Rural population in Arab World
Arab World: Rural population was 40.0% in 2025. ▼ Falling
Rural population in Arab World, 1960–2025
Source: World Urbanization Prospects, United Nations (UN). Measured in % of total population.
Analysis
Arab World recorded 40.0% for rural population in 2025. That is the lowest value across all 66 years on record.
That represents a change of down 0.5% on the previous year and down 4.0% over ten years.
Over the whole period, rural population in Arab World peaked at 69.1% in 1960 and was at its lowest, 40.0%, in 2025.
Arab World ranks 29th of 45 groups on this measure, in the middle of the range.
The long-run direction has been consistently falling across the 66 years of available data.
Rural population in Arab World, year by year
| Year | % of total population | Change |
|---|---|---|
| 1960 | 69.1% | — |
| 1961 | 68.3% | -1.1% |
| 1962 | 67.5% | -1.2% |
| 1963 | 66.7% | -1.2% |
| 1964 | 65.9% | -1.2% |
| 1965 | 65.2% | -1.1% |
| 1966 | 64.5% | -1.0% |
| 1967 | 63.9% | -1.0% |
| 1968 | 63.2% | -1.0% |
| 1969 | 62.5% | -1.1% |
| 1970 | 61.8% | -1.1% |
| 1971 | 61.2% | -1.0% |
| 1972 | 60.5% | -1.1% |
| 1973 | 60.0% | -1.0% |
| 1974 | 59.4% | -0.9% |
| 1975 | 58.8% | -0.9% |
| 1976 | 58.3% | -0.9% |
| 1977 | 57.8% | -0.9% |
| 1978 | 57.3% | -0.9% |
| 1979 | 56.8% | -0.9% |
| 1980 | 56.3% | -0.9% |
| 1981 | 55.7% | -1.0% |
| 1982 | 55.1% | -1.0% |
| 1983 | 54.6% | -1.0% |
| 1984 | 54.0% | -1.1% |
| 1985 | 53.3% | -1.2% |
| 1986 | 52.7% | -1.2% |
| 1987 | 52.1% | -1.2% |
| 1988 | 51.5% | -1.1% |
| 1989 | 50.9% | -1.1% |
| 1990 | 50.5% | -1.0% |
| 1991 | 50.1% | -0.7% |
| 1992 | 49.7% | -0.9% |
| 1993 | 49.3% | -0.6% |
| 1994 | 49.1% | -0.5% |
| 1995 | 48.9% | -0.5% |
| 1996 | 48.6% | -0.5% |
| 1997 | 48.4% | -0.5% |
| 1998 | 48.1% | -0.5% |
| 1999 | 47.8% | -0.5% |
| 2000 | 47.6% | -0.6% |
| 2001 | 47.3% | -0.6% |
| 2002 | 47.0% | -0.6% |
| 2003 | 46.6% | -0.7% |
| 2004 | 46.3% | -0.7% |
| 2005 | 46.0% | -0.7% |
| 2006 | 45.7% | -0.7% |
| 2007 | 45.3% | -0.8% |
| 2008 | 45.0% | -0.8% |
| 2009 | 44.6% | -0.8% |
| 2010 | 44.4% | -0.5% |
| 2011 | 43.9% | -1.0% |
| 2012 | 43.2% | -1.6% |
| 2013 | 42.4% | -1.9% |
| 2014 | 42.0% | -1.1% |
| 2015 | 41.6% | -0.8% |
| 2016 | 41.4% | -0.5% |
| 2017 | 41.3% | -0.3% |
| 2018 | 41.2% | -0.3% |
| 2019 | 41.1% | -0.3% |
| 2020 | 40.9% | -0.5% |
| 2021 | 40.9% | -0.1% |
| 2022 | 40.7% | -0.5% |
| 2023 | 40.4% | -0.6% |
| 2024 | 40.2% | -0.6% |
| 2025 | 40.0% | -0.5% |
Averages by decade
| Decade | Average | Lowest | Highest | Years |
|---|---|---|---|---|
| 1960s | 65.7% | 62.5% | 69.1% | 10 |
| 1970s | 59.2% | 56.8% | 61.8% | 10 |
| 1980s | 53.6% | 50.9% | 56.3% | 10 |
| 1990s | 49.0% | 47.8% | 50.5% | 10 |
| 2000s | 46.1% | 44.6% | 47.6% | 10 |
| 2010s | 42.3% | 41.1% | 44.4% | 10 |
| 2020s | 40.5% | 40.0% | 40.9% | 6 |
Countries ranked near Arab World
More agriculture & rural data for Arab World
- Agriculture, forestry, and fishing, value added (current US$), annual 12.68 % change on previous year (2025)
- Agriculture, forestry, and fishing, value added 225.78 billion current US$ (2025)
- Rural population 201.16 million (2025)
- Rural population growth 1.6% (2025)
- Agricultural raw materials imports 0.7% (2023)
- Agricultural raw materials exports 0.1% (2023)
- Rural population, per capita 0.3996 units per person (2025)
- Rural population, per unit of GDP 0.0001 units per US$ of GDP (2025)
- Agriculture, forestry, and fishing, value added (current US$), per 448.55 current US$ per person (2025)
- Rural population, annual growth rate 1.63 % change on previous year (2025)
Frequently asked questions
- What is rural population in Arab World?
- Rural population in Arab World was 40.0% in 2025, according to World Urbanization Prospects, United Nations (UN).
- What is the highest rural population recorded in Arab World?
- The highest recorded value was 69.1% in 1960.
- What is the lowest rural population recorded in Arab World?
- The lowest recorded value was 40.0% in 2025.
- How does Arab World rank for rural population?
- Arab World ranks 29th out of 45 groups with data for 2025.
- Is rural population rising or falling in Arab World?
- Over the last ten years it is down 4.0%. The long-run trend across the full record is falling.
- Where does this Arab World data come from?
- The figures come from World Urbanization Prospects, United Nations (UN), published as part of Rural population (% of total population). Statizoid updates them automatically from the source API.
Download this data
CSV · JSON — 66 observations, free to reuse under CC BY 4.0 (World Bank Open Data).
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.