Rural population in Germany
Germany: Rural population was 14.91 million in 2025. ▼ Falling
Latest (2025)
14.91 million
Change on year
down 0.7%
World rank
36th
of 218 countries
All-time high
17.69 million
in 1960
All-time low
14.91 million
in 2025
Years of data
66
1960–2025
Rural population in Germany, 1960–2025
Source: World Urbanization Prospects, United Nations (UN).
Analysis
Germany recorded 14.91 million for rural population in 2025. That is the lowest value across all 66 years on record.
The figure is down 0.7% on the previous year and down 5.4% over ten years.
Over the whole period, rural population in Germany peaked at 17.69 million in 1960 and was at its lowest, 14.91 million, in 2025.
Germany ranks 36th of 218 countries on this measure, in the top quarter.
The long-run direction has been consistently falling across the 66 years of available data.
Rural population in Germany, year by year
| Year | Value | Change |
|---|---|---|
| 1960 | 17.69 million | — |
| 1961 | 17.48 million | -1.2% |
| 1962 | 17.27 million | -1.3% |
| 1963 | 17.03 million | -1.4% |
| 1964 | 16.76 million | -1.6% |
| 1965 | 16.52 million | -1.5% |
| 1966 | 16.30 million | -1.3% |
| 1967 | 16.07 million | -1.4% |
| 1968 | 15.91 million | -1.0% |
| 1969 | 15.89 million | -0.1% |
| 1970 | 15.90 million | +0.0% |
| 1971 | 15.90 million | +0.0% |
| 1972 | 15.95 million | +0.3% |
| 1973 | 15.97 million | +0.2% |
| 1974 | 15.96 million | -0.1% |
| 1975 | 15.88 million | -0.5% |
| 1976 | 15.79 million | -0.5% |
| 1977 | 15.74 million | -0.3% |
| 1978 | 15.71 million | -0.2% |
| 1979 | 15.70 million | -0.0% |
| 1980 | 15.72 million | +0.1% |
| 1981 | 15.74 million | +0.1% |
| 1982 | 15.71 million | -0.2% |
| 1983 | 15.66 million | -0.3% |
| 1984 | 15.60 million | -0.4% |
| 1985 | 15.56 million | -0.3% |
| 1986 | 15.56 million | +0.0% |
| 1987 | 15.57 million | +0.1% |
| 1988 | 15.63 million | +0.4% |
| 1989 | 15.74 million | +0.7% |
| 1990 | 15.88 million | +0.8% |
| 1991 | 15.99 million | +0.7% |
| 1992 | 16.10 million | +0.7% |
| 1993 | 16.20 million | +0.6% |
| 1994 | 16.26 million | +0.3% |
| 1995 | 16.30 million | +0.3% |
| 1996 | 16.34 million | +0.3% |
| 1997 | 16.36 million | +0.1% |
| 1998 | 16.35 million | -0.0% |
| 1999 | 16.35 million | +0.0% |
| 2000 | 16.36 million | +0.1% |
| 2001 | 16.38 million | +0.1% |
| 2002 | 16.40 million | +0.1% |
| 2003 | 16.39 million | -0.0% |
| 2004 | 16.38 million | -0.1% |
| 2005 | 16.35 million | -0.2% |
| 2006 | 16.31 million | -0.2% |
| 2007 | 16.27 million | -0.3% |
| 2008 | 16.22 million | -0.3% |
| 2009 | 16.16 million | -0.4% |
| 2010 | 16.11 million | -0.3% |
| 2011 | 15.78 million | -2.0% |
| 2012 | 15.77 million | -0.1% |
| 2013 | 15.75 million | -0.1% |
| 2014 | 15.73 million | -0.1% |
| 2015 | 15.77 million | +0.2% |
| 2016 | 15.78 million | +0.1% |
| 2017 | 15.72 million | -0.4% |
| 2018 | 15.63 million | -0.5% |
| 2019 | 15.53 million | -0.6% |
| 2020 | 15.41 million | -0.8% |
| 2021 | 15.28 million | -0.8% |
| 2022 | 15.15 million | -0.9% |
| 2023 | 15.07 million | -0.5% |
| 2024 | 15.02 million | -0.4% |
| 2025 | 14.91 million | -0.7% |
Germany compared with similar countries
- Germany's 14.91 million is above the median for high income countries, which is 456,529, 32.7× the median. (85 countries reporting)
- Germany's 14.91 million is above the median for Europe & Central Asia, which is 1.49 million, 10.0× the median. (57 countries reporting)
Averages by decade
| Decade | Average | Lowest | Highest | Years |
|---|---|---|---|---|
| 1960s | 16.69 million | 15.89 million | 17.69 million | 10 |
| 1970s | 15.85 million | 15.70 million | 15.97 million | 10 |
| 1980s | 15.65 million | 15.56 million | 15.74 million | 10 |
| 1990s | 16.21 million | 15.88 million | 16.36 million | 10 |
| 2000s | 16.32 million | 16.16 million | 16.40 million | 10 |
| 2010s | 15.76 million | 15.53 million | 16.11 million | 10 |
| 2020s | 15.14 million | 14.91 million | 15.41 million | 6 |
Countries ranked near Germany
More agriculture & rural data for Germany
- Agriculture, forestry, and fishing, value added (current US$), annual 2.73 % change on previous year (2025)
- Agriculture, forestry, and fishing, value added (current US$), per 0.0087 current US$ per US$ of GDP (2025)
- Agriculture, forestry, and fishing, value added (current US$), per 527.18 current US$ per person (2025)
- Rural population, annual growth rate -0.6813 % change on previous year (2025)
- Rural population, per unit of GDP 0 units per US$ of GDP (2025)
- Rural population, per capita 0.1786 units per person (2025)
- Share of GDP from agriculture 0.9% (2025)
- Agriculture as a share of GDP vs. GDP per capita 0.9% (2025)
- Agricultural raw materials exports 0.7% (2024)
- Agricultural raw materials imports 1.1% (2024)
Frequently asked questions
- What is rural population in Germany?
- Rural population in Germany was 14.91 million in 2025, according to World Urbanization Prospects, United Nations (UN).
- What is the highest rural population recorded in Germany?
- The highest recorded value was 17.69 million in 1960.
- What is the lowest rural population recorded in Germany?
- The lowest recorded value was 14.91 million in 2025.
- How does Germany rank for rural population?
- Germany ranks 36th out of 218 countries with data for 2025.
- Is rural population rising or falling in Germany?
- Over the last ten years it is down 5.4%. The long-run trend across the full record is falling.
- Where does this Germany 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.