Rural population in India
India: Rural population was 941.42 million in 2025. ▲ Rising
Rural population in India, 1960–2025
Source: World Urbanization Prospects, United Nations (UN).
Analysis
In 2025, rural population in India stood at 941.42 million. That is the highest value across all 66 years on record.
Compared with earlier readings it is up 0.4% on the previous year and up 5.1% over ten years.
Over the whole period, rural population in India peaked at 941.42 million in 2025 and was at its lowest, 357.84 million, in 1960.
India ranks 1st of 215 countries on this measure, in the top 10%.
The long-run direction has been consistently rising across the 66 years of available data.
Averages by decade
| Decade | Average | Lowest | Highest | Years |
|---|---|---|---|---|
| 1960s | 394.34 million | 357.84 million | 429.92 million | 10 |
| 1970s | 476.23 million | 438.24 million | 515.65 million | 10 |
| 1980s | 577.11 million | 525.77 million | 631.26 million | 10 |
| 1990s | 698.96 million | 643.73 million | 753.67 million | 10 |
| 2000s | 811.68 million | 765.44 million | 851.51 million | 10 |
| 2010s | 891.24 million | 859.19 million | 919.34 million | 10 |
| 2020s | 932.31 million | 923.92 million | 941.42 million | 6 |
Countries ranked near India
More agriculture & rural data for India
- Agriculture, forestry, and fishing, value added 642.24 billion current US$ (2025)
- Agriculture, forestry, and fishing, value added 16.2% (2025)
- Rural population growth 0.4% (2025)
- Rural population 64.3% (2025)
- Agricultural raw materials imports 1.5% (2024)
- Agricultural raw materials exports 0.9% (2024)
- Agriculture as a share of GDP vs. GDP per capita 16.2% (2025)
- Share of GDP from agriculture 16.2% (2025)
- Land under cereal production 107.67 million hectares (2024)
- Cereal production 391.12 million metric tons (2024)
Frequently asked questions
- What is rural population in India?
- Rural population in India was 941.42 million in 2025, according to World Urbanization Prospects, United Nations (UN).
- What is the highest rural population recorded in India?
- The highest recorded value was 941.42 million in 2025.
- What is the lowest rural population recorded in India?
- The lowest recorded value was 357.84 million in 1960.
- How does India rank for rural population?
- India ranks 1st out of 215 countries with data for 2025.
- Is rural population rising or falling in India?
- Over the last ten years it is up 5.1%. The long-run trend across the full record is rising.
- Where does this India 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.