.7% | -1.3% |
| 2011 | 2.6% | -2.3% |
| 2012 | 2.6% | +0.6% |
| 2013 | 2.7% | +2.4% |
| 2014 | 2.5% | -9.0% |
| 2015 | 2.3% | -7.7% |
| 2016 | 2.2% | -4.4% |
| 2017 | 2.1% | -3.0% |
| 2018 | 2.0% | -6.1% |
| 2019 | 1.9% | -3.6% |
| 2020 | 1.6% | -13.6% |
| 2021 | 2.2% | +32.1% |
| 2022 | 2.5% | +14.2% |
| 2023 | 2.6% | +5.7% |
| 2024 | 2.6% | -0.4% |
| 2025 | 2.5% | -2.8% |
Averages by decade
| Decade | Average | Lowest | Highest | Years |
|---|---|---|---|---|
| 1960s | 2.2% | 2.0% | 2.4% | 9 |
| 1970s | 2.3% | 2.2% | 2.4% | 10 |
| 1980s | 2.8% | 2.5% | 2.9% | 10 |
| 1990s | 2.7% | 2.4% | 2.8% | 10 |
| 2000s | 2.5% | 2.3% | 2.7% | 10 |
| 2010s | 2.3% | 1.9% | 2.7% | 10 |
| 2020s | 2.3% | 1.6% | 2.6% | 6 |
Countries ranked near Yemen
- 8 Central African Republic 2.6% compare
- 9 Chad 2.5% compare
- 10 Democratic Republic of Congo 2.5% compare
- 12 Afghanistan 2.4% compare
- 13 Sudan 2.3% compare
- 14 Vanuatu 2.2% compare
More agriculture & rural data for Yemen
- Agriculture, forestry, and fishing, value added (current US$), annual -14.18 % change on previous year (2018)
- Agriculture, forestry, and fishing, value added (current US$), per 0.2875 current US$ per US$ of GDP (2018)
- Agriculture, forestry, and fishing, value added (current US$), per 182.21 current US$ per person (2018)
- Rural population, annual growth rate 2.57 % change on previous year (2025)
- Rural population, per unit of GDP 0.001 units per US$ of GDP (2018)
- Rural population, per capita 0.6297 units per person (2025)
- Share of GDP from agriculture 28.7% (2018)
- Agriculture as a share of GDP vs. GDP per capita 28.7% (2018)
- Agricultural raw materials exports 0.0% (2019)
- Agricultural raw materials imports 0.6% (2019)
Frequently asked questions
- What is rural population growth in Yemen?
- Rural population growth in Yemen was 2.5% in 2025, according to World Urbanization Prospects, United Nations (UN).
- What is the highest rural population growth recorded in Yemen?
- The highest recorded value was 2.9% in 1987.
- What is the lowest rural population growth recorded in Yemen?
- The lowest recorded value was 1.6% in 2020.
- How does Yemen rank for rural population growth?
- Yemen ranks 11th out of 209 countries with data for 2025.
- Is rural population growth rising or falling in Yemen?
- Over the last ten years it is up 11.8%. The long-run trend across the full record is rising.
- Where does this Yemen 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.