Rural population in Lebanon
Lebanon: Rural population was 528,774 in 2025. ▼ Falling
Rural population in Lebanon, 1960–2025
Source: World Urbanization Prospects, United Nations (UN).
Analysis
Lebanon recorded 528,774 for rural population in 2025. That is the lowest value across all 66 years on record.
The figure is down 2.0% on the previous year and down 28.2% over ten years.
Over the whole period, rural population in Lebanon peaked at 1.05 million in 1962 and was at its lowest, 528,774, in 2025.
Lebanon ranks 153rd 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 Lebanon, year by year
| Year | Value | Change |
|---|---|---|
| 1960 | 1.05 million | — |
| 1961 | 1.05 million | +0.3% |
| 1962 | 1.05 million | +0.1% |
| 1963 | 1.05 million | -0.2% |
| 1964 | 1.04 million | -0.6% |
| 1965 | 1.03 million | -1.0% |
| 1966 | 1.02 million | -1.1% |
| 1967 | 1.01 million | -1.4% |
| 1968 | 992,358 | -1.4% |
| 1969 | 979,194 | -1.3% |
| 1970 | 965,649 | -1.4% |
| 1971 | 953,408 | -1.3% |
| 1972 | 940,382 | -1.4% |
| 1973 | 924,776 | -1.7% |
| 1974 | 906,584 | -2.0% |
| 1975 | 885,037 | -2.4% |
| 1976 | 854,207 | -3.5% |
| 1977 | 823,628 | -3.6% |
| 1978 | 799,872 | -2.9% |
| 1979 | 775,368 | -3.1% |
| 1980 | 751,237 | -3.1% |
| 1981 | 727,789 | -3.1% |
| 1982 | 700,726 | -3.7% |
| 1983 | 673,866 | -3.8% |
| 1984 | 652,732 | -3.1% |
| 1985 | 635,141 | -2.7% |
| 1986 | 623,624 | -1.8% |
| 1987 | 615,438 | -1.3% |
| 1988 | 608,018 | -1.2% |
| 1989 | 603,186 | -0.8% |
| 1990 | 598,677 | -0.7% |
| 1991 | 595,344 | -0.6% |
| 1992 | 593,380 | -0.3% |
| 1993 | 591,308 | -0.3% |
| 1994 | 589,452 | -0.3% |
| 1995 | 588,837 | -0.1% |
| 1996 | 589,751 | +0.2% |
| 1997 | 591,780 | +0.3% |
| 1998 | 594,996 | +0.5% |
| 1999 | 599,817 | +0.8% |
| 2000 | 606,108 | +1.0% |
| 2001 | 609,880 | +0.6% |
| 2002 | 611,755 | +0.3% |
| 2003 | 613,318 | +0.3% |
| 2004 | 616,077 | +0.4% |
| 2005 | 618,150 | +0.3% |
| 2006 | 620,862 | +0.4% |
| 2007 | 624,771 | +0.6% |
| 2008 | 626,654 | +0.3% |
| 2009 | 626,239 | -0.1% |
| 2010 | 623,143 | -0.5% |
| 2011 | 620,334 | -0.5% |
| 2012 | 627,268 | +1.1% |
| 2013 | 676,775 | +7.9% |
| 2014 | 735,092 | +8.6% |
| 2015 | 736,264 | +0.2% |
| 2016 | 705,913 | -4.1% |
| 2017 | 674,416 | -4.5% |
| 2018 | 641,926 | -4.8% |
| 2019 | 608,509 | -5.2% |
| 2020 | 585,665 | -3.8% |
| 2021 | 573,793 | -2.0% |
| 2022 | 562,597 | -2.0% |
| 2023 | 551,230 | -2.0% |
| 2024 | 539,740 | -2.1% |
| 2025 | 528,774 | -2.0% |
Lebanon compared with similar countries
- Lebanon's 528,774 is below the median for lower middle income countries, which is 5.28 million, 10% of the median. (47 countries reporting)
- Lebanon's 528,774 is below the median for Middle East, North Africa, Afghanistan & Pakistan, which is 1.62 million, 33% of the median. (23 countries reporting)
Averages by decade
| Decade | Average | Lowest | Highest | Years |
|---|---|---|---|---|
| 1960s | 1.03 million | 979,194 | 1.05 million | 10 |
| 1970s | 882,891 | 775,368 | 965,649 | 10 |
| 1980s | 659,176 | 603,186 | 751,237 | 10 |
| 1990s | 593,334 | 588,837 | 599,817 | 10 |
| 2000s | 617,381 | 606,108 | 626,654 | 10 |
| 2010s | 664,964 | 608,509 | 736,264 | 10 |
| 2020s | 556,966 | 528,774 | 585,665 | 6 |
Countries ranked near Lebanon
More agriculture & rural data for Lebanon
- Agriculture, forestry, and fishing, value added (current US$), annual 39.87 % change on previous year (2024)
- Agriculture, forestry, and fishing, value added (current US$), per 0.0105 current US$ per US$ of GDP (2024)
- Agriculture, forestry, and fishing, value added (current US$), per 46.75 current US$ per person (2024)
- Rural population, annual growth rate -2.03 % change on previous year (2025)
- Rural population, per unit of GDP 0 units per US$ of GDP (2024)
- Rural population, per capita 0.0904 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% (2024)
- Agricultural raw materials imports 0.9% (2024)
Frequently asked questions
- What is rural population in Lebanon?
- Rural population in Lebanon was 528,774 in 2025, according to World Urbanization Prospects, United Nations (UN).
- What is the highest rural population recorded in Lebanon?
- The highest recorded value was 1.05 million in 1962.
- What is the lowest rural population recorded in Lebanon?
- The lowest recorded value was 528,774 in 2025.
- How does Lebanon rank for rural population?
- Lebanon ranks 153rd out of 218 countries with data for 2025.
- Is rural population rising or falling in Lebanon?
- Over the last ten years it is down 28.2%. The long-run trend across the full record is falling.
- Where does this Lebanon 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.