Rural population in Europe & Central Asia (excluding high income)
Europe & Central Asia (excluding high income): Rural population was 31.7% in 2025. ▼ Falling
Rural population in Europe & Central Asia (excluding high income), 1960–2025
Source: World Urbanization Prospects, United Nations (UN). Measured in % of total population.
Analysis
Europe & Central Asia (excluding high income) recorded 31.7% for rural population in 2025. That is the lowest value across all 66 years on record.
Compared with earlier readings it is down 0.2% on the previous year and down 4.6% over ten years.
Over the whole period, rural population in Europe & Central Asia (excluding high income) peaked at 63.1% in 1960 and was at its lowest, 31.7%, in 2025.
That places Europe & Central Asia (excluding high income) 36th out of 47 groups with data for 2025, putting it in the bottom quarter.
The long-run direction has been consistently falling across the 66 years of available data.
Rural population in Europe & Central Asia (excluding high income), year by year
| Year | % of total population | Change |
|---|---|---|
| 1960 | 63.1% | — |
| 1961 | 62.4% | -1.1% |
| 1962 | 61.9% | -0.8% |
| 1963 | 61.3% | -0.9% |
| 1964 | 60.8% | -0.9% |
| 1965 | 60.2% | -1.0% |
| 1966 | 59.5% | -1.1% |
| 1967 | 58.8% | -1.2% |
| 1968 | 58.1% | -1.3% |
| 1969 | 57.4% | -1.2% |
| 1970 | 56.7% | -1.2% |
| 1971 | 56.0% | -1.2% |
| 1972 | 55.3% | -1.3% |
| 1973 | 54.6% | -1.3% |
| 1974 | 54.0% | -1.2% |
| 1975 | 53.3% | -1.2% |
| 1976 | 52.7% | -1.2% |
| 1977 | 52.1% | -1.1% |
| 1978 | 51.5% | -1.2% |
| 1979 | 51.0% | -1.0% |
| 1980 | 50.4% | -1.0% |
| 1981 | 49.9% | -1.0% |
| 1982 | 49.4% | -1.0% |
| 1983 | 48.9% | -1.1% |
| 1984 | 48.4% | -1.1% |
| 1985 | 47.9% | -1.0% |
| 1986 | 47.4% | -1.0% |
| 1987 | 46.9% | -1.1% |
| 1988 | 46.4% | -1.1% |
| 1989 | 46.0% | -0.9% |
| 1990 | 45.7% | -0.7% |
| 1991 | 45.4% | -0.7% |
| 1992 | 45.1% | -0.6% |
| 1993 | 44.9% | -0.5% |
| 1994 | 44.7% | -0.5% |
| 1995 | 44.5% | -0.4% |
| 1996 | 44.3% | -0.4% |
| 1997 | 44.1% | -0.5% |
| 1998 | 43.9% | -0.5% |
| 1999 | 43.6% | -0.7% |
| 2000 | 43.3% | -0.8% |
| 2001 | 43.0% | -0.7% |
| 2002 | 42.6% | -0.8% |
| 2003 | 42.2% | -0.9% |
| 2004 | 41.9% | -0.9% |
| 2005 | 41.5% | -0.9% |
| 2006 | 41.1% | -1.0% |
| 2007 | 40.7% | -1.0% |
| 2008 | 40.2% | -1.1% |
| 2009 | 39.8% | -1.1% |
| 2010 | 39.3% | -1.3% |
| 2011 | 38.7% | -1.5% |
| 2012 | 37.7% | -2.4% |
| 2013 | 36.1% | -4.2% |
| 2014 | 34.4% | -4.7% |
| 2015 | 33.2% | -3.6% |
| 2016 | 32.8% | -1.2% |
| 2017 | 32.7% | -0.3% |
| 2018 | 32.6% | -0.5% |
| 2019 | 32.2% | -0.9% |
| 2020 | 32.0% | -0.6% |
| 2021 | 31.8% | -0.6% |
| 2022 | 31.8% | -0.0% |
| 2023 | 31.8% | +0.0% |
| 2024 | 31.7% | -0.3% |
| 2025 | 31.7% | -0.2% |
Averages by decade
| Decade | Average | Lowest | Highest | Years |
|---|---|---|---|---|
| 1960s | 60.3% | 57.4% | 63.1% | 10 |
| 1970s | 53.7% | 51.0% | 56.7% | 10 |
| 1980s | 48.2% | 46.0% | 50.4% | 10 |
| 1990s | 44.6% | 43.6% | 45.7% | 10 |
| 2000s | 41.6% | 39.8% | 43.3% | 10 |
| 2010s | 35.0% | 32.2% | 39.3% | 10 |
| 2020s | 31.8% | 31.7% | 32.0% | 6 |
Countries ranked near Europe & Central Asia (excluding high income)
More agriculture & rural data for Europe & Central Asia (excluding high income)
- Rural population, per capita 0.3167 units per person (2025)
- Agriculture, forestry, and fishing, value added 175.15 billion current US$ (2025)
- Agriculture, forestry, and fishing, value added 6.2% (2025)
- Rural population 80.22 million (2025)
- Rural population growth 1.0% (2025)
- Agricultural raw materials imports 1.6% (2024)
- Agricultural raw materials exports 0.8% (2024)
- Rural population, per unit of GDP 0 units per US$ of GDP (2025)
- Agriculture, forestry, and fishing, value added (current US$), per 0.0622 current US$ per US$ of GDP (2025)
- Rural population, annual growth rate 0.9714 % change on previous year (2025)
All data for Europe & Central Asia (excluding high income) →
Frequently asked questions
- What is rural population in Europe & Central Asia (excluding high income)?
- Rural population in Europe & Central Asia (excluding high income) was 31.7% in 2025, according to World Urbanization Prospects, United Nations (UN).
- What is the highest rural population recorded in Europe & Central Asia (excluding high income)?
- The highest recorded value was 63.1% in 1960.
- What is the lowest rural population recorded in Europe & Central Asia (excluding high income)?
- The lowest recorded value was 31.7% in 2025.
- How does Europe & Central Asia (excluding high income) rank for rural population?
- Europe & Central Asia (excluding high income) ranks 36th out of 47 groups with data for 2025.
- Is rural population rising or falling in Europe & Central Asia (excluding high income)?
- Over the last ten years it is down 4.6%. The long-run trend across the full record is falling.
- Where does this Europe & Central Asia (excluding high income) 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.