Rural population in Iran
Iran: Rural population was 20.91 million in 2025. ▲ Rising
Latest (2025)
20.91 million
Change on year
down 0.6%
World rank
28th
of 218 countries
All-time high
25.85 million
in 1991
All-time low
14.18 million
in 1960
Years of data
66
1960–2025
Rural population in Iran, 1960–2025
Source: World Urbanization Prospects, United Nations (UN).
Analysis
The most recent figure for rural population in Iran is 20.91 million, measured in 2025.
The figure is down 0.6% on the previous year and down 5.0% over ten years.
Over the whole period, rural population in Iran peaked at 25.85 million in 1991 and was at its lowest, 14.18 million, in 1960.
That places Iran 28th out of 218 countries with data for 2025, putting it in the top quarter.
The long-run direction has been consistently rising across the 66 years of available data.
Rural population in Iran, year by year
| Year | Value | Change |
|---|---|---|
| 1960 | 14.18 million | — |
| 1961 | 14.47 million | +2.0% |
| 1962 | 14.76 million | +2.0% |
| 1963 | 15.06 million | +2.1% |
| 1964 | 15.38 million | +2.1% |
| 1965 | 15.74 million | +2.3% |
| 1966 | 16.09 million | +2.2% |
| 1967 | 16.28 million | +1.2% |
| 1968 | 16.53 million | +1.5% |
| 1969 | 16.79 million | +1.5% |
| 1970 | 17.04 million | +1.5% |
| 1971 | 17.29 million | +1.4% |
| 1972 | 17.52 million | +1.3% |
| 1973 | 17.75 million | +1.3% |
| 1974 | 17.98 million | +1.3% |
| 1975 | 18.22 million | +1.3% |
| 1976 | 18.54 million | +1.8% |
| 1977 | 18.77 million | +1.2% |
| 1978 | 19.13 million | +1.9% |
| 1979 | 19.52 million | +2.0% |
| 1980 | 19.95 million | +2.2% |
| 1981 | 20.72 million | +3.9% |
| 1982 | 21.52 million | +3.9% |
| 1983 | 22.04 million | +2.4% |
| 1984 | 22.54 million | +2.3% |
| 1985 | 23.02 million | +2.1% |
| 1986 | 23.59 million | +2.4% |
| 1987 | 24.09 million | +2.1% |
| 1988 | 24.58 million | +2.0% |
| 1989 | 25.00 million | +1.7% |
| 1990 | 25.42 million | +1.7% |
| 1991 | 25.85 million | +1.7% |
| 1992 | 25.79 million | -0.3% |
| 1993 | 25.36 million | -1.7% |
| 1994 | 24.88 million | -1.9% |
| 1995 | 24.62 million | -1.1% |
| 1996 | 24.48 million | -0.5% |
| 1997 | 24.11 million | -1.5% |
| 1998 | 23.93 million | -0.7% |
| 1999 | 23.75 million | -0.8% |
| 2000 | 23.59 million | -0.7% |
| 2001 | 23.46 million | -0.6% |
| 2002 | 23.17 million | -1.2% |
| 2003 | 22.97 million | -0.9% |
| 2004 | 23.00 million | +0.2% |
| 2005 | 23.08 million | +0.3% |
| 2006 | 23.26 million | +0.8% |
| 2007 | 23.27 million | +0.1% |
| 2008 | 23.12 million | -0.6% |
| 2009 | 22.94 million | -0.8% |
| 2010 | 22.75 million | -0.8% |
| 2011 | 22.57 million | -0.8% |
| 2012 | 22.41 million | -0.7% |
| 2013 | 22.27 million | -0.6% |
| 2014 | 22.14 million | -0.6% |
| 2015 | 22.01 million | -0.6% |
| 2016 | 21.89 million | -0.5% |
| 2017 | 21.77 million | -0.6% |
| 2018 | 21.70 million | -0.3% |
| 2019 | 21.59 million | -0.5% |
| 2020 | 21.41 million | -0.8% |
| 2021 | 21.24 million | -0.8% |
| 2022 | 21.19 million | -0.2% |
| 2023 | 21.13 million | -0.3% |
| 2024 | 21.04 million | -0.4% |
| 2025 | 20.91 million | -0.6% |
Iran compared with similar countries
- Iran's 20.91 million is above the median for upper middle income countries, which is 1.53 million, 13.7× the median. (59 countries reporting)
- Iran's 20.91 million is above the median for Middle East, North Africa, Afghanistan & Pakistan, which is 1.62 million, 12.9× the median. (23 countries reporting)
Averages by decade
| Decade | Average | Lowest | Highest | Years |
|---|---|---|---|---|
| 1960s | 15.53 million | 14.18 million | 16.79 million | 10 |
| 1970s | 18.18 million | 17.04 million | 19.52 million | 10 |
| 1980s | 22.70 million | 19.95 million | 25.00 million | 10 |
| 1990s | 24.82 million | 23.75 million | 25.85 million | 10 |
| 2000s | 23.19 million | 22.94 million | 23.59 million | 10 |
| 2010s | 22.11 million | 21.59 million | 22.75 million | 10 |
| 2020s | 21.15 million | 20.91 million | 21.41 million | 6 |
Countries ranked near Iran
- 25 Niger 22.79 million compare
- 26 Mozambique 22.37 million compare
- 27 Madagascar 21.97 million compare
- 29 Malawi 18.31 million compare
- 30 Uzbekistan 18.15 million compare
- 31 Italy 17.86 million compare
More agriculture & rural data for Iran
- Agriculture, forestry, and fishing, value added (current US$), annual -25.14 % change on previous year (2025)
- Agriculture, forestry, and fishing, value added (current US$), per 0.1059 current US$ per US$ of GDP (2025)
- Agriculture, forestry, and fishing, value added (current US$), per 415.77 current US$ per person (2025)
- Rural population, annual growth rate -0.6359 % change on previous year (2025)
- Rural population, per unit of GDP 0.0001 units per US$ of GDP (2025)
- Rural population, per capita 0.2262 units per person (2025)
- Share of GDP from agriculture 10.6% (2025)
- Agriculture as a share of GDP vs. GDP per capita 10.6% (2025)
- Agricultural raw materials exports 0.3% (2022)
- Agricultural raw materials imports 3.0% (2022)
Frequently asked questions
- What is rural population in Iran?
- Rural population in Iran was 20.91 million in 2025, according to World Urbanization Prospects, United Nations (UN).
- What is the highest rural population recorded in Iran?
- The highest recorded value was 25.85 million in 1991.
- What is the lowest rural population recorded in Iran?
- The lowest recorded value was 14.18 million in 1960.
- How does Iran rank for rural population?
- Iran ranks 28th out of 218 countries with data for 2025.
- Is rural population rising or falling in Iran?
- Over the last ten years it is down 5.0%. The long-run trend across the full record is rising.
- Where does this Iran 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.