Rural population in Middle East, North Africa, Afghanistan & Pakistan (excluding high income)
Middle East, North Africa, Afghanistan & Pakistan (excluding high income): Rural population was 47.1% in 2025. ▼ Falling
Rural population in Middle East, North Africa, Afghanistan & Pakistan (excluding high income), 1960–2025
Source: World Urbanization Prospects, United Nations (UN). Measured in % of total population.
Analysis
In 2025, rural population in Middle East, North Africa, Afghanistan & Pakistan (excluding high income) stood at 47.1%. 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 4.5% over ten years.
Over the whole period, rural population in Middle East, North Africa, Afghanistan & Pakistan (excluding high income) peaked at 71.3% in 1960 and was at its lowest, 47.1%, in 2025.
That places Middle East, North Africa, Afghanistan & Pakistan (excluding high income) 20th out of 47 groups with data for 2025, putting it in the middle of the range.
The long-run direction has been consistently falling across the 66 years of available data.
Rural population in Middle East, North Africa, Afghanistan & Pakistan (excluding high income), year by year
| Year | % of total population | Change |
|---|---|---|
| 1960 | 71.3% | — |
| 1961 | 70.7% | -0.8% |
| 1962 | 70.1% | -0.9% |
| 1963 | 69.5% | -0.9% |
| 1964 | 68.9% | -0.8% |
| 1965 | 68.4% | -0.7% |
| 1966 | 67.9% | -0.7% |
| 1967 | 67.3% | -0.8% |
| 1968 | 66.8% | -0.8% |
| 1969 | 66.3% | -0.8% |
| 1970 | 65.8% | -0.8% |
| 1971 | 65.2% | -0.8% |
| 1972 | 64.7% | -0.8% |
| 1973 | 64.2% | -0.8% |
| 1974 | 63.7% | -0.8% |
| 1975 | 63.1% | -0.8% |
| 1976 | 62.7% | -0.7% |
| 1977 | 62.2% | -0.8% |
| 1978 | 61.7% | -0.8% |
| 1979 | 61.2% | -0.8% |
| 1980 | 60.7% | -0.9% |
| 1981 | 60.0% | -1.0% |
| 1982 | 59.5% | -1.0% |
| 1983 | 59.0% | -0.8% |
| 1984 | 58.5% | -0.8% |
| 1985 | 58.1% | -0.8% |
| 1986 | 57.7% | -0.7% |
| 1987 | 57.3% | -0.7% |
| 1988 | 56.9% | -0.6% |
| 1989 | 56.6% | -0.5% |
| 1990 | 56.2% | -0.7% |
| 1991 | 55.9% | -0.5% |
| 1992 | 55.6% | -0.5% |
| 1993 | 55.4% | -0.4% |
| 1994 | 55.2% | -0.4% |
| 1995 | 55.0% | -0.4% |
| 1996 | 54.8% | -0.4% |
| 1997 | 54.5% | -0.5% |
| 1998 | 54.2% | -0.5% |
| 1999 | 54.0% | -0.5% |
| 2000 | 53.7% | -0.5% |
| 2001 | 53.4% | -0.5% |
| 2002 | 53.2% | -0.4% |
| 2003 | 53.0% | -0.4% |
| 2004 | 52.7% | -0.5% |
| 2005 | 52.5% | -0.5% |
| 2006 | 52.2% | -0.4% |
| 2007 | 52.0% | -0.4% |
| 2008 | 51.8% | -0.4% |
| 2009 | 51.6% | -0.5% |
| 2010 | 51.3% | -0.5% |
| 2011 | 51.0% | -0.6% |
| 2012 | 50.5% | -0.9% |
| 2013 | 50.0% | -1.1% |
| 2014 | 49.6% | -0.7% |
| 2015 | 49.4% | -0.5% |
| 2016 | 49.2% | -0.4% |
| 2017 | 49.0% | -0.4% |
| 2018 | 48.8% | -0.4% |
| 2019 | 48.5% | -0.5% |
| 2020 | 48.3% | -0.5% |
| 2021 | 48.1% | -0.5% |
| 2022 | 47.8% | -0.5% |
| 2023 | 47.6% | -0.5% |
| 2024 | 47.4% | -0.5% |
| 2025 | 47.1% | -0.5% |
Averages by decade
| Decade | Average | Lowest | Highest | Years |
|---|---|---|---|---|
| 1960s | 68.7% | 66.3% | 71.3% | 10 |
| 1970s | 63.4% | 61.2% | 65.8% | 10 |
| 1980s | 58.4% | 56.6% | 60.7% | 10 |
| 1990s | 55.1% | 54.0% | 56.2% | 10 |
| 2000s | 52.6% | 51.6% | 53.7% | 10 |
| 2010s | 49.7% | 48.5% | 51.3% | 10 |
| 2020s | 47.7% | 47.1% | 48.3% | 6 |
Countries ranked near Middle East, North Africa, Afghanistan & Pakistan (excluding high income)
- 17 Eswatini 73.3% compare
- 18 Chad 72.4% compare
- 19 East Timor 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
More agriculture & rural data for Middle East, North Africa, Afghanistan & Pakistan (excluding high income)
- Agriculture, forestry, and fishing, value added (current US$), annual 2.5 % change on previous year (2025)
- Agriculture, forestry, and fishing, value added 298.32 billion current US$ (2025)
- Agriculture, forestry, and fishing, value added 14.0% (2025)
- Rural population 355.37 million (2025)
- Rural population growth 1.2% (2025)
- Agricultural raw materials imports 2.3% (2019)
- Agricultural raw materials exports 0.6% (2017)
- Rural population, per capita 0.4714 units per person (2025)
- Rural population, annual growth rate 1.17 % change on previous year (2025)
- Agriculture, forestry, and fishing, value added (current US$), per 395.7 current US$ per person (2025)
All data for Middle East, North Africa, Afghanistan & Pakistan (excluding high income) →
Frequently asked questions
- What is rural population in Middle East, North Africa, Afghanistan & Pakistan (excluding high income)?
- Rural population in Middle East, North Africa, Afghanistan & Pakistan (excluding high income) was 47.1% in 2025, according to World Urbanization Prospects, United Nations (UN).
- What is the highest rural population recorded in Middle East, North Africa, Afghanistan & Pakistan (excluding high income)?
- The highest recorded value was 71.3% in 1960.
- What is the lowest rural population recorded in Middle East, North Africa, Afghanistan & Pakistan (excluding high income)?
- The lowest recorded value was 47.1% in 2025.
- How does Middle East, North Africa, Afghanistan & Pakistan (excluding high income) rank for rural population?
- Middle East, North Africa, Afghanistan & Pakistan (excluding high income) ranks 20th out of 47 groups with data for 2025.
- Is rural population rising or falling in Middle East, North Africa, Afghanistan & Pakistan (excluding high income)?
- Over the last ten years it is down 4.5%. The long-run trend across the full record is falling.
- Where does this Middle East, North Africa, Afghanistan & Pakistan (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.