Rural population in South Sudan
South Sudan: Rural population was 78.3% in 2025. ▼ Falling
Rural population in South Sudan, 1960–2025
Source: World Urbanization Prospects, United Nations (UN). Measured in % of total population.
Analysis
In 2025, rural population in South Sudan stood at 78.3%. That is the lowest value across all 66 years on record.
Compared with earlier readings it is down 0.4% on the previous year and down 3.5% over ten years.
Over the whole period, rural population in South Sudan peaked at 91.5% in 1982 and was at its lowest, 78.3%, in 2025.
That places South Sudan 8th out of 217 countries with data for 2025, putting it in the top 10%.
The long-run direction has been consistently falling across the 66 years of available data.
Rural population in South Sudan, year by year
| Year | % of total population | Change |
|---|---|---|
| 1960 | 91.3% | — |
| 1961 | 91.4% | +0.0% |
| 1962 | 91.4% | +0.0% |
| 1963 | 91.4% | +0.0% |
| 1964 | 91.4% | +0.0% |
| 1965 | 91.4% | +0.0% |
| 1966 | 91.4% | +0.0% |
| 1967 | 91.5% | +0.0% |
| 1968 | 91.5% | +0.0% |
| 1969 | 91.5% | +0.0% |
| 1970 | 91.5% | +0.0% |
| 1971 | 91.5% | +0.0% |
| 1972 | 91.5% | +0.0% |
| 1973 | 91.5% | +0.0% |
| 1974 | 91.5% | +0.0% |
| 1975 | 91.5% | +0.0% |
| 1976 | 91.5% | +0.0% |
| 1977 | 91.5% | +0.0% |
| 1978 | 91.5% | +0.0% |
| 1979 | 91.5% | +0.0% |
| 1980 | 91.5% | +0.0% |
| 1981 | 91.5% | +0.0% |
| 1982 | 91.5% | +0.0% |
| 1983 | 91.5% | -0.0% |
| 1984 | 91.3% | -0.2% |
| 1985 | 90.8% | -0.5% |
| 1986 | 90.3% | -0.6% |
| 1987 | 89.6% | -0.8% |
| 1988 | 88.8% | -0.8% |
| 1989 | 88.1% | -0.9% |
| 1990 | 87.4% | -0.8% |
| 1991 | 86.7% | -0.7% |
| 1992 | 86.2% | -0.6% |
| 1993 | 85.8% | -0.4% |
| 1994 | 85.5% | -0.3% |
| 1995 | 85.3% | -0.3% |
| 1996 | 85.0% | -0.3% |
| 1997 | 84.7% | -0.3% |
| 1998 | 84.4% | -0.3% |
| 1999 | 84.2% | -0.3% |
| 2000 | 84.0% | -0.3% |
| 2001 | 83.7% | -0.3% |
| 2002 | 83.6% | -0.2% |
| 2003 | 83.4% | -0.2% |
| 2004 | 83.2% | -0.2% |
| 2005 | 83.1% | -0.1% |
| 2006 | 83.0% | -0.1% |
| 2007 | 83.0% | -0.1% |
| 2008 | 83.0% | -0.0% |
| 2009 | 82.7% | -0.3% |
| 2010 | 82.5% | -0.3% |
| 2011 | 82.2% | -0.3% |
| 2012 | 82.0% | -0.3% |
| 2013 | 81.7% | -0.3% |
| 2014 | 81.5% | -0.3% |
| 2015 | 81.2% | -0.3% |
| 2016 | 80.9% | -0.3% |
| 2017 | 80.7% | -0.3% |
| 2018 | 80.4% | -0.3% |
| 2019 | 80.1% | -0.3% |
| 2020 | 79.8% | -0.4% |
| 2021 | 79.5% | -0.4% |
| 2022 | 79.2% | -0.4% |
| 2023 | 78.9% | -0.4% |
| 2024 | 78.6% | -0.4% |
| 2025 | 78.3% | -0.4% |
Averages by decade
| Decade | Average | Lowest | Highest | Years |
|---|---|---|---|---|
| 1960s | 91.4% | 91.3% | 91.5% | 10 |
| 1970s | 91.5% | 91.5% | 91.5% | 10 |
| 1980s | 90.5% | 88.1% | 91.5% | 10 |
| 1990s | 85.5% | 84.2% | 87.4% | 10 |
| 2000s | 83.3% | 82.7% | 84.0% | 10 |
| 2010s | 81.3% | 80.1% | 82.5% | 10 |
| 2020s | 79.1% | 78.3% | 79.8% | 6 |
Countries ranked near South Sudan
More agriculture & rural data for South Sudan
- Rural population, per capita 0.7832 units per person (2025)
- Rural population, per unit of GDP 0.0008 units per US$ of GDP (2015)
- Rural population, annual growth rate 1.66 % change on previous year (2025)
- Agriculture, forestry, and fishing, value added (current US$), per 111.85 current US$ per person (2015)
- Agriculture, forestry, and fishing, value added (current US$), per 0.1036 current US$ per US$ of GDP (2015)
- Agriculture, forestry, and fishing, value added (current US$), annual 17.13 % change on previous year (2015)
- Rural population 9.55 million (2025)
- Rural population growth 1.6% (2025)
- Share of GDP from agriculture 10.4% (2015)
- Agriculture, forestry, and fishing, value added 1.24 billion current US$ (2015)
Frequently asked questions
- What is rural population in South Sudan?
- Rural population in South Sudan was 78.3% in 2025, according to World Urbanization Prospects, United Nations (UN).
- What is the highest rural population recorded in South Sudan?
- The highest recorded value was 91.5% in 1982.
- What is the lowest rural population recorded in South Sudan?
- The lowest recorded value was 78.3% in 2025.
- How does South Sudan rank for rural population?
- South Sudan ranks 8th out of 217 countries with data for 2025.
- Is rural population rising or falling in South Sudan?
- Over the last ten years it is down 3.5%. The long-run trend across the full record is falling.
- Where does this South Sudan 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
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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.