Rural population in Turkey
Turkey: Rural population was 10.5% in 2025. ▼ Falling
Rural population in Turkey, 1960–2025
Source: World Urbanization Prospects, United Nations (UN). Measured in % of total population.
Analysis
The most recent figure for rural population in Turkey is 10.5%, measured in 2025. That is the lowest value across all 66 years on record.
That represents a change of down 1.4% on the previous year and down 17.8% over ten years.
Over the whole period, rural population in Turkey peaked at 76.6% in 1960 and was at its lowest, 10.5%, in 2025.
Turkey ranks 186th of 217 countries on this measure, in the bottom quarter.
The long-run direction has been consistently falling across the 66 years of available data.
Rural population in Turkey, year by year
| Year | % of total population | Change |
|---|---|---|
| 1960 | 76.6% | — |
| 1961 | 76.2% | -0.4% |
| 1962 | 75.9% | -0.4% |
| 1963 | 75.5% | -0.5% |
| 1964 | 75.1% | -0.6% |
| 1965 | 74.6% | -0.7% |
| 1966 | 73.9% | -0.9% |
| 1967 | 73.0% | -1.2% |
| 1968 | 71.9% | -1.4% |
| 1969 | 70.8% | -1.5% |
| 1970 | 69.8% | -1.5% |
| 1971 | 68.7% | -1.5% |
| 1972 | 67.7% | -1.5% |
| 1973 | 66.6% | -1.6% |
| 1974 | 65.6% | -1.6% |
| 1975 | 64.6% | -1.5% |
| 1976 | 63.7% | -1.5% |
| 1977 | 62.8% | -1.4% |
| 1978 | 61.9% | -1.4% |
| 1979 | 61.0% | -1.4% |
| 1980 | 60.1% | -1.5% |
| 1981 | 59.1% | -1.7% |
| 1982 | 58.0% | -1.9% |
| 1983 | 56.8% | -2.0% |
| 1984 | 55.6% | -2.1% |
| 1985 | 54.4% | -2.1% |
| 1986 | 53.3% | -2.1% |
| 1987 | 52.2% | -2.1% |
| 1988 | 51.0% | -2.1% |
| 1989 | 50.0% | -2.1% |
| 1990 | 49.0% | -2.0% |
| 1991 | 48.1% | -1.9% |
| 1992 | 47.2% | -1.8% |
| 1993 | 46.4% | -1.7% |
| 1994 | 45.7% | -1.6% |
| 1995 | 44.9% | -1.6% |
| 1996 | 44.2% | -1.6% |
| 1997 | 43.5% | -1.7% |
| 1998 | 42.7% | -1.8% |
| 1999 | 41.9% | -1.9% |
| 2000 | 41.0% | -2.1% |
| 2001 | 40.1% | -2.2% |
| 2002 | 39.3% | -2.2% |
| 2003 | 38.4% | -2.2% |
| 2004 | 37.6% | -2.2% |
| 2005 | 36.7% | -2.4% |
| 2006 | 35.7% | -2.6% |
| 2007 | 34.7% | -2.9% |
| 2008 | 33.5% | -3.4% |
| 2009 | 32.2% | -4.0% |
| 2010 | 30.7% | -4.7% |
| 2011 | 29.0% | -5.4% |
| 2012 | 26.2% | -9.6% |
| 2013 | 21.5% | -18.1% |
| 2014 | 16.4% | -23.7% |
| 2015 | 12.8% | -22.0% |
| 2016 | 11.9% | -6.9% |
| 2017 | 12.0% | +0.6% |
| 2018 | 11.8% | -1.1% |
| 2019 | 11.3% | -4.2% |
| 2020 | 11.1% | -2.4% |
| 2021 | 10.8% | -2.2% |
| 2022 | 11.0% | +1.3% |
| 2023 | 11.0% | +0.1% |
| 2024 | 10.7% | -2.9% |
| 2025 | 10.5% | -1.4% |
Averages by decade
| Decade | Average | Lowest | Highest | Years |
|---|---|---|---|---|
| 1960s | 74.4% | 70.8% | 76.6% | 10 |
| 1970s | 65.2% | 61.0% | 69.8% | 10 |
| 1980s | 55.0% | 50.0% | 60.1% | 10 |
| 1990s | 45.4% | 41.9% | 49.0% | 10 |
| 2000s | 36.9% | 32.2% | 41.0% | 10 |
| 2010s | 18.4% | 11.3% | 30.7% | 10 |
| 2020s | 10.8% | 10.5% | 11.1% | 6 |
Countries ranked near Turkey
More agriculture & rural data for Turkey
- Agriculture, forestry, and fishing, value added (current US$), annual 5.19 % change on previous year (2025)
- Agriculture, forestry, and fishing, value added (current US$), per 0.0521 current US$ per US$ of GDP (2025)
- Agriculture, forestry, and fishing, value added (current US$), per 968.94 current US$ per person (2025)
- Rural population, annual growth rate -0.9904 % change on previous year (2025)
- Rural population, per unit of GDP 0 units per US$ of GDP (2025)
- Rural population, per capita 0.1051 units per person (2025)
- Share of GDP from agriculture 5.2% (2025)
- Agriculture as a share of GDP vs. GDP per capita 5.2% (2025)
- Agricultural raw materials exports 0.6% (2024)
- Agricultural raw materials imports 1.9% (2024)
Frequently asked questions
- What is rural population in Turkey?
- Rural population in Turkey was 10.5% in 2025, according to World Urbanization Prospects, United Nations (UN).
- What is the highest rural population recorded in Turkey?
- The highest recorded value was 76.6% in 1960.
- What is the lowest rural population recorded in Turkey?
- The lowest recorded value was 10.5% in 2025.
- How does Turkey rank for rural population?
- Turkey ranks 186th out of 217 countries with data for 2025.
- Is rural population rising or falling in Turkey?
- Over the last ten years it is down 17.8%. The long-run trend across the full record is falling.
- Where does this Turkey 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.