Rural population in Low & middle income
Low & middle income: Rural population was 46.9% in 2025. ▼ Falling
Rural population in Low & middle income, 1960–2025
Source: World Urbanization Prospects, United Nations (UN). Measured in % of total population.
Analysis
In 2025, rural population in Low & middle income stood at 46.9%. That is the lowest value across all 66 years on record.
That represents a change of down 0.7% on the previous year and down 8.4% over ten years.
Over the whole period, rural population in Low & middle income peaked at 77.6% in 1962 and was at its lowest, 46.9%, in 2025.
Low & middle income ranks 21st of 47 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 Low & middle income, year by year
| Year | % of total population | Change |
|---|---|---|
| 1960 | 77.4% | — |
| 1961 | 77.3% | -0.2% |
| 1962 | 77.6% | +0.4% |
| 1963 | 77.5% | -0.2% |
| 1964 | 76.8% | -0.9% |
| 1965 | 76.6% | -0.2% |
| 1966 | 76.3% | -0.3% |
| 1967 | 76.1% | -0.4% |
| 1968 | 75.8% | -0.4% |
| 1969 | 75.5% | -0.4% |
| 1970 | 75.3% | -0.3% |
| 1971 | 75.0% | -0.4% |
| 1972 | 74.7% | -0.4% |
| 1973 | 74.3% | -0.5% |
| 1974 | 74.0% | -0.4% |
| 1975 | 73.6% | -0.6% |
| 1976 | 73.2% | -0.6% |
| 1977 | 72.7% | -0.6% |
| 1978 | 72.2% | -0.7% |
| 1979 | 71.5% | -1.0% |
| 1980 | 71.0% | -0.7% |
| 1981 | 70.5% | -0.8% |
| 1982 | 70.1% | -0.6% |
| 1983 | 69.4% | -0.9% |
| 1984 | 68.7% | -1.0% |
| 1985 | 68.2% | -0.7% |
| 1986 | 67.7% | -0.8% |
| 1987 | 67.2% | -0.8% |
| 1988 | 66.8% | -0.6% |
| 1989 | 66.4% | -0.6% |
| 1990 | 66.1% | -0.4% |
| 1991 | 65.6% | -0.7% |
| 1992 | 65.2% | -0.6% |
| 1993 | 64.8% | -0.6% |
| 1994 | 64.4% | -0.6% |
| 1995 | 64.0% | -0.6% |
| 1996 | 63.3% | -1.0% |
| 1997 | 62.7% | -1.0% |
| 1998 | 62.0% | -1.1% |
| 1999 | 61.4% | -1.1% |
| 2000 | 60.7% | -1.2% |
| 2001 | 60.1% | -1.0% |
| 2002 | 59.4% | -1.1% |
| 2003 | 58.8% | -1.1% |
| 2004 | 58.2% | -1.0% |
| 2005 | 57.6% | -1.0% |
| 2006 | 56.9% | -1.1% |
| 2007 | 56.3% | -1.2% |
| 2008 | 55.7% | -1.0% |
| 2009 | 55.1% | -1.1% |
| 2010 | 54.6% | -0.9% |
| 2011 | 53.7% | -1.6% |
| 2012 | 53.1% | -1.1% |
| 2013 | 52.4% | -1.2% |
| 2014 | 51.8% | -1.2% |
| 2015 | 51.2% | -1.3% |
| 2016 | 50.6% | -1.1% |
| 2017 | 50.0% | -1.1% |
| 2018 | 49.5% | -1.1% |
| 2019 | 49.0% | -1.0% |
| 2020 | 48.6% | -0.8% |
| 2021 | 48.1% | -1.0% |
| 2022 | 47.8% | -0.7% |
| 2023 | 47.5% | -0.6% |
| 2024 | 47.2% | -0.6% |
| 2025 | 46.9% | -0.7% |
Averages by decade
| Decade | Average | Lowest | Highest | Years |
|---|---|---|---|---|
| 1960s | 76.7% | 75.5% | 77.6% | 10 |
| 1970s | 73.6% | 71.5% | 75.3% | 10 |
| 1980s | 68.6% | 66.4% | 71.0% | 10 |
| 1990s | 64.0% | 61.4% | 66.1% | 10 |
| 2000s | 57.9% | 55.1% | 60.7% | 10 |
| 2010s | 51.6% | 49.0% | 54.6% | 10 |
| 2020s | 47.7% | 46.9% | 48.6% | 6 |
Countries ranked near Low & middle income
- 18 Chad 72.4% compare
- 19 Timor-Leste 71.2% compare
- 20 Burkina Faso 71.1% compare
- 21 Saint Lucia 70.9% compare
- 22 Myanmar 69.4% compare
- 23 Rwanda 69.1% compare
- 24 Solomon Islands 68.7% compare
More agriculture & rural data for Low & middle income
- Rural population, per capita 0.4688 units per person (2025)
- Agriculture, forestry, and fishing, value added 3.77 trillion current US$ (2025)
- Agriculture, forestry, and fishing, value added 9.1% (2025)
- Rural population 3.18 billion (2025)
- Rural population growth 0.3% (2025)
- Agricultural raw materials imports 1.8% (2024)
- Agricultural raw materials exports 1.2% (2024)
- Rural population, per unit of GDP 0.0001 units per US$ of GDP (2025)
- Agriculture, forestry, and fishing, value added (current US$), per 0.0909 current US$ per US$ of GDP (2025)
- Rural population, annual growth rate 0.3404 % change on previous year (2025)
Frequently asked questions
- What is rural population in Low & middle income?
- Rural population in Low & middle income was 46.9% in 2025, according to World Urbanization Prospects, United Nations (UN).
- What is the highest rural population recorded in Low & middle income?
- The highest recorded value was 77.6% in 1962.
- What is the lowest rural population recorded in Low & middle income?
- The lowest recorded value was 46.9% in 2025.
- How does Low & middle income rank for rural population?
- Low & middle income ranks 21st out of 47 groups with data for 2025.
- Is rural population rising or falling in Low & middle income?
- Over the last ten years it is down 8.4%. The long-run trend across the full record is falling.
- Where does this Low & middle 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.