Rural population in European Union
European Union: Rural population was 112.00 million in 2025. ▼ Falling
Rural population in European Union, 1960–2025
Source: World Urbanization Prospects, United Nations (UN).
Analysis
In 2025, rural population in European Union stood at 112.00 million. That is the lowest value across all 66 years on record.
The figure is down 0.4% on the previous year and down 3.4% over ten years.
Over the whole period, rural population in European Union peaked at 148.70 million in 1960 and was at its lowest, 112.00 million, in 2025.
That places European Union 39th out of 49 groups with data for 2025, putting it in the bottom quarter.
The long-run direction has been consistently falling across the 66 years of available data.
Averages by decade
| Decade | Average | Lowest | Highest | Years |
|---|---|---|---|---|
| 1960s | 143.46 million | 137.77 million | 148.70 million | 10 |
| 1970s | 133.48 million | 131.03 million | 136.66 million | 10 |
| 1980s | 127.90 million | 126.07 million | 130.19 million | 10 |
| 1990s | 124.70 million | 122.93 million | 125.93 million | 10 |
| 2000s | 120.50 million | 119.41 million | 122.28 million | 10 |
| 2010s | 116.32 million | 114.14 million | 118.88 million | 10 |
| 2020s | 112.80 million | 112.00 million | 113.73 million | 6 |
Countries ranked near European Union
More agriculture & rural data for European Union
- Agriculture, forestry, and fishing, value added 346.42 billion current US$ (2025)
- Agriculture, forestry, and fishing, value added 1.6% (2025)
- Rural population growth -0.4% (2025)
- Rural population 24.8% (2025)
- Agricultural raw materials imports 1.2% (2024)
- Agricultural raw materials exports 1.3% (2024)
- Land under cereal production 20.35 million hectares (2024)
- Cereal production 110.70 million metric tons (2024)
- Cereal yield 5,441 kg per hectare (2024)
- Fertilizer consumption 126.24 kilograms per hectare of arable land (2023)
Frequently asked questions
- What is rural population in European Union?
- Rural population in European Union was 112.00 million in 2025, according to World Urbanization Prospects, United Nations (UN).
- What is the highest rural population recorded in European Union?
- The highest recorded value was 148.70 million in 1960.
- What is the lowest rural population recorded in European Union?
- The lowest recorded value was 112.00 million in 2025.
- How does European Union rank for rural population?
- European Union ranks 39th out of 49 groups with data for 2025.
- Is rural population rising or falling in European Union?
- Over the last ten years it is down 3.4%. The long-run trend across the full record is falling.
- Where does this European Union 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.