Rural population in Europe & Central Asia (IDA & IBRD countries)
Europe & Central Asia (IDA & IBRD countries): Rural population was 142.68 million in 2025. ▼ Falling
Latest (2025)
142.68 million
Change on year
up 0.3%
Rank
35th
of 45 groups
All-time high
173.37 million
in 1965
All-time low
142.28 million
in 2024
Years of data
66
1960–2025
Rural population in Europe & Central Asia (IDA & IBRD countries), 1960–2025
Source: World Urbanization Prospects, United Nations (UN).
Analysis
Europe & Central Asia (IDA & IBRD countries) recorded 142.68 million for rural population in 2025.
The figure is up 0.3% on the previous year and down 1.5% over ten years.
Over the whole period, rural population in Europe & Central Asia (IDA & IBRD countries) peaked at 173.37 million in 1965 and was at its lowest, 142.28 million, in 2024.
Europe & Central Asia (IDA & IBRD countries) ranks 35th of 45 groups on this measure, in the bottom quarter.
The long-run direction has been consistently falling across the 66 years of available data.
Rural population in Europe & Central Asia (IDA & IBRD countries), year by year
| Year | Value | Change |
|---|---|---|
| 1960 | 171.55 million | — |
| 1961 | 171.72 million | +0.1% |
| 1962 | 172.36 million | +0.4% |
| 1963 | 172.86 million | +0.3% |
| 1964 | 173.18 million | +0.2% |
| 1965 | 173.37 million | +0.1% |
| 1966 | 173.15 million | -0.1% |
| 1967 | 172.97 million | -0.1% |
| 1968 | 172.60 million | -0.2% |
| 1969 | 172.00 million | -0.3% |
| 1970 | 171.29 million | -0.4% |
| 1971 | 170.75 million | -0.3% |
| 1972 | 169.85 million | -0.5% |
| 1973 | 168.86 million | -0.6% |
| 1974 | 167.84 million | -0.6% |
| 1975 | 167.01 million | -0.5% |
| 1976 | 166.46 million | -0.3% |
| 1977 | 166.18 million | -0.2% |
| 1978 | 165.78 million | -0.2% |
| 1979 | 165.42 million | -0.2% |
| 1980 | 165.19 million | -0.1% |
| 1981 | 164.90 million | -0.2% |
| 1982 | 164.55 million | -0.2% |
| 1983 | 164.31 million | -0.1% |
| 1984 | 164.27 million | -0.0% |
| 1985 | 164.35 million | +0.0% |
| 1986 | 164.28 million | -0.0% |
| 1987 | 164.18 million | -0.1% |
| 1988 | 164.10 million | -0.1% |
| 1989 | 164.19 million | +0.1% |
| 1990 | 164.45 million | +0.2% |
| 1991 | 164.64 million | +0.1% |
| 1992 | 165.27 million | +0.4% |
| 1993 | 165.80 million | +0.3% |
| 1994 | 165.93 million | +0.1% |
| 1995 | 165.91 million | -0.0% |
| 1996 | 165.68 million | -0.1% |
| 1997 | 165.36 million | -0.2% |
| 1998 | 164.91 million | -0.3% |
| 1999 | 164.65 million | -0.2% |
| 2000 | 163.67 million | -0.6% |
| 2001 | 162.80 million | -0.5% |
| 2002 | 161.93 million | -0.5% |
| 2003 | 161.05 million | -0.5% |
| 2004 | 160.52 million | -0.3% |
| 2005 | 160.05 million | -0.3% |
| 2006 | 159.24 million | -0.5% |
| 2007 | 158.15 million | -0.7% |
| 2008 | 157.45 million | -0.4% |
| 2009 | 156.95 million | -0.3% |
| 2010 | 156.24 million | -0.4% |
| 2011 | 155.27 million | -0.6% |
| 2012 | 153.68 million | -1.0% |
| 2013 | 150.61 million | -2.0% |
| 2014 | 147.21 million | -2.3% |
| 2015 | 144.84 million | -1.6% |
| 2016 | 144.53 million | -0.2% |
| 2017 | 144.88 million | +0.2% |
| 2018 | 145.04 million | +0.1% |
| 2019 | 144.87 million | -0.1% |
| 2020 | 144.62 million | -0.2% |
| 2021 | 144.17 million | -0.3% |
| 2022 | 143.30 million | -0.6% |
| 2023 | 142.35 million | -0.7% |
| 2024 | 142.28 million | -0.1% |
| 2025 | 142.68 million | +0.3% |
Averages by decade
| Decade | Average | Lowest | Highest | Years |
|---|---|---|---|---|
| 1960s | 172.58 million | 171.55 million | 173.37 million | 10 |
| 1970s | 167.94 million | 165.42 million | 171.29 million | 10 |
| 1980s | 164.43 million | 164.10 million | 165.19 million | 10 |
| 1990s | 165.26 million | 164.45 million | 165.93 million | 10 |
| 2000s | 160.18 million | 156.95 million | 163.67 million | 10 |
| 2010s | 148.72 million | 144.53 million | 156.24 million | 10 |
| 2020s | 143.23 million | 142.28 million | 144.62 million | 6 |
Countries ranked near Europe & Central Asia (IDA & IBRD countries)
More agriculture & rural data for Europe & Central Asia (IDA & IBRD countries)
- Agriculture, forestry, and fishing, value added (current US$), annual 12.69 % change on previous year (2025)
- Agriculture, forestry, and fishing, value added 298.09 billion current US$ (2025)
- Rural population growth 0.3% (2025)
- Rural population 30.8% (2025)
- Agricultural raw materials imports 1.4% (2024)
- Agricultural raw materials exports 1.6% (2021)
- Rural population, per capita 0.3085 units per person (2025)
- Rural population, per unit of GDP 0 units per US$ of GDP (2025)
- Agriculture, forestry, and fishing, value added (current US$), per 644.43 current US$ per person (2025)
- Rural population, annual growth rate 0.2833 % change on previous year (2025)
Frequently asked questions
- What is rural population in Europe & Central Asia (IDA & IBRD countries)?
- Rural population in Europe & Central Asia (IDA & IBRD countries) was 142.68 million in 2025, according to World Urbanization Prospects, United Nations (UN).
- What is the highest rural population recorded in Europe & Central Asia (IDA & IBRD countries)?
- The highest recorded value was 173.37 million in 1965.
- What is the lowest rural population recorded in Europe & Central Asia (IDA & IBRD countries)?
- The lowest recorded value was 142.28 million in 2024.
- How does Europe & Central Asia (IDA & IBRD countries) rank for rural population?
- Europe & Central Asia (IDA & IBRD countries) ranks 35th out of 45 groups with data for 2025.
- Is rural population rising or falling in Europe & Central Asia (IDA & IBRD countries)?
- Over the last ten years it is down 1.5%. The long-run trend across the full record is falling.
- Where does this Europe & Central Asia (IDA & IBRD countries) 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.