Rural population in Bangladesh
Bangladesh: Rural population was 117.29 million in 2025. ▲ Rising
Latest (2025)
117.29 million
Change on year
up 0.4%
World rank
4th
of 218 countries
All-time high
117.29 million
in 2025
All-time low
49.18 million
in 1960
Years of data
66
1960–2025
Rural population in Bangladesh, 1960–2025
Source: World Urbanization Prospects, United Nations (UN).
Analysis
In 2025, rural population in Bangladesh stood at 117.29 million. That is the highest value across all 66 years on record.
That represents a change of up 0.4% on the previous year and up 4.4% over ten years.
Over the whole period, rural population in Bangladesh peaked at 117.29 million in 2025 and was at its lowest, 49.18 million, in 1960.
Bangladesh ranks 4th 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 Bangladesh, year by year
| Year | Value | Change |
|---|---|---|
| 1960 | 49.18 million | — |
| 1961 | 50.50 million | +2.7% |
| 1962 | 51.88 million | +2.7% |
| 1963 | 53.31 million | +2.8% |
| 1964 | 54.77 million | +2.7% |
| 1965 | 56.27 million | +2.7% |
| 1966 | 57.79 million | +2.7% |
| 1967 | 59.36 million | +2.7% |
| 1968 | 60.97 million | +2.7% |
| 1969 | 62.53 million | +2.6% |
| 1970 | 63.96 million | +2.3% |
| 1971 | 64.85 million | +1.4% |
| 1972 | 65.85 million | +1.5% |
| 1973 | 67.47 million | +2.5% |
| 1974 | 69.05 million | +2.3% |
| 1975 | 70.35 million | +1.9% |
| 1976 | 71.43 million | +1.5% |
| 1977 | 72.37 million | +1.3% |
| 1978 | 73.24 million | +1.2% |
| 1979 | 74.12 million | +1.2% |
| 1980 | 75.10 million | +1.3% |
| 1981 | 76.40 million | +1.7% |
| 1982 | 77.96 million | +2.0% |
| 1983 | 79.52 million | +2.0% |
| 1984 | 81.06 million | +1.9% |
| 1985 | 82.57 million | +1.9% |
| 1986 | 84.03 million | +1.8% |
| 1987 | 85.45 million | +1.7% |
| 1988 | 86.82 million | +1.6% |
| 1989 | 88.15 million | +1.5% |
| 1990 | 89.46 million | +1.5% |
| 1991 | 90.73 million | +1.4% |
| 1992 | 92.01 million | +1.4% |
| 1993 | 93.32 million | +1.4% |
| 1994 | 94.66 million | +1.4% |
| 1995 | 96.04 million | +1.5% |
| 1996 | 97.42 million | +1.4% |
| 1997 | 98.84 million | +1.5% |
| 1998 | 100.30 million | +1.5% |
| 1999 | 101.78 million | +1.5% |
| 2000 | 103.18 million | +1.4% |
| 2001 | 104.38 million | +1.2% |
| 2002 | 105.43 million | +1.0% |
| 2003 | 106.36 million | +0.9% |
| 2004 | 107.16 million | +0.8% |
| 2005 | 107.85 million | +0.6% |
| 2006 | 108.42 million | +0.5% |
| 2007 | 108.90 million | +0.4% |
| 2008 | 109.31 million | +0.4% |
| 2009 | 109.67 million | +0.3% |
| 2010 | 110.00 million | +0.3% |
| 2011 | 110.42 million | +0.4% |
| 2012 | 110.91 million | +0.4% |
| 2013 | 111.39 million | +0.4% |
| 2014 | 111.85 million | +0.4% |
| 2015 | 112.30 million | +0.4% |
| 2016 | 112.77 million | +0.4% |
| 2017 | 113.20 million | +0.4% |
| 2018 | 113.62 million | +0.4% |
| 2019 | 114.08 million | +0.4% |
| 2020 | 114.55 million | +0.4% |
| 2021 | 115.02 million | +0.4% |
| 2022 | 115.73 million | +0.6% |
| 2023 | 116.33 million | +0.5% |
| 2024 | 116.84 million | +0.4% |
| 2025 | 117.29 million | +0.4% |
Bangladesh compared with similar countries
- Bangladesh's 117.29 million is above the median for lower middle income countries, which is 5.28 million, 22.2× the median. (47 countries reporting)
- Bangladesh's 117.29 million is above the median for South Asia, which is 13.54 million, 8.7× the median. (6 countries reporting)
Averages by decade
| Decade | Average | Lowest | Highest | Years |
|---|---|---|---|---|
| 1960s | 55.66 million | 49.18 million | 62.53 million | 10 |
| 1970s | 69.27 million | 63.96 million | 74.12 million | 10 |
| 1980s | 81.71 million | 75.10 million | 88.15 million | 10 |
| 1990s | 95.46 million | 89.46 million | 101.78 million | 10 |
| 2000s | 107.06 million | 103.18 million | 109.67 million | 10 |
| 2010s | 112.05 million | 110.00 million | 114.08 million | 10 |
| 2020s | 115.96 million | 114.55 million | 117.29 million | 6 |
Countries ranked near Bangladesh
More agriculture & rural data for Bangladesh
- Agriculture, forestry, and fishing, value added (current US$), annual 3.73 % change on previous year (2025)
- Agriculture, forestry, and fishing, value added (current US$), per 0.1142 current US$ per US$ of GDP (2025)
- Agriculture, forestry, and fishing, value added (current US$), per 296.72 current US$ per person (2025)
- Rural population, annual growth rate 0.38 % change on previous year (2025)
- Rural population, per unit of GDP 0.0003 units per US$ of GDP (2025)
- Rural population, per capita 0.6676 units per person (2025)
- Share of GDP from agriculture 11.4% (2025)
- Agriculture as a share of GDP vs. GDP per capita 11.4% (2025)
- Agricultural raw materials exports 0.8% (2018)
- Agricultural raw materials imports 6.0% (2018)
Frequently asked questions
- What is rural population in Bangladesh?
- Rural population in Bangladesh was 117.29 million in 2025, according to World Urbanization Prospects, United Nations (UN).
- What is the highest rural population recorded in Bangladesh?
- The highest recorded value was 117.29 million in 2025.
- What is the lowest rural population recorded in Bangladesh?
- The lowest recorded value was 49.18 million in 1960.
- How does Bangladesh rank for rural population?
- Bangladesh ranks 4th out of 218 countries with data for 2025.
- Is rural population rising or falling in Bangladesh?
- Over the last ten years it is up 4.4%. The long-run trend across the full record is rising.
- Where does this Bangladesh 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.