Rural population in Sub-Saharan Africa (IDA & IBRD countries)
Sub-Saharan Africa (IDA & IBRD countries): Rural population was 55.3% in 2025. ▼ Falling
Rural population in Sub-Saharan Africa (IDA & IBRD countries), 1960–2025
Source: World Urbanization Prospects, United Nations (UN). Measured in % of total population.
Analysis
The most recent figure for rural population in Sub-Saharan Africa (IDA & IBRD countries) is 55.3%, measured in 2025. That is the lowest value across all 66 years on record.
That represents a change of down 0.9% on the previous year and down 8.0% over ten years.
Over the whole period, rural population in Sub-Saharan Africa (IDA & IBRD countries) peaked at 85.7% in 1960 and was at its lowest, 55.3%, in 2025.
Sub-Saharan Africa (IDA & IBRD countries) ranks 12th of 47 groups 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 Sub-Saharan Africa (IDA & IBRD countries), year by year
| Year | % of total population | Change |
|---|---|---|
| 1960 | 85.7% | — |
| 1961 | 85.3% | -0.4% |
| 1962 | 84.9% | -0.4% |
| 1963 | 84.5% | -0.5% |
| 1964 | 84.1% | -0.5% |
| 1965 | 83.7% | -0.5% |
| 1966 | 83.3% | -0.5% |
| 1967 | 82.9% | -0.5% |
| 1968 | 82.4% | -0.5% |
| 1969 | 82.0% | -0.5% |
| 1970 | 81.5% | -0.6% |
| 1971 | 81.0% | -0.6% |
| 1972 | 80.5% | -0.6% |
| 1973 | 80.0% | -0.6% |
| 1974 | 79.5% | -0.6% |
| 1975 | 79.0% | -0.6% |
| 1976 | 78.5% | -0.6% |
| 1977 | 78.0% | -0.6% |
| 1978 | 77.6% | -0.6% |
| 1979 | 77.1% | -0.6% |
| 1980 | 76.6% | -0.6% |
| 1981 | 76.2% | -0.6% |
| 1982 | 75.8% | -0.6% |
| 1983 | 75.3% | -0.6% |
| 1984 | 74.8% | -0.7% |
| 1985 | 74.3% | -0.7% |
| 1986 | 73.8% | -0.7% |
| 1987 | 73.2% | -0.8% |
| 1988 | 72.6% | -0.8% |
| 1989 | 72.1% | -0.8% |
| 1990 | 71.6% | -0.7% |
| 1991 | 71.1% | -0.7% |
| 1992 | 70.6% | -0.6% |
| 1993 | 70.2% | -0.6% |
| 1994 | 69.8% | -0.6% |
| 1995 | 69.4% | -0.6% |
| 1996 | 69.0% | -0.5% |
| 1997 | 68.6% | -0.6% |
| 1998 | 68.2% | -0.6% |
| 1999 | 67.8% | -0.6% |
| 2000 | 67.3% | -0.7% |
| 2001 | 66.9% | -0.7% |
| 2002 | 66.4% | -0.7% |
| 2003 | 65.9% | -0.7% |
| 2004 | 65.4% | -0.8% |
| 2005 | 64.9% | -0.8% |
| 2006 | 64.4% | -0.8% |
| 2007 | 63.9% | -0.7% |
| 2008 | 63.4% | -0.8% |
| 2009 | 62.9% | -0.7% |
| 2010 | 62.5% | -0.7% |
| 2011 | 62.0% | -0.7% |
| 2012 | 61.6% | -0.7% |
| 2013 | 61.1% | -0.7% |
| 2014 | 60.6% | -0.8% |
| 2015 | 60.2% | -0.8% |
| 2016 | 59.7% | -0.8% |
| 2017 | 59.2% | -0.8% |
| 2018 | 58.7% | -0.8% |
| 2019 | 58.3% | -0.8% |
| 2020 | 57.8% | -0.8% |
| 2021 | 57.4% | -0.8% |
| 2022 | 56.8% | -0.9% |
| 2023 | 56.4% | -0.9% |
| 2024 | 55.9% | -0.9% |
| 2025 | 55.3% | -0.9% |
Averages by decade
| Decade | Average | Lowest | Highest | Years |
|---|---|---|---|---|
| 1960s | 83.9% | 82.0% | 85.7% | 10 |
| 1970s | 79.3% | 77.1% | 81.5% | 10 |
| 1980s | 74.5% | 72.1% | 76.6% | 10 |
| 1990s | 69.6% | 67.8% | 71.6% | 10 |
| 2000s | 65.1% | 62.9% | 67.3% | 10 |
| 2010s | 60.4% | 58.3% | 62.5% | 10 |
| 2020s | 56.6% | 55.3% | 57.8% | 6 |
Countries ranked near Sub-Saharan Africa (IDA & IBRD countries)
- 9 Vanuatu 77.7% compare
- 10 Micronesia, Federated States of 77.5% compare
- 11 Ethiopia 75.9% compare
- 12 Antigua and Barbuda 75.7% compare
- 13 Burundi 74.3% compare
- 14 Afghanistan 74.1% compare
- 15 Tajikistan 73.8% compare
More agriculture & rural data for Sub-Saharan Africa (IDA & IBRD countries)
- Rural population, per capita 0.5534 units per person (2025)
- Agriculture, forestry, and fishing, value added 395.96 billion current US$ (2025)
- Agriculture, forestry, and fishing, value added 17.9% (2025)
- Rural population 731.42 million (2025)
- Rural population growth 1.5% (2025)
- Agricultural raw materials imports 1.0% (2024)
- Agricultural raw materials exports 2.6% (2024)
- Rural population, per unit of GDP 0.0003 units per US$ of GDP (2025)
- Agriculture, forestry, and fishing, value added (current US$), per 0.1791 current US$ per US$ of GDP (2025)
- Rural population, annual growth rate 1.53 % change on previous year (2025)
Frequently asked questions
- What is rural population in Sub-Saharan Africa (IDA & IBRD countries)?
- Rural population in Sub-Saharan Africa (IDA & IBRD countries) was 55.3% in 2025, according to World Urbanization Prospects, United Nations (UN).
- What is the highest rural population recorded in Sub-Saharan Africa (IDA & IBRD countries)?
- The highest recorded value was 85.7% in 1960.
- What is the lowest rural population recorded in Sub-Saharan Africa (IDA & IBRD countries)?
- The lowest recorded value was 55.3% in 2025.
- How does Sub-Saharan Africa (IDA & IBRD countries) rank for rural population?
- Sub-Saharan Africa (IDA & IBRD countries) ranks 12th out of 47 groups with data for 2025.
- Is rural population rising or falling in Sub-Saharan Africa (IDA & IBRD countries)?
- Over the last ten years it is down 8.0%. The long-run trend across the full record is falling.
- Where does this Sub-Saharan Africa (IDA & IBRD countries) 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.