Rural population in Zambia
Zambia: Rural population was 54.1% in 2025. ▼ Falling
Rural population in Zambia, 1960–2025
Source: World Urbanization Prospects, United Nations (UN). Measured in % of total population.
Analysis
Zambia recorded 54.1% for rural population in 2025. That is the lowest value across all 66 years on record.
That represents a change of down 0.8% on the previous year and down 6.8% over ten years.
Over the whole period, rural population in Zambia peaked at 82.8% in 1960 and was at its lowest, 54.1%, in 2025.
Zambia ranks 58th of 217 countries on this measure, in the middle of the range.
The long-run direction has been consistently falling across the 66 years of available data.
Rural population in Zambia, year by year
| Year | % of total population | Change |
|---|---|---|
| 1960 | 82.8% | — |
| 1961 | 81.9% | -1.1% |
| 1962 | 80.9% | -1.2% |
| 1963 | 79.9% | -1.2% |
| 1964 | 78.7% | -1.5% |
| 1965 | 77.1% | -2.0% |
| 1966 | 75.4% | -2.2% |
| 1967 | 73.6% | -2.3% |
| 1968 | 72.0% | -2.3% |
| 1969 | 70.6% | -1.9% |
| 1970 | 69.3% | -1.7% |
| 1971 | 68.1% | -1.8% |
| 1972 | 66.8% | -1.9% |
| 1973 | 65.6% | -1.9% |
| 1974 | 64.4% | -1.8% |
| 1975 | 63.2% | -1.7% |
| 1976 | 62.2% | -1.6% |
| 1977 | 61.4% | -1.4% |
| 1978 | 60.7% | -1.1% |
| 1979 | 60.3% | -0.7% |
| 1980 | 60.1% | -0.3% |
| 1981 | 60.1% | +0.0% |
| 1982 | 60.1% | +0.0% |
| 1983 | 60.2% | +0.1% |
| 1984 | 60.2% | +0.1% |
| 1985 | 60.3% | +0.1% |
| 1986 | 60.3% | +0.1% |
| 1987 | 60.4% | +0.1% |
| 1988 | 60.5% | +0.1% |
| 1989 | 60.5% | +0.1% |
| 1990 | 60.6% | +0.1% |
| 1991 | 60.7% | +0.2% |
| 1992 | 60.9% | +0.3% |
| 1993 | 61.1% | +0.3% |
| 1994 | 61.3% | +0.4% |
| 1995 | 61.6% | +0.4% |
| 1996 | 62.0% | +0.7% |
| 1997 | 62.6% | +1.0% |
| 1998 | 63.3% | +1.0% |
| 1999 | 63.8% | +0.9% |
| 2000 | 64.1% | +0.5% |
| 2001 | 64.1% | -0.0% |
| 2002 | 63.9% | -0.3% |
| 2003 | 63.6% | -0.5% |
| 2004 | 63.2% | -0.7% |
| 2005 | 62.7% | -0.8% |
| 2006 | 62.2% | -0.9% |
| 2007 | 61.6% | -0.9% |
| 2008 | 61.0% | -0.9% |
| 2009 | 60.5% | -0.9% |
| 2010 | 60.0% | -0.8% |
| 2011 | 59.6% | -0.7% |
| 2012 | 59.2% | -0.7% |
| 2013 | 58.8% | -0.7% |
| 2014 | 58.4% | -0.7% |
| 2015 | 58.0% | -0.7% |
| 2016 | 57.7% | -0.7% |
| 2017 | 57.3% | -0.7% |
| 2018 | 56.9% | -0.7% |
| 2019 | 56.5% | -0.7% |
| 2020 | 56.1% | -0.7% |
| 2021 | 55.8% | -0.7% |
| 2022 | 55.4% | -0.7% |
| 2023 | 55.0% | -0.8% |
| 2024 | 54.5% | -0.8% |
| 2025 | 54.1% | -0.8% |
Averages by decade
| Decade | Average | Lowest | Highest | Years |
|---|---|---|---|---|
| 1960s | 77.3% | 70.6% | 82.8% | 10 |
| 1970s | 64.2% | 60.3% | 69.3% | 10 |
| 1980s | 60.3% | 60.1% | 60.5% | 10 |
| 1990s | 61.8% | 60.6% | 63.8% | 10 |
| 2000s | 62.7% | 60.5% | 64.1% | 10 |
| 2010s | 58.3% | 56.5% | 60.0% | 10 |
| 2020s | 55.1% | 54.1% | 56.1% | 6 |
Countries ranked near Zambia
- 55 Lesotho 55.3% compare
- 56 Democratic Republic of Congo 54.9% compare
- 57 Seychelles 54.5% compare
- 59 Sierra Leone 54.1% compare
- 60 Guinea-Bissau 53.3% compare
- 61 Turkmenistan 52.9% compare
More agriculture & rural data for Zambia
- Agriculture, forestry, and fishing, value added (current US$), annual 65.37 % change on previous year (2025)
- Agriculture, forestry, and fishing, value added (current US$), per 0.0411 current US$ per US$ of GDP (2025)
- Agriculture, forestry, and fishing, value added (current US$), per 54.11 current US$ per person (2025)
- Rural population, annual growth rate 1.97 % change on previous year (2025)
- Rural population, per unit of GDP 0.0004 units per US$ of GDP (2025)
- Rural population, per capita 0.5408 units per person (2025)
- Share of GDP from agriculture 4.1% (2025)
- Agriculture as a share of GDP vs. GDP per capita 4.1% (2025)
- Agricultural raw materials exports 0.4% (2024)
- Agricultural raw materials imports 0.7% (2024)
Frequently asked questions
- What is rural population in Zambia?
- Rural population in Zambia was 54.1% in 2025, according to World Urbanization Prospects, United Nations (UN).
- What is the highest rural population recorded in Zambia?
- The highest recorded value was 82.8% in 1960.
- What is the lowest rural population recorded in Zambia?
- The lowest recorded value was 54.1% in 2025.
- How does Zambia rank for rural population?
- Zambia ranks 58th out of 217 countries with data for 2025.
- Is rural population rising or falling in Zambia?
- Over the last ten years it is down 6.8%. The long-run trend across the full record is falling.
- Where does this Zambia 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.