Rural population in Afghanistan
Afghanistan: Rural population was 32.47 million in 2025. ▲ Rising
Latest (2025)
32.47 million
Change on year
up 2.5%
World rank
19th
of 218 countries
All-time high
32.47 million
in 2025
All-time low
8.30 million
in 1960
Years of data
66
1960–2025
Rural population in Afghanistan, 1960–2025
Source: World Urbanization Prospects, United Nations (UN).
Analysis
Afghanistan recorded 32.47 million for rural population in 2025. That is the highest value across all 66 years on record.
Compared with earlier readings it is up 2.5% on the previous year and up 27.1% over ten years.
Over the whole period, rural population in Afghanistan peaked at 32.47 million in 2025 and was at its lowest, 8.30 million, in 1960.
Afghanistan ranks 19th of 218 countries on this measure, in the top 10%.
The long-run direction has been consistently rising across the 66 years of available data.
Rural population in Afghanistan, year by year
| Year | Value | Change |
|---|---|---|
| 1960 | 8.30 million | — |
| 1961 | 8.44 million | +1.7% |
| 1962 | 8.59 million | +1.8% |
| 1963 | 8.75 million | +1.8% |
| 1964 | 8.91 million | +1.9% |
| 1965 | 9.08 million | +1.9% |
| 1966 | 9.26 million | +1.9% |
| 1967 | 9.44 million | +2.0% |
| 1968 | 9.63 million | +2.0% |
| 1969 | 9.82 million | +2.0% |
| 1970 | 10.02 million | +2.0% |
| 1971 | 10.22 million | +2.0% |
| 1972 | 10.41 million | +1.9% |
| 1973 | 10.61 million | +1.9% |
| 1974 | 10.82 million | +1.9% |
| 1975 | 11.01 million | +1.8% |
| 1976 | 11.20 million | +1.6% |
| 1977 | 11.37 million | +1.6% |
| 1978 | 11.55 million | +1.6% |
| 1979 | 11.55 million | -0.0% |
| 1980 | 11.10 million | -3.8% |
| 1981 | 10.04 million | -9.6% |
| 1982 | 9.22 million | -8.1% |
| 1983 | 9.14 million | -0.9% |
| 1984 | 9.35 million | +2.3% |
| 1985 | 9.53 million | +1.9% |
| 1986 | 9.51 million | -0.2% |
| 1987 | 9.46 million | -0.4% |
| 1988 | 9.56 million | +1.0% |
| 1989 | 9.84 million | +2.9% |
| 1990 | 9.97 million | +1.3% |
| 1991 | 10.11 million | +1.5% |
| 1992 | 10.96 million | +8.4% |
| 1993 | 12.31 million | +12.4% |
| 1994 | 13.37 million | +8.6% |
| 1995 | 14.02 million | +4.9% |
| 1996 | 14.57 million | +3.9% |
| 1997 | 15.11 million | +3.7% |
| 1998 | 15.67 million | +3.7% |
| 1999 | 16.23 million | +3.6% |
| 2000 | 16.39 million | +1.0% |
| 2001 | 16.48 million | +0.5% |
| 2002 | 17.33 million | +5.1% |
| 2003 | 18.38 million | +6.1% |
| 2004 | 18.99 million | +3.3% |
| 2005 | 19.60 million | +3.2% |
| 2006 | 20.31 million | +3.7% |
| 2007 | 20.57 million | +1.3% |
| 2008 | 20.89 million | +1.5% |
| 2009 | 21.51 million | +3.0% |
| 2010 | 21.99 million | +2.2% |
| 2011 | 22.65 million | +3.0% |
| 2012 | 23.43 million | +3.4% |
| 2013 | 24.09 million | +2.9% |
| 2014 | 24.86 million | +3.2% |
| 2015 | 25.55 million | +2.8% |
| 2016 | 26.14 million | +2.3% |
| 2017 | 26.83 million | +2.6% |
| 2018 | 27.56 million | +2.7% |
| 2019 | 28.34 million | +2.8% |
| 2020 | 29.20 million | +3.0% |
| 2021 | 29.86 million | +2.3% |
| 2022 | 30.27 million | +1.4% |
| 2023 | 30.89 million | +2.1% |
| 2024 | 31.69 million | +2.6% |
| 2025 | 32.47 million | +2.5% |
Afghanistan compared with similar countries
- Afghanistan's 32.47 million is above the median for low income countries, which is 15.21 million, 2.1× the median. (25 countries reporting)
- Afghanistan's 32.47 million is above the median for Middle East, North Africa, Afghanistan & Pakistan, which is 1.62 million, 20.1× the median. (23 countries reporting)
Averages by decade
| Decade | Average | Lowest | Highest | Years |
|---|---|---|---|---|
| 1960s | 9.02 million | 8.30 million | 9.82 million | 10 |
| 1970s | 10.88 million | 10.02 million | 11.55 million | 10 |
| 1980s | 9.67 million | 9.14 million | 11.10 million | 10 |
| 1990s | 13.23 million | 9.97 million | 16.23 million | 10 |
| 2000s | 19.05 million | 16.39 million | 21.51 million | 10 |
| 2010s | 25.14 million | 21.99 million | 28.34 million | 10 |
| 2020s | 30.73 million | 29.20 million | 32.47 million | 6 |
Countries ranked near Afghanistan
More agriculture & rural data for Afghanistan
- Agriculture, forestry, and fishing, value added (current US$), annual 2.31 % change on previous year (2024)
- Agriculture, forestry, and fishing, value added (current US$), per 0.3429 current US$ per US$ of GDP (2024)
- Agriculture, forestry, and fishing, value added (current US$), per 142.96 current US$ per person (2024)
- Rural population, annual growth rate 2.47 % change on previous year (2025)
- Rural population, per unit of GDP 0.0018 units per US$ of GDP (2024)
- Rural population, per capita 0.7406 units per person (2025)
- Share of GDP from agriculture 34.3% (2024)
- Agriculture as a share of GDP vs. GDP per capita 34.3% (2024)
- Agricultural raw materials exports 21.0% (2019)
- Agricultural raw materials imports 1.8% (2019)
Frequently asked questions
- What is rural population in Afghanistan?
- Rural population in Afghanistan was 32.47 million in 2025, according to World Urbanization Prospects, United Nations (UN).
- What is the highest rural population recorded in Afghanistan?
- The highest recorded value was 32.47 million in 2025.
- What is the lowest rural population recorded in Afghanistan?
- The lowest recorded value was 8.30 million in 1960.
- How does Afghanistan rank for rural population?
- Afghanistan ranks 19th out of 218 countries with data for 2025.
- Is rural population rising or falling in Afghanistan?
- Over the last ten years it is up 27.1%. The long-run trend across the full record is rising.
- Where does this Afghanistan data come from?
- The figures come from World Urbanization Prospects, United Nations (UN), published as part of Rural 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. Aggregation of urban and rural population may not add up to total population because of different country coverages.