Rural population (% of total population) by country
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.
Countries reporting
211
Highest
85.4%
Liechtenstein
Lowest
0.0%
Macao
Median
36.6%
Years covered
66
1960–2025
Data points
17,556
What the numbers show
Rural population (% of total population) is currently reported for 211 countries. The highest value is 85.4% in Liechtenstein; the lowest is 0.0% in Macao.
The median across all reporting countries is 36.6%, and the mean is 38.2%.
Over the past decade 27 countries rose and 179 fell. The largest increase was in American Samoa (up 27.1%), and the largest decrease in Netherlands (down 58.2%).
Rural population (% of total population) (Rural World Urbanization): full country ranking
| # | Country | Latest | Year | 10-year change | Trend |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| 1 | Liechtenstein | 85.4% | 2025 | down 0.2% | rising |
| 2 | Papua New Guinea | 84.2% | 2025 | down 2.9% | falling |
| 3 | Samoa | 82.5% | 2025 | up 2.1% | flat |
| 4 | Malawi | 82.4% | 2025 | down 2.1% | falling |
| 5 | Niger | 81.6% | 2025 | down 2.5% | falling |
| 6 | Sri Lanka | 79.5% | 2025 | down 2.0% | flat |
| 7 | Tonga | 78.8% | 2025 | up 2.7% | flat |
| 8 | South Sudan | 78.3% | 2025 | down 3.5% | falling |
| 9 | Vanuatu | 77.7% | 2025 | up 3.4% | falling |
| 10 | Micronesia (country) | 77.5% | 2025 | down 0.2% | flat |
| 11 | Ethiopia | 75.9% | 2025 | down 5.8% | falling |
| 12 | Antigua and Barbuda | 75.7% | 2025 | up 0.9% | rising |
| 13 | Burundi | 74.3% | 2025 | down 12.9% | falling |
| 14 | Afghanistan | 74.1% | 2025 | down 2.0% | falling |
| 15 | Tajikistan | 73.8% | 2025 | up 0.4% | rising |
| 16 | Guyana | 73.5% | 2025 | down 0.1% | rising |
| 17 | Eswatini | 73.3% | 2025 | down 4.5% | falling |
| 18 | Chad | 72.4% | 2025 | down 6.2% | falling |
| 19 | East Timor | 71.2% | 2025 | up 1.0% | falling |
| 20 | Burkina Faso | 71.1% | 2025 | down 4.4% | falling |
| 21 | Saint Lucia | 70.9% | 2025 | down 11.3% | flat |
| 22 | Myanmar | 69.4% | 2025 | down 1.2% | falling |
| 23 | Rwanda | 69.1% | 2025 | down 15.5% | falling |
| 24 | Solomon Islands | 68.7% | 2025 | down 10.0% | falling |
| 25 | Saint Kitts and Nevis | 68.1% | 2025 | down 0.9% | flat |
| 26 | Uganda | 68.1% | 2025 | down 9.3% | falling |
| 27 | Kenya | 67.8% | 2025 | down 0.7% | falling |
| 28 | Mali | 67.8% | 2025 | down 8.6% | falling |
| 29 | Channel Islands | 67.4% | 2025 | up 0.1% | rising |
| 30 | Madagascar | 67.1% | 2025 | down 5.3% | falling |
| 31 | Bangladesh | 66.8% | 2025 | down 5.3% | falling |
| 32 | Comoros | 66.1% | 2025 | down 5.1% | falling |
| 33 | Eritrea | 65.5% | 2025 | up 1.6% | falling |
| 34 | Kyrgyzstan | 65.3% | 2025 | up 0.5% | flat |
| 35 | Sudan | 65.1% | 2025 | down 1.3% | falling |
| 36 | India | 64.3% | 2025 | down 4.7% | falling |
| 37 | Grenada | 63.3% | 2025 | down 1.2% | falling |
| 38 | Tanzania | 63.1% | 2025 | down 8.3% | falling |
| 39 | Yemen | 63.0% | 2025 | down 6.9% | falling |
| 40 | Mozambique | 62.8% | 2025 | down 7.5% | falling |
| 41 | Guinea | 61.5% | 2025 | down 5.4% | falling |
| 42 | Vietnam | 61.2% | 2025 | down 9.5% | falling |
| 43 | Mauritius | 61.0% | 2025 | up 1.1% | rising |
| 44 | Pakistan | 60.5% | 2025 | down 5.7% | falling |
| 45 | Faroe Islands | 60.4% | 2025 | down 2.4% | falling |
| 46 | Laos | 59.7% | 2025 | down 10.7% | falling |
| 47 | Zimbabwe | 59.5% | 2025 | down 10.4% | falling |
| 48 | Cambodia | 58.9% | 2025 | down 15.8% | falling |
| 49 | Belize | 58.4% | 2025 | up 4.2% | rising |
| 50 | Maldives | 57.5% | 2025 | down 6.4% | falling |
| 51 | Egypt | 57.1% | 2025 | down 0.5% | flat |
| 52 | Bhutan | 56.6% | 2025 | down 10.6% | falling |
| 53 | Moldova | 56.3% | 2025 | down 6.7% | falling |
| 54 | Togo | 55.6% | 2025 | down 7.8% | falling |
| 55 | Central African Republic | 55.4% | 2025 | down 7.6% | falling |
| 56 | Lesotho | 55.3% | 2025 | down 16.1% | falling |
| 57 | Democratic Republic of Congo | 54.9% | 2025 | down 6.4% | falling |
| 58 | Seychelles | 54.5% | 2025 | down 4.2% | falling |
| 59 | Zambia | 54.1% | 2025 | down 6.8% | falling |
| 60 | Sierra Leone | 54.1% | 2025 | down 8.7% | falling |
| 61 | Guinea-Bissau | 53.3% | 2025 | down 7.8% | falling |
| 62 | Turkmenistan | 52.9% | 2025 | down 0.2% | flat |
| 63 | Saint Vincent and the Grenadines | 52.0% | 2025 | down 2.4% | falling |
| 64 | Namibia | 49.1% | 2025 | down 9.8% | falling |
| 65 | Kosovo | 49.1% | 2025 | down 18.3% | falling |
| 65 | Kosovo (UNSCR 1244) | 49.1% | 2025 | down 18.3% | falling |
| 67 | Uzbekistan | 49.0% | 2025 | down 0.7% | falling |
| 68 | Isle of Man | 47.9% | 2025 | down 0.0% | rising |
| 69 | Romania | 47.8% | 2025 | up 3.3% | falling |
| 70 | Bosnia and Herzegovina | 47.3% | 2025 | down 9.8% | falling |
| 71 | Slovakia | 46.8% | 2025 | up 1.5% | falling |
| 72 | Benin | 46.6% | 2025 | down 13.7% | falling |
| 73 | Trinidad and Tobago | 46.0% | 2025 | down 0.1% | falling |
| 74 | Cote d'Ivoire | 45.5% | 2025 | down 10.1% | falling |
| 75 | Somalia | 44.9% | 2025 | down 20.1% | falling |
| 76 | Haiti | 44.4% | 2025 | down 12.2% | falling |
| 77 | Cameroon | 44.3% | 2025 | down 6.4% | falling |
| 78 | Senegal | 44.2% | 2025 | down 17.7% | falling |
| 79 | Philippines | 44.2% | 2025 | down 9.5% | falling |
| 80 | Slovenia | 44.0% | 2025 | down 5.0% | falling |
| 81 | Liberia | 43.9% | 2025 | down 10.8% | falling |
| 82 | Guatemala | 43.7% | 2025 | down 6.1% | falling |
| 83 | British Virgin Islands | 42.6% | 2025 | down 15.7% | falling |
| 84 | Croatia | 42.2% | 2025 | down 5.0% | falling |
| 85 | Azerbaijan | 41.4% | 2025 | down 7.8% | falling |
| 86 | Albania | 41.1% | 2025 | down 8.3% | falling |
| 87 | Ghana | 41.1% | 2025 | down 11.4% | falling |
| 88 | Honduras | 40.7% | 2025 | down 10.7% | falling |
| 89 | Indonesia | 40.6% | 2025 | down 13.3% | falling |
| 90 | Jamaica | 40.6% | 2025 | down 9.4% | falling |
| 91 | Nicaragua | 40.6% | 2025 | down 3.9% | falling |
| 92 | Fiji | 40.5% | 2025 | down 10.8% | falling |
| 93 | Barbados | 40.3% | 2025 | down 1.1% | falling |
| 94 | Poland | 39.9% | 2025 | up 0.6% | falling |
| 95 | Georgia | 38.8% | 2025 | down 8.9% | falling |
| 96 | Mauritania | 38.5% | 2025 | down 20.3% | falling |
| 97 | Portugal | 38.5% | 2025 | down 0.9% | falling |
| 98 | Aruba | 38.3% | 2025 | up 4.0% | flat |
| 99 | French Polynesia | 38.2% | 2025 | down 0.1% | falling |
| 100 | Kazakhstan | 37.6% | 2025 | down 14.3% | falling |
| 101 | Serbia | 37.4% | 2025 | down 6.3% | falling |
| 102 | Thailand | 37.2% | 2025 | down 29.9% | falling |
| 103 | North Macedonia | 37.1% | 2025 | down 9.3% | falling |
| 104 | Morocco | 36.9% | 2025 | down 6.3% | falling |
| 105 | Kiribati | 36.6% | 2025 | down 25.3% | falling |
| 106 | Ecuador | 36.6% | 2025 | down 1.2% | falling |
| 107 | Nigeria | 36.2% | 2025 | down 18.2% | falling |
| 108 | South Africa | 36.2% | 2025 | down 1.6% | falling |
| 109 | Congo | 35.9% | 2025 | down 2.7% | falling |
| 110 | North Korea | 35.8% | 2025 | down 7.4% | falling |
| 111 | Ireland | 35.4% | 2025 | down 5.2% | falling |
| 112 | Gambia | 35.0% | 2025 | down 14.1% | falling |
| 113 | Tuvalu | 34.6% | 2025 | down 15.9% | falling |
| 114 | Montenegro | 34.4% | 2025 | down 2.2% | falling |
| 115 | Suriname | 34.2% | 2025 | up 1.2% | flat |
| 116 | Armenia | 34.1% | 2025 | down 4.0% | falling |
| 117 | Panama | 33.8% | 2025 | down 1.8% | falling |
| 118 | China | 33.7% | 2025 | down 21.1% | falling |
| 119 | Cyprus | 33.3% | 2025 | up 1.0% | falling |
| 120 | Nepal | 33.0% | 2025 | down 5.8% | falling |
| 121 | Botswana | 32.0% | 2025 | down 7.4% | falling |
| 122 | New Caledonia | 31.8% | 2025 | down 4.1% | falling |
| 123 | Latvia | 31.4% | 2025 | down 2.3% | falling |
| 124 | Lithuania | 30.9% | 2025 | down 5.7% | falling |
| 125 | Sao Tome and Principe | 30.8% | 2025 | down 5.5% | falling |
| 126 | Ukraine | 30.4% | 2025 | down 1.4% | falling |
| 127 | Italy | 30.3% | 2025 | down 0.2% | falling |
| 128 | Austria | 30.3% | 2025 | down 6.7% | falling |
| 129 | Iraq | 30.1% | 2025 | down 0.1% | falling |
| 130 | Paraguay | 29.6% | 2025 | down 23.4% | falling |
| 131 | Hungary | 29.3% | 2025 | down 0.7% | falling |
| 132 | Tunisia | 29.3% | 2025 | down 8.8% | falling |
| 133 | Estonia | 29.3% | 2025 | down 7.1% | falling |
| 134 | Mongolia | 28.9% | 2025 | down 9.8% | falling |
| 135 | Angola | 28.5% | 2025 | down 21.8% | falling |
| 136 | Bolivia | 28.4% | 2025 | down 10.0% | falling |
| 137 | Equatorial Guinea | 28.4% | 2025 | down 8.5% | falling |
| 138 | Syria | 27.9% | 2025 | up 15.1% | falling |
| 139 | Dominican Republic | 27.5% | 2025 | up 6.3% | falling |
| 140 | Czechia | 27.1% | 2025 | up 0.6% | falling |
| 141 | Djibouti | 27.0% | 2025 | down 6.8% | falling |
| 142 | Dominica | 26.0% | 2025 | down 13.7% | falling |
| 143 | Bulgaria | 25.8% | 2025 | down 4.0% | falling |
| 144 | Finland | 25.5% | 2025 | down 11.2% | falling |
| 145 | Brunei | 25.0% | 2025 | down 0.2% | falling |
| 146 | Russia | 24.7% | 2025 | down 3.8% | falling |
| 147 | El Salvador | 24.5% | 2025 | down 19.2% | falling |
| 148 | Algeria | 24.2% | 2025 | down 19.0% | falling |
| 149 | Cuba | 22.8% | 2025 | down 1.5% | falling |
| 150 | Iran | 22.6% | 2025 | down 15.1% | falling |
| 151 | Malaysia | 22.6% | 2025 | down 14.9% | falling |
| 152 | Cape Verde | 22.4% | 2025 | down 32.4% | falling |
| 153 | Colombia | 21.2% | 2025 | down 7.1% | falling |
| 154 | France | 21.2% | 2025 | down 4.9% | falling |
| 155 | Marshall Islands | 20.9% | 2025 | down 14.8% | falling |
| 156 | Greece | 20.8% | 2025 | down 7.6% | falling |
| 157 | Palau | 20.7% | 2025 | up 5.6% | falling |
| 158 | Oman | 20.5% | 2025 | down 9.6% | falling |
| 159 | Belarus | 20.5% | 2025 | down 12.3% | falling |
| 160 | Costa Rica | 20.3% | 2025 | down 18.8% | falling |
| 161 | Mexico | 20.0% | 2025 | down 12.5% | falling |
| 162 | United States | 19.8% | 2025 | up 1.9% | falling |
| 163 | American Samoa | 19.5% | 2025 | up 27.1% | volatile |
| 164 | Spain | 19.5% | 2025 | down 6.1% | falling |
| 165 | South Korea | 18.8% | 2025 | up 2.5% | volatile |
| 166 | Bahamas | 18.7% | 2025 | up 5.2% | falling |
| 167 | Germany | 17.9% | 2025 | down 7.5% | falling |
| 168 | Canada | 17.1% | 2025 | down 8.7% | falling |
| 169 | United Kingdom | 16.7% | 2025 | down 8.2% | falling |
| 170 | Norway | 16.4% | 2025 | down 12.4% | falling |
| 171 | New Zealand | 16.0% | 2025 | up 7.8% | falling |
| 172 | Saudi Arabia | 15.4% | 2025 | down 9.7% | volatile |
| 173 | Peru | 14.4% | 2025 | down 25.4% | falling |
| 174 | Switzerland | 14.3% | 2025 | down 41.5% | falling |
| 175 | United Arab Emirates | 14.0% | 2025 | down 10.4% | falling |
| 176 | Palestine | 12.6% | 2025 | down 14.6% | falling |
| 177 | Belgium | 12.3% | 2025 | down 10.5% | falling |
| 178 | Australia | 12.3% | 2025 | down 6.4% | falling |
| 179 | Libya | 12.1% | 2025 | down 0.8% | volatile |
| 180 | Brazil | 11.8% | 2025 | down 17.4% | falling |
| 181 | Greenland | 11.4% | 2025 | down 18.1% | falling |
| 182 | Denmark | 11.2% | 2025 | down 9.1% | falling |
| 183 | Andorra | 11.1% | 2025 | down 3.8% | volatile |
| 184 | Sweden | 10.9% | 2025 | down 18.4% | falling |
| 185 | Chile | 10.8% | 2025 | down 13.7% | falling |
| 186 | Venezuela | 10.7% | 2025 | down 3.3% | falling |
| 187 | Turkey | 10.5% | 2025 | down 17.8% | falling |
| 188 | Lebanon | 9.0% | 2025 | down 20.5% | volatile |
| 189 | Curacao | 8.5% | 2025 | down 1.7% | falling |
| 190 | Israel | 8.4% | 2025 | up 1.5% | falling |
| 191 | Gabon | 7.9% | 2025 | down 33.6% | volatile |
| 192 | Northern Mariana Islands | 7.8% | 2025 | down 9.8% | falling |
| 193 | Japan | 7.7% | 2025 | down 11.0% | falling |
| 194 | Argentina | 7.6% | 2025 | down 10.1% | falling |
| 195 | Jordan | 6.8% | 2025 | down 32.8% | volatile |
| 196 | Iceland | 5.8% | 2025 | down 7.8% | falling |
| 197 | Guam | 5.8% | 2025 | down 2.4% | falling |
| 198 | Puerto Rico | 5.7% | 2025 | down 8.7% | volatile |
| 199 | Turks and Caicos Islands | 5.6% | 2025 | down 31.0% | volatile |
| 200 | Luxembourg | 5.1% | 2025 | down 43.2% | falling |
| 201 | United States Virgin Islands | 4.6% | 2025 | down 8.8% | volatile |
| 202 | Uruguay | 4.3% | 2025 | down 11.7% | falling |
| 203 | Malta | 4.3% | 2025 | down 22.3% | falling |
| 204 | Netherlands | 4.1% | 2025 | down 58.2% | falling |
| 205 | San Marino | 2.8% | 2025 | down 3.0% | volatile |
| 206 | Qatar | 0.6% | 2025 | down 39.7% | volatile |
| 207 | Bahrain | 0.0% | 2025 | — | volatile |
| 207 | Bermuda | 0.0% | 2025 | — | volatile |
| 207 | Hong Kong | 0.0% | 2025 | — | volatile |
| 207 | Kuwait | 0.0% | 2025 | — | volatile |
| 207 | Macao | 0.0% | 2025 | — | volatile |
Regions and income groups
Aggregates are excluded from the country ranking above so that a region can never outrank a country.
- Chagai 67.4%
- Low income 64.8%
- South Asia 64.2%
- South Asia (IDA & IBRD) 64.2%
- Least developed countries 63.4%
- IDA only 63.1%
- Heavily indebted poor countries (HIPC) 61.7%
- Africa Eastern and Southern 61.3%
- Pacific island small states 59.1%
- IDA total 58.9%
- Lower middle income 58.0%
- Sub-Saharan Africa (excluding high income) 55.3%
- Sub-Saharan Africa 55.3%
- Sub-Saharan Africa (IDA & IBRD countries) 55.3%
- Pre-demographic dividend 54.0%
- Early-demographic dividend 52.3%
- IDA blend 50.8%
- Caribbean Small States 49.9%
- Small states 47.9%
- Middle East, North Africa, Afghanistan & Pakistan (IDA & IBRD) 47.4%
- Middle East, North Africa, Afghanistan & Pakistan (excluding high income) 47.1%
- Low & middle income 46.9%
- Africa Western and Central 46.5%
- IDA & IBRD total 46.3%
- Other small states 44.8%
- Middle income 44.6%
- Middle East, North Africa, Afghanistan & Pakistan 44.0%
- World 42.2%
- IBRD only 41.4%
- Arab World 40.0%
- Central Europe and the Baltics 38.1%
- East Asia & Pacific (IDA & IBRD countries) 38.0%
- East Asia & Pacific (excluding high income) 37.9%
- East Asia & Pacific 35.2%
- Late-demographic dividend 32.3%
- Upper middle income 31.8%
- Europe & Central Asia (excluding high income) 31.7%
- Europe & Central Asia (IDA & IBRD countries) 30.8%
- Europe & Central Asia 25.9%
- European Union 24.8%
About this data
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.