Rural population in China
China: Rural population was 473.41 million in 2025. ▼ Falling
Latest (2025)
473.41 million
Change on year
down 1.5%
World rank
2nd
of 218 countries
All-time high
854.96 million
in 1995
All-time low
473.41 million
in 2025
Years of data
66
1960–2025
Rural population in China, 1960–2025
Source: World Urbanization Prospects, United Nations (UN).
Analysis
The most recent figure for rural population in China is 473.41 million, measured in 2025. That is the lowest value across all 66 years on record.
Compared with earlier readings it is down 1.5% on the previous year and down 19.6% over ten years.
Over the whole period, rural population in China peaked at 854.96 million in 1995 and was at its lowest, 473.41 million, in 2025.
China ranks 2nd of 218 countries on this measure, in the top 10%.
The long-run direction has been consistently falling across the 66 years of available data.
Rural population in China, year by year
| Year | Value | Change |
|---|---|---|
| 1960 | 535.35 million | — |
| 1961 | 532.92 million | -0.5% |
| 1962 | 550.43 million | +3.3% |
| 1963 | 567.46 million | +3.1% |
| 1964 | 570.56 million | +0.5% |
| 1965 | 586.57 million | +2.8% |
| 1966 | 604.06 million | +3.0% |
| 1967 | 620.69 million | +2.8% |
| 1968 | 638.04 million | +2.8% |
| 1969 | 656.73 million | +2.9% |
| 1970 | 676.09 million | +2.9% |
| 1971 | 695.93 million | +2.9% |
| 1972 | 714.35 million | +2.6% |
| 1973 | 730.24 million | +2.2% |
| 1974 | 745.81 million | +2.1% |
| 1975 | 757.45 million | +1.6% |
| 1976 | 768.41 million | +1.4% |
| 1977 | 777.87 million | +1.2% |
| 1978 | 784.87 million | +0.9% |
| 1979 | 785.27 million | +0.1% |
| 1980 | 790.96 million | +0.7% |
| 1981 | 793.55 million | +0.3% |
| 1982 | 801.20 million | +1.0% |
| 1983 | 802.03 million | +0.1% |
| 1984 | 798.21 million | -0.5% |
| 1985 | 801.87 million | +0.5% |
| 1986 | 805.16 million | +0.4% |
| 1987 | 809.57 million | +0.5% |
| 1988 | 817.25 million | +0.9% |
| 1989 | 825.45 million | +1.0% |
| 1990 | 837.82 million | +1.5% |
| 1991 | 840.76 million | +0.4% |
| 1992 | 845.07 million | +0.5% |
| 1993 | 848.59 million | +0.4% |
| 1994 | 852.04 million | +0.4% |
| 1995 | 854.96 million | +0.3% |
| 1996 | 846.44 million | -1.0% |
| 1997 | 837.56 million | -1.0% |
| 1998 | 827.75 million | -1.2% |
| 1999 | 817.04 million | -1.3% |
| 2000 | 802.64 million | -1.8% |
| 2001 | 792.88 million | -1.2% |
| 2002 | 779.89 million | -1.6% |
| 2003 | 766.21 million | -1.8% |
| 2004 | 754.83 million | -1.5% |
| 2005 | 743.25 million | -1.5% |
| 2006 | 729.67 million | -1.8% |
| 2007 | 713.12 million | -2.3% |
| 2008 | 702.21 million | -1.5% |
| 2009 | 687.71 million | -2.1% |
| 2010 | 679.10 million | -1.3% |
| 2011 | 647.90 million | -4.6% |
| 2012 | 635.11 million | -2.0% |
| 2013 | 620.41 million | -2.3% |
| 2014 | 607.04 million | -2.2% |
| 2015 | 588.79 million | -3.0% |
| 2016 | 571.22 million | -3.0% |
| 2017 | 555.13 million | -2.8% |
| 2018 | 540.06 million | -2.7% |
| 2019 | 524.95 million | -2.8% |
| 2020 | 514.72 million | -1.9% |
| 2021 | 498.26 million | -3.2% |
| 2022 | 491.19 million | -1.4% |
| 2023 | 486.27 million | -1.0% |
| 2024 | 480.54 million | -1.2% |
| 2025 | 473.41 million | -1.5% |
China compared with similar countries
- China's 473.41 million is above the median for upper middle income countries, which is 1.53 million, 309.8× the median. (59 countries reporting)
- China's 473.41 million is above the median for East Asia & Pacific, which is 377,513, 1254.0× the median. (37 countries reporting)
Averages by decade
| Decade | Average | Lowest | Highest | Years |
|---|---|---|---|---|
| 1960s | 586.28 million | 532.92 million | 656.73 million | 10 |
| 1970s | 743.63 million | 676.09 million | 785.27 million | 10 |
| 1980s | 804.53 million | 790.96 million | 825.45 million | 10 |
| 1990s | 840.80 million | 817.04 million | 854.96 million | 10 |
| 2000s | 747.24 million | 687.71 million | 802.64 million | 10 |
| 2010s | 596.97 million | 524.95 million | 679.10 million | 10 |
| 2020s | 490.73 million | 473.41 million | 514.72 million | 6 |
Countries ranked near China
More agriculture & rural data for China
- Agriculture, forestry, and fishing, value added (current US$), annual 1.98 % change on previous year (2025)
- Agriculture, forestry, and fishing, value added (current US$), per 0.0666 current US$ per US$ of GDP (2025)
- Agriculture, forestry, and fishing, value added (current US$), per 923.03 current US$ per person (2025)
- Rural population, annual growth rate -1.48 % change on previous year (2025)
- Rural population, per unit of GDP 0 units per US$ of GDP (2025)
- Rural population, per capita 0.3366 units per person (2025)
- Share of GDP from agriculture 6.7% (2025)
- Agriculture as a share of GDP vs. GDP per capita 6.7% (2025)
- Agricultural raw materials exports 0.3% (2024)
- Agricultural raw materials imports 2.7% (2024)
Frequently asked questions
- What is rural population in China?
- Rural population in China was 473.41 million in 2025, according to World Urbanization Prospects, United Nations (UN).
- What is the highest rural population recorded in China?
- The highest recorded value was 854.96 million in 1995.
- What is the lowest rural population recorded in China?
- The lowest recorded value was 473.41 million in 2025.
- How does China rank for rural population?
- China ranks 2nd out of 218 countries with data for 2025.
- Is rural population rising or falling in China?
- Over the last ten years it is down 19.6%. The long-run trend across the full record is falling.
- Where does this China 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.