Rural population in Sudan
Sudan: Rural population was 65.1% in 2025. ▼ Falling
Rural population in Sudan, 1960–2025
Source: World Urbanization Prospects, United Nations (UN). Measured in % of total population.
Analysis
In 2025, rural population in Sudan stood at 65.1%. That is the lowest value across all 66 years on record.
Compared with earlier readings it is down 0.1% on the previous year and down 1.3% over ten years.
Over the whole period, rural population in Sudan peaked at 88.3% in 1960 and was at its lowest, 65.1%, in 2025.
Sudan ranks 34th 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 Sudan, year by year
| Year | % of total population | Change |
|---|---|---|
| 1960 | 88.3% | — |
| 1961 | 87.6% | -0.7% |
| 1962 | 87.0% | -0.7% |
| 1963 | 86.4% | -0.7% |
| 1964 | 85.8% | -0.7% |
| 1965 | 85.1% | -0.7% |
| 1966 | 84.6% | -0.7% |
| 1967 | 84.0% | -0.7% |
| 1968 | 83.5% | -0.6% |
| 1969 | 83.0% | -0.6% |
| 1970 | 82.5% | -0.6% |
| 1971 | 82.1% | -0.5% |
| 1972 | 81.7% | -0.4% |
| 1973 | 81.4% | -0.4% |
| 1974 | 81.2% | -0.3% |
| 1975 | 81.0% | -0.2% |
| 1976 | 80.8% | -0.2% |
| 1977 | 80.7% | -0.2% |
| 1978 | 80.5% | -0.2% |
| 1979 | 80.4% | -0.2% |
| 1980 | 80.2% | -0.2% |
| 1981 | 80.0% | -0.3% |
| 1982 | 79.7% | -0.3% |
| 1983 | 79.3% | -0.5% |
| 1984 | 78.6% | -0.9% |
| 1985 | 77.4% | -1.4% |
| 1986 | 76.0% | -1.8% |
| 1987 | 74.5% | -2.0% |
| 1988 | 72.9% | -2.1% |
| 1989 | 71.4% | -2.1% |
| 1990 | 70.0% | -1.9% |
| 1991 | 69.0% | -1.5% |
| 1992 | 68.3% | -1.0% |
| 1993 | 68.0% | -0.4% |
| 1994 | 68.0% | -0.1% |
| 1995 | 67.9% | -0.1% |
| 1996 | 67.8% | -0.1% |
| 1997 | 67.8% | -0.1% |
| 1998 | 67.7% | -0.1% |
| 1999 | 67.7% | -0.1% |
| 2000 | 67.7% | -0.1% |
| 2001 | 67.6% | -0.0% |
| 2002 | 67.6% | -0.0% |
| 2003 | 67.6% | -0.0% |
| 2004 | 67.6% | -0.0% |
| 2005 | 67.5% | -0.0% |
| 2006 | 67.5% | -0.0% |
| 2007 | 67.5% | -0.0% |
| 2008 | 67.5% | -0.0% |
| 2009 | 67.4% | -0.1% |
| 2010 | 67.3% | -0.2% |
| 2011 | 67.1% | -0.3% |
| 2012 | 66.9% | -0.4% |
| 2013 | 66.6% | -0.4% |
| 2014 | 66.2% | -0.5% |
| 2015 | 65.9% | -0.5% |
| 2016 | 65.8% | -0.1% |
| 2017 | 65.7% | -0.2% |
| 2018 | 65.6% | -0.1% |
| 2019 | 65.5% | -0.1% |
| 2020 | 65.4% | -0.1% |
| 2021 | 65.4% | -0.1% |
| 2022 | 65.3% | -0.1% |
| 2023 | 65.2% | -0.1% |
| 2024 | 65.1% | -0.1% |
| 2025 | 65.1% | -0.1% |
Averages by decade
| Decade | Average | Lowest | Highest | Years |
|---|---|---|---|---|
| 1960s | 85.5% | 83.0% | 88.3% | 10 |
| 1970s | 81.2% | 80.4% | 82.5% | 10 |
| 1980s | 77.0% | 71.4% | 80.2% | 10 |
| 1990s | 68.2% | 67.7% | 70.0% | 10 |
| 2000s | 67.6% | 67.4% | 67.7% | 10 |
| 2010s | 66.3% | 65.5% | 67.3% | 10 |
| 2020s | 65.2% | 65.1% | 65.4% | 6 |
Countries ranked near Sudan
More agriculture & rural data for Sudan
- Agriculture, forestry, and fishing, value added (current US$), annual 60.3 % change on previous year (2025)
- Agriculture, forestry, and fishing, value added (current US$), per 0.2936 current US$ per US$ of GDP (2025)
- Agriculture, forestry, and fishing, value added (current US$), per 341.88 current US$ per person (2025)
- Rural population, annual growth rate 2.3 % change on previous year (2025)
- Rural population, per unit of GDP 0.0006 units per US$ of GDP (2025)
- Rural population, per capita 0.6507 units per person (2025)
- Share of GDP from agriculture 29.4% (2025)
- Agriculture as a share of GDP vs. GDP per capita 29.4% (2025)
- Agricultural raw materials exports 7.8% (2018)
- Agricultural raw materials imports 0.5% (2018)
Frequently asked questions
- What is rural population in Sudan?
- Rural population in Sudan was 65.1% in 2025, according to World Urbanization Prospects, United Nations (UN).
- What is the highest rural population recorded in Sudan?
- The highest recorded value was 88.3% in 1960.
- What is the lowest rural population recorded in Sudan?
- The lowest recorded value was 65.1% in 2025.
- How does Sudan rank for rural population?
- Sudan ranks 34th out of 217 countries with data for 2025.
- Is rural population rising or falling in Sudan?
- Over the last ten years it is down 1.3%. The long-run trend across the full record is falling.
- Where does this 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
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.