Rural population in Mozambique
Mozambique: Rural population was 62.8% in 2025. ▼ Falling
Rural population in Mozambique, 1960–2025
Source: World Urbanization Prospects, United Nations (UN). Measured in % of total population.
Analysis
Mozambique recorded 62.8% for rural population in 2025. That is the lowest value across all 66 years on record.
That represents a change of down 1.2% on the previous year and down 7.5% over ten years.
Over the whole period, rural population in Mozambique peaked at 96.4% in 1960 and was at its lowest, 62.8%, in 2025.
Mozambique ranks 39th of 217 countries on this measure, in the top quarter.
The long-run direction has been consistently falling across the 66 years of available data.
Rural population in Mozambique, year by year
| Year | % of total population | Change |
|---|---|---|
| 1960 | 96.4% | — |
| 1961 | 96.2% | -0.2% |
| 1962 | 95.9% | -0.3% |
| 1963 | 95.6% | -0.3% |
| 1964 | 95.3% | -0.3% |
| 1965 | 95.0% | -0.4% |
| 1966 | 94.6% | -0.4% |
| 1967 | 94.2% | -0.4% |
| 1968 | 93.7% | -0.5% |
| 1969 | 93.2% | -0.5% |
| 1970 | 92.7% | -0.5% |
| 1971 | 92.2% | -0.6% |
| 1972 | 91.7% | -0.6% |
| 1973 | 91.1% | -0.6% |
| 1974 | 90.5% | -0.6% |
| 1975 | 90.0% | -0.7% |
| 1976 | 89.4% | -0.7% |
| 1977 | 88.7% | -0.7% |
| 1978 | 88.1% | -0.7% |
| 1979 | 87.5% | -0.7% |
| 1980 | 86.9% | -0.7% |
| 1981 | 86.2% | -0.8% |
| 1982 | 85.4% | -0.9% |
| 1983 | 84.5% | -1.1% |
| 1984 | 83.5% | -1.2% |
| 1985 | 82.4% | -1.3% |
| 1986 | 81.3% | -1.3% |
| 1987 | 80.2% | -1.4% |
| 1988 | 79.0% | -1.4% |
| 1989 | 77.9% | -1.4% |
| 1990 | 76.8% | -1.4% |
| 1991 | 75.8% | -1.4% |
| 1992 | 74.8% | -1.3% |
| 1993 | 73.9% | -1.2% |
| 1994 | 73.1% | -1.1% |
| 1995 | 72.4% | -0.9% |
| 1996 | 71.8% | -0.8% |
| 1997 | 71.4% | -0.5% |
| 1998 | 71.2% | -0.4% |
| 1999 | 71.0% | -0.3% |
| 2000 | 70.8% | -0.3% |
| 2001 | 70.6% | -0.2% |
| 2002 | 70.4% | -0.2% |
| 2003 | 70.3% | -0.2% |
| 2004 | 70.1% | -0.2% |
| 2005 | 70.0% | -0.2% |
| 2006 | 69.8% | -0.2% |
| 2007 | 69.6% | -0.3% |
| 2008 | 69.4% | -0.3% |
| 2009 | 69.2% | -0.3% |
| 2010 | 69.0% | -0.3% |
| 2011 | 68.8% | -0.3% |
| 2012 | 68.6% | -0.3% |
| 2013 | 68.3% | -0.3% |
| 2014 | 68.1% | -0.3% |
| 2015 | 67.9% | -0.4% |
| 2016 | 67.6% | -0.4% |
| 2017 | 67.4% | -0.4% |
| 2018 | 67.0% | -0.5% |
| 2019 | 66.6% | -0.6% |
| 2020 | 66.1% | -0.7% |
| 2021 | 65.6% | -0.8% |
| 2022 | 64.9% | -0.9% |
| 2023 | 64.3% | -1.0% |
| 2024 | 63.6% | -1.1% |
| 2025 | 62.8% | -1.2% |
Averages by decade
| Decade | Average | Lowest | Highest | Years |
|---|---|---|---|---|
| 1960s | 95.0% | 93.2% | 96.4% | 10 |
| 1970s | 90.2% | 87.5% | 92.7% | 10 |
| 1980s | 82.7% | 77.9% | 86.9% | 10 |
| 1990s | 73.2% | 71.0% | 76.8% | 10 |
| 2000s | 70.0% | 69.2% | 70.8% | 10 |
| 2010s | 67.9% | 66.6% | 69.0% | 10 |
| 2020s | 64.5% | 62.8% | 66.1% | 6 |
Countries ranked near Mozambique
More agriculture & rural data for Mozambique
- Agriculture, forestry, and fishing, value added (current US$), annual -0.2557 % change on previous year (2025)
- Agriculture, forestry, and fishing, value added (current US$), per 0.2557 current US$ per US$ of GDP (2025)
- Agriculture, forestry, and fishing, value added (current US$), per 160.3 current US$ per person (2025)
- Rural population, annual growth rate 1.63 % change on previous year (2025)
- Rural population, per unit of GDP 0.001 units per US$ of GDP (2025)
- Rural population, per capita 0.6279 units per person (2025)
- Share of GDP from agriculture 25.6% (2025)
- Agriculture as a share of GDP vs. GDP per capita 25.6% (2025)
- Agricultural raw materials exports 0.4% (2024)
- Agricultural raw materials imports 1.2% (2024)
Frequently asked questions
- What is rural population in Mozambique?
- Rural population in Mozambique was 62.8% in 2025, according to World Urbanization Prospects, United Nations (UN).
- What is the highest rural population recorded in Mozambique?
- The highest recorded value was 96.4% in 1960.
- What is the lowest rural population recorded in Mozambique?
- The lowest recorded value was 62.8% in 2025.
- How does Mozambique rank for rural population?
- Mozambique ranks 39th out of 217 countries with data for 2025.
- Is rural population rising or falling in Mozambique?
- Over the last ten years it is down 7.5%. The long-run trend across the full record is falling.
- Where does this Mozambique 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.