Rural population in Japan
Japan: Rural population was 9.50 million in 2025. ▼ Falling
Latest (2025)
9.50 million
Change on year
down 1.9%
World rank
59th
of 218 countries
All-time high
34.25 million
in 1960
All-time low
9.50 million
in 2025
Years of data
66
1960–2025
Rural population in Japan, 1960–2025
Source: World Urbanization Prospects, United Nations (UN).
Analysis
Japan recorded 9.50 million for rural population in 2025. That is the lowest value across all 66 years on record.
The figure is down 1.9% on the previous year and down 13.6% over ten years.
Over the whole period, rural population in Japan peaked at 34.25 million in 1960 and was at its lowest, 9.50 million, in 2025.
Japan ranks 59th of 218 countries on this measure, in the middle of the range.
The long-run direction has been consistently falling across the 66 years of available data.
Rural population in Japan, year by year
| Year | Value | Change |
|---|---|---|
| 1960 | 34.25 million | — |
| 1961 | 33.60 million | -1.9% |
| 1962 | 33.00 million | -1.8% |
| 1963 | 32.47 million | -1.6% |
| 1964 | 31.96 million | -1.6% |
| 1965 | 31.46 million | -1.5% |
| 1966 | 30.92 million | -1.7% |
| 1967 | 30.44 million | -1.6% |
| 1968 | 29.98 million | -1.5% |
| 1969 | 29.55 million | -1.5% |
| 1970 | 29.10 million | -1.5% |
| 1971 | 28.85 million | -0.9% |
| 1972 | 28.21 million | -2.2% |
| 1973 | 27.58 million | -2.3% |
| 1974 | 27.09 million | -1.8% |
| 1975 | 26.94 million | -0.5% |
| 1976 | 27.10 million | +0.6% |
| 1977 | 27.29 million | +0.7% |
| 1978 | 27.49 million | +0.7% |
| 1979 | 27.68 million | +0.7% |
| 1980 | 27.83 million | +0.6% |
| 1981 | 27.94 million | +0.4% |
| 1982 | 28.02 million | +0.3% |
| 1983 | 28.09 million | +0.2% |
| 1984 | 28.13 million | +0.1% |
| 1985 | 28.16 million | +0.1% |
| 1986 | 28.17 million | +0.0% |
| 1987 | 28.15 million | -0.1% |
| 1988 | 28.10 million | -0.2% |
| 1989 | 28.05 million | -0.2% |
| 1990 | 27.98 million | -0.3% |
| 1991 | 27.92 million | -0.2% |
| 1992 | 27.86 million | -0.2% |
| 1993 | 27.78 million | -0.3% |
| 1994 | 27.68 million | -0.3% |
| 1995 | 27.58 million | -0.4% |
| 1996 | 27.49 million | -0.3% |
| 1997 | 27.44 million | -0.2% |
| 1998 | 27.40 million | -0.2% |
| 1999 | 27.29 million | -0.4% |
| 2000 | 27.13 million | -0.6% |
| 2001 | 26.50 million | -2.3% |
| 2002 | 24.79 million | -6.4% |
| 2003 | 22.45 million | -9.4% |
| 2004 | 19.97 million | -11.1% |
| 2005 | 17.94 million | -10.1% |
| 2006 | 16.43 million | -8.4% |
| 2007 | 15.01 million | -8.6% |
| 2008 | 13.71 million | -8.7% |
| 2009 | 12.66 million | -7.7% |
| 2010 | 12.01 million | -5.1% |
| 2011 | 11.68 million | -2.7% |
| 2012 | 11.45 million | -1.9% |
| 2013 | 11.28 million | -1.5% |
| 2014 | 11.13 million | -1.3% |
| 2015 | 10.99 million | -1.2% |
| 2016 | 10.86 million | -1.2% |
| 2017 | 10.73 million | -1.2% |
| 2018 | 10.60 million | -1.2% |
| 2019 | 10.49 million | -1.1% |
| 2020 | 10.38 million | -1.1% |
| 2021 | 10.21 million | -1.6% |
| 2022 | 10.04 million | -1.7% |
| 2023 | 9.86 million | -1.8% |
| 2024 | 9.68 million | -1.8% |
| 2025 | 9.50 million | -1.9% |
Japan compared with similar countries
- Japan's 9.50 million is above the median for high income countries, which is 456,529, 20.8× the median. (85 countries reporting)
- Japan's 9.50 million is above the median for East Asia & Pacific, which is 377,513, 25.2× the median. (37 countries reporting)
Averages by decade
| Decade | Average | Lowest | Highest | Years |
|---|---|---|---|---|
| 1960s | 31.76 million | 29.55 million | 34.25 million | 10 |
| 1970s | 27.73 million | 26.94 million | 29.10 million | 10 |
| 1980s | 28.07 million | 27.83 million | 28.17 million | 10 |
| 1990s | 27.64 million | 27.29 million | 27.98 million | 10 |
| 2000s | 19.66 million | 12.66 million | 27.13 million | 10 |
| 2010s | 11.12 million | 10.49 million | 12.01 million | 10 |
| 2020s | 9.94 million | 9.50 million | 10.38 million | 6 |
Countries ranked near Japan
- 56 Spain 9.62 million compare
- 57 South Sudan 9.55 million compare
- 58 North Korea 9.52 million compare
- 60 Guinea 9.28 million compare
- 61 Romania 9.10 million compare
- 62 Papua New Guinea 9.06 million compare
More agriculture & rural data for Japan
- Agriculture, forestry, and fishing, value added (current US$), annual 10.95 % change on previous year (2024)
- Agriculture, forestry, and fishing, value added (current US$), per 0.0096 current US$ per US$ of GDP (2024)
- Agriculture, forestry, and fishing, value added (current US$), per 323.87 current US$ per person (2024)
- Rural population, annual growth rate -1.89 % change on previous year (2025)
- Rural population, per unit of GDP 0 units per US$ of GDP (2025)
- Rural population, per capita 0.077 units per person (2025)
- Share of GDP from agriculture 1.0% (2024)
- Agriculture as a share of GDP vs. GDP per capita 1.0% (2024)
- Agricultural raw materials exports 0.5% (2025)
- Agricultural raw materials imports 1.6% (2025)
Frequently asked questions
- What is rural population in Japan?
- Rural population in Japan was 9.50 million in 2025, according to World Urbanization Prospects, United Nations (UN).
- What is the highest rural population recorded in Japan?
- The highest recorded value was 34.25 million in 1960.
- What is the lowest rural population recorded in Japan?
- The lowest recorded value was 9.50 million in 2025.
- How does Japan rank for rural population?
- Japan ranks 59th out of 218 countries with data for 2025.
- Is rural population rising or falling in Japan?
- Over the last ten years it is down 13.6%. The long-run trend across the full record is falling.
- Where does this Japan 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.