Rural population in Latin America & Caribbean
Latin America & Caribbean: Rural population was 123.28 million in 2025. ▲ Rising
Latest (2025)
123.28 million
Change on year
down 0.6%
Rank
36th
of 45 groups
All-time high
129.84 million
in 1995
All-time low
111.78 million
in 1960
Years of data
66
1960–2025
Rural population in Latin America & Caribbean, 1960–2025
Source: World Urbanization Prospects, United Nations (UN).
Analysis
Latin America & Caribbean recorded 123.28 million for rural population in 2025.
Compared with earlier readings it is down 0.6% on the previous year and down 3.3% over ten years.
Over the whole period, rural population in Latin America & Caribbean peaked at 129.84 million in 1995 and was at its lowest, 111.78 million, in 1960.
Latin America & Caribbean ranks 36th of 45 groups on this measure, in the bottom quarter.
The long-run direction has been consistently rising across the 66 years of available data.
Rural population in Latin America & Caribbean, year by year
| Year | Value | Change |
|---|---|---|
| 1960 | 111.78 million | — |
| 1961 | 113.33 million | +1.4% |
| 1962 | 114.85 million | +1.3% |
| 1963 | 116.32 million | +1.3% |
| 1964 | 117.73 million | +1.2% |
| 1965 | 119.04 million | +1.1% |
| 1966 | 120.24 million | +1.0% |
| 1967 | 121.33 million | +0.9% |
| 1968 | 122.32 million | +0.8% |
| 1969 | 123.22 million | +0.7% |
| 1970 | 124.03 million | +0.7% |
| 1971 | 124.65 million | +0.5% |
| 1972 | 125.10 million | +0.4% |
| 1973 | 125.35 million | +0.2% |
| 1974 | 125.44 million | +0.1% |
| 1975 | 125.40 million | -0.0% |
| 1976 | 125.28 million | -0.1% |
| 1977 | 125.15 million | -0.1% |
| 1978 | 125.08 million | -0.1% |
| 1979 | 125.12 million | +0.0% |
| 1980 | 125.35 million | +0.2% |
| 1981 | 125.70 million | +0.3% |
| 1982 | 126.06 million | +0.3% |
| 1983 | 126.47 million | +0.3% |
| 1984 | 126.90 million | +0.3% |
| 1985 | 127.34 million | +0.3% |
| 1986 | 127.72 million | +0.3% |
| 1987 | 128.06 million | +0.3% |
| 1988 | 128.39 million | +0.3% |
| 1989 | 128.69 million | +0.2% |
| 1990 | 128.98 million | +0.2% |
| 1991 | 129.21 million | +0.2% |
| 1992 | 129.43 million | +0.2% |
| 1993 | 129.66 million | +0.2% |
| 1994 | 129.82 million | +0.1% |
| 1995 | 129.84 million | +0.0% |
| 1996 | 129.64 million | -0.2% |
| 1997 | 129.14 million | -0.4% |
| 1998 | 128.42 million | -0.6% |
| 1999 | 127.69 million | -0.6% |
| 2000 | 127.13 million | -0.4% |
| 2001 | 126.74 million | -0.3% |
| 2002 | 126.45 million | -0.2% |
| 2003 | 126.25 million | -0.2% |
| 2004 | 126.17 million | -0.1% |
| 2005 | 126.20 million | +0.0% |
| 2006 | 126.37 million | +0.1% |
| 2007 | 126.56 million | +0.2% |
| 2008 | 126.76 million | +0.2% |
| 2009 | 126.95 million | +0.2% |
| 2010 | 127.12 million | +0.1% |
| 2011 | 127.30 million | +0.1% |
| 2012 | 127.47 million | +0.1% |
| 2013 | 127.55 million | +0.1% |
| 2014 | 127.56 million | +0.0% |
| 2015 | 127.48 million | -0.1% |
| 2016 | 127.35 million | -0.1% |
| 2017 | 127.16 million | -0.1% |
| 2018 | 127.03 million | -0.1% |
| 2019 | 126.74 million | -0.2% |
| 2020 | 126.28 million | -0.4% |
| 2021 | 125.73 million | -0.4% |
| 2022 | 125.22 million | -0.4% |
| 2023 | 124.66 million | -0.4% |
| 2024 | 124.02 million | -0.5% |
| 2025 | 123.28 million | -0.6% |
Averages by decade
| Decade | Average | Lowest | Highest | Years |
|---|---|---|---|---|
| 1960s | 118.02 million | 111.78 million | 123.22 million | 10 |
| 1970s | 125.06 million | 124.03 million | 125.44 million | 10 |
| 1980s | 127.07 million | 125.35 million | 128.69 million | 10 |
| 1990s | 129.18 million | 127.69 million | 129.84 million | 10 |
| 2000s | 126.56 million | 126.17 million | 127.13 million | 10 |
| 2010s | 127.28 million | 126.74 million | 127.56 million | 10 |
| 2020s | 124.86 million | 123.28 million | 126.28 million | 6 |
Countries ranked near Latin America & Caribbean
More agriculture & rural data for Latin America & Caribbean
- Agriculture, forestry, and fishing, value added (current US$), annual 7.47 % change on previous year (2025)
- Agriculture, forestry, and fishing, value added 502.91 billion current US$ (2025)
- Rural population growth -0.6% (2025)
- Rural population 18.5% (2025)
- Agricultural raw materials imports 0.8% (2024)
- Agricultural raw materials exports 2.3% (2024)
- Rural population, per capita 0.1849 units per person (2025)
- Rural population, per unit of GDP 0 units per US$ of GDP (2025)
- Agriculture, forestry, and fishing, value added (current US$), per 754.45 current US$ per person (2025)
- Rural population, annual growth rate -0.5943 % change on previous year (2025)
Frequently asked questions
- What is rural population in Latin America & Caribbean?
- Rural population in Latin America & Caribbean was 123.28 million in 2025, according to World Urbanization Prospects, United Nations (UN).
- What is the highest rural population recorded in Latin America & Caribbean?
- The highest recorded value was 129.84 million in 1995.
- What is the lowest rural population recorded in Latin America & Caribbean?
- The lowest recorded value was 111.78 million in 1960.
- How does Latin America & Caribbean rank for rural population?
- Latin America & Caribbean ranks 36th out of 45 groups with data for 2025.
- Is rural population rising or falling in Latin America & Caribbean?
- Over the last ten years it is down 3.3%. The long-run trend across the full record is rising.
- Where does this Latin America & Caribbean 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.