Rural population in North America
North America: Rural population was 19.5% in 2025. ▼ Falling
Rural population in North America, 1960–2025
Source: World Urbanization Prospects, United Nations (UN). Measured in % of total population.
Analysis
North America recorded 19.5% for rural population in 2025.
That represents a change of down 0.4% on the previous year and up 0.8% over ten years.
Over the whole period, rural population in North America peaked at 30.1% in 1960 and was at its lowest, 19.3%, in 2011.
That places North America 40th out of 45 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 North America, year by year
| Year | % of total population | Change |
|---|---|---|
| 1960 | 30.1% | — |
| 1961 | 29.6% | -1.6% |
| 1962 | 29.1% | -1.7% |
| 1963 | 28.6% | -1.7% |
| 1964 | 28.1% | -1.7% |
| 1965 | 27.7% | -1.6% |
| 1966 | 27.2% | -1.5% |
| 1967 | 26.9% | -1.3% |
| 1968 | 26.6% | -1.1% |
| 1969 | 26.4% | -0.8% |
| 1970 | 26.3% | -0.4% |
| 1971 | 26.2% | -0.2% |
| 1972 | 26.2% | -0.1% |
| 1973 | 26.2% | -0.0% |
| 1974 | 26.2% | -0.0% |
| 1975 | 26.2% | -0.0% |
| 1976 | 26.2% | -0.0% |
| 1977 | 26.2% | -0.1% |
| 1978 | 26.1% | -0.1% |
| 1979 | 26.1% | -0.1% |
| 1980 | 26.1% | -0.2% |
| 1981 | 26.0% | -0.2% |
| 1982 | 25.9% | -0.4% |
| 1983 | 25.8% | -0.5% |
| 1984 | 25.6% | -0.5% |
| 1985 | 25.5% | -0.6% |
| 1986 | 25.3% | -0.6% |
| 1987 | 25.2% | -0.7% |
| 1988 | 25.0% | -0.7% |
| 1989 | 24.8% | -0.7% |
| 1990 | 24.6% | -0.8% |
| 1991 | 24.3% | -1.0% |
| 1992 | 24.0% | -1.4% |
| 1993 | 23.6% | -1.6% |
| 1994 | 23.2% | -1.8% |
| 1995 | 22.8% | -1.9% |
| 1996 | 22.3% | -1.9% |
| 1997 | 21.9% | -1.8% |
| 1998 | 21.5% | -1.7% |
| 1999 | 21.2% | -1.5% |
| 2000 | 21.0% | -1.2% |
| 2001 | 20.7% | -1.1% |
| 2002 | 20.5% | -1.2% |
| 2003 | 20.3% | -1.2% |
| 2004 | 20.0% | -1.1% |
| 2005 | 19.8% | -1.0% |
| 2006 | 19.6% | -0.9% |
| 2007 | 19.5% | -0.8% |
| 2008 | 19.4% | -0.6% |
| 2009 | 19.3% | -0.4% |
| 2010 | 19.3% | -0.1% |
| 2011 | 19.3% | -0.0% |
| 2012 | 19.3% | +0.0% |
| 2013 | 19.3% | +0.1% |
| 2014 | 19.3% | +0.2% |
| 2015 | 19.4% | +0.2% |
| 2016 | 19.4% | +0.3% |
| 2017 | 19.5% | +0.4% |
| 2018 | 19.6% | +0.5% |
| 2019 | 19.7% | +0.6% |
| 2020 | 19.8% | +0.5% |
| 2021 | 19.8% | -0.2% |
| 2022 | 19.7% | -0.2% |
| 2023 | 19.7% | -0.3% |
| 2024 | 19.6% | -0.4% |
| 2025 | 19.5% | -0.4% |
Averages by decade
| Decade | Average | Lowest | Highest | Years |
|---|---|---|---|---|
| 1960s | 28.0% | 26.4% | 30.1% | 10 |
| 1970s | 26.2% | 26.1% | 26.3% | 10 |
| 1980s | 25.5% | 24.8% | 26.1% | 10 |
| 1990s | 23.0% | 21.2% | 24.6% | 10 |
| 2000s | 20.0% | 19.3% | 21.0% | 10 |
| 2010s | 19.4% | 19.3% | 19.7% | 10 |
| 2020s | 19.7% | 19.5% | 19.8% | 6 |
Countries ranked near North America
More agriculture & rural data for North America
- Agriculture, forestry, and fishing, value added (current US$), annual 11.18 % change on previous year (2021)
- Agriculture, forestry, and fishing, value added 256.06 billion current US$ (2021)
- Rural population 74.83 million (2025)
- Rural population growth 0.2% (2025)
- Agricultural raw materials imports 0.8% (2024)
- Agricultural raw materials exports 1.9% (2024)
- Rural population, per capita 0.1951 units per person (2025)
- Rural population, per unit of GDP 0 units per US$ of GDP (2025)
- Agriculture, forestry, and fishing, value added (current US$), per 691.3 current US$ per person (2021)
- Rural population, annual growth rate 0.1578 % change on previous year (2025)
Frequently asked questions
- What is rural population in North America?
- Rural population in North America was 19.5% in 2025, according to World Urbanization Prospects, United Nations (UN).
- What is the highest rural population recorded in North America?
- The highest recorded value was 30.1% in 1960.
- What is the lowest rural population recorded in North America?
- The lowest recorded value was 19.3% in 2011.
- How does North America rank for rural population?
- North America ranks 40th out of 45 groups with data for 2025.
- Is rural population rising or falling in North America?
- Over the last ten years it is up 0.8%. The long-run trend across the full record is falling.
- Where does this North America 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.