Rural population in Canada
Canada: Rural population was 7.13 million in 2025. ▲ Rising
Latest (2025)
7.13 million
Change on year
down 0.1%
World rank
71st
of 218 countries
All-time high
7.14 million
in 2024
All-time low
5.13 million
in 1970
Years of data
66
1960–2025
Rural population in Canada, 1960–2025
Source: World Urbanization Prospects, United Nations (UN).
Analysis
The most recent figure for rural population in Canada is 7.13 million, measured in 2025.
Compared with earlier readings it is down 0.1% on the previous year and up 6.5% over ten years.
Over the whole period, rural population in Canada peaked at 7.14 million in 2024 and was at its lowest, 5.13 million, in 1970.
Canada ranks 71st of 218 countries on this measure, in the middle of the range.
The long-run direction has been consistently rising across the 66 years of available data.
Rural population in Canada, year by year
| Year | Value | Change |
|---|---|---|
| 1960 | 5.54 million | — |
| 1961 | 5.54 million | -0.1% |
| 1962 | 5.50 million | -0.7% |
| 1963 | 5.44 million | -1.0% |
| 1964 | 5.38 million | -1.1% |
| 1965 | 5.32 million | -1.1% |
| 1966 | 5.29 million | -0.7% |
| 1967 | 5.25 million | -0.7% |
| 1968 | 5.20 million | -1.0% |
| 1969 | 5.14 million | -1.0% |
| 1970 | 5.13 million | -0.3% |
| 1971 | 5.25 million | +2.4% |
| 1972 | 5.33 million | +1.4% |
| 1973 | 5.43 million | +1.8% |
| 1974 | 5.54 million | +2.1% |
| 1975 | 5.65 million | +2.0% |
| 1976 | 5.74 million | +1.5% |
| 1977 | 5.80 million | +1.1% |
| 1978 | 5.85 million | +0.9% |
| 1979 | 5.90 million | +0.8% |
| 1980 | 5.96 million | +1.1% |
| 1981 | 6.02 million | +1.0% |
| 1982 | 6.06 million | +0.7% |
| 1983 | 6.08 million | +0.3% |
| 1984 | 6.09 million | +0.1% |
| 1985 | 6.10 million | +0.2% |
| 1986 | 6.14 million | +0.6% |
| 1987 | 6.22 million | +1.2% |
| 1988 | 6.29 million | +1.2% |
| 1989 | 6.40 million | +1.7% |
| 1990 | 6.49 million | +1.4% |
| 1991 | 6.56 million | +1.1% |
| 1992 | 6.60 million | +0.6% |
| 1993 | 6.60 million | -0.0% |
| 1994 | 6.58 million | -0.3% |
| 1995 | 6.55 million | -0.4% |
| 1996 | 6.55 million | -0.1% |
| 1997 | 6.55 million | +0.1% |
| 1998 | 6.55 million | +0.0% |
| 1999 | 6.55 million | +0.0% |
| 2000 | 6.56 million | +0.1% |
| 2001 | 6.56 million | +0.1% |
| 2002 | 6.55 million | -0.1% |
| 2003 | 6.52 million | -0.5% |
| 2004 | 6.49 million | -0.5% |
| 2005 | 6.46 million | -0.5% |
| 2006 | 6.44 million | -0.2% |
| 2007 | 6.43 million | -0.2% |
| 2008 | 6.43 million | -0.0% |
| 2009 | 6.44 million | +0.1% |
| 2010 | 6.46 million | +0.3% |
| 2011 | 6.49 million | +0.5% |
| 2012 | 6.54 million | +0.8% |
| 2013 | 6.60 million | +0.9% |
| 2014 | 6.66 million | +0.9% |
| 2015 | 6.70 million | +0.6% |
| 2016 | 6.75 million | +0.8% |
| 2017 | 6.80 million | +0.7% |
| 2018 | 6.84 million | +0.6% |
| 2019 | 6.87 million | +0.4% |
| 2020 | 6.86 million | -0.1% |
| 2021 | 6.82 million | -0.7% |
| 2022 | 6.87 million | +0.9% |
| 2023 | 7.00 million | +1.8% |
| 2024 | 7.14 million | +2.0% |
| 2025 | 7.13 million | -0.1% |
Canada compared with similar countries
- Canada's 7.13 million is above the median for high income countries, which is 456,529, 15.6× the median. (85 countries reporting)
Averages by decade
| Decade | Average | Lowest | Highest | Years |
|---|---|---|---|---|
| 1960s | 5.36 million | 5.14 million | 5.54 million | 10 |
| 1970s | 5.56 million | 5.13 million | 5.90 million | 10 |
| 1980s | 6.14 million | 5.96 million | 6.40 million | 10 |
| 1990s | 6.56 million | 6.49 million | 6.60 million | 10 |
| 2000s | 6.49 million | 6.43 million | 6.56 million | 10 |
| 2010s | 6.67 million | 6.46 million | 6.87 million | 10 |
| 2020s | 6.97 million | 6.82 million | 7.14 million | 6 |
Countries ranked near Canada
- 68 Tajikistan 7.96 million compare
- 69 Kazakhstan 7.84 million compare
- 70 Syria 7.15 million compare
- 72 Benin 6.91 million compare
- 73 Ecuador 6.70 million compare
- 74 Saudi Arabia 5.69 million compare
More agriculture & rural data for Canada
- Agriculture, forestry, and fishing, value added (current US$), annual 31.61 % change on previous year (2022)
- Agriculture, forestry, and fishing, value added (current US$), per 0.0193 current US$ per US$ of GDP (2022)
- Agriculture, forestry, and fishing, value added (current US$), per 1,092 current US$ per person (2022)
- Rural population, annual growth rate -0.0803 % change on previous year (2025)
- Rural population, per unit of GDP 0 units per US$ of GDP (2025)
- Rural population, per capita 0.1712 units per person (2025)
- Share of GDP from agriculture 1.9% (2022)
- Agriculture as a share of GDP vs. GDP per capita 1.9% (2022)
- Agricultural raw materials exports 2.9% (2024)
- Agricultural raw materials imports 0.7% (2024)
Frequently asked questions
- What is rural population in Canada?
- Rural population in Canada was 7.13 million in 2025, according to World Urbanization Prospects, United Nations (UN).
- What is the highest rural population recorded in Canada?
- The highest recorded value was 7.14 million in 2024.
- What is the lowest rural population recorded in Canada?
- The lowest recorded value was 5.13 million in 1970.
- How does Canada rank for rural population?
- Canada ranks 71st out of 218 countries with data for 2025.
- Is rural population rising or falling in Canada?
- Over the last ten years it is up 6.5%. The long-run trend across the full record is rising.
- Where does this Canada 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.