Rural population in Libya
Libya: Rural population was 901,647 in 2025. ▼ Falling
Rural population in Libya, 1960–2025
Source: World Urbanization Prospects, United Nations (UN).
Analysis
Libya recorded 901,647 for rural population in 2025.
That represents a change of up 0.8% on the previous year and up 13.3% over ten years.
Over the whole period, rural population in Libya peaked at 1.34 million in 1965 and was at its lowest, 681,632, in 2002.
That places Libya 134th out of 218 countries with data for 2025, putting it in the middle of the range.
The long-run direction has been consistently falling across the 66 years of available data.
Rural population in Libya, year by year
| Year | Value | Change |
|---|---|---|
| 1960 | 1.15 million | — |
| 1961 | 1.19 million | +3.8% |
| 1962 | 1.24 million | +3.8% |
| 1963 | 1.28 million | +3.7% |
| 1964 | 1.32 million | +3.2% |
| 1965 | 1.34 million | +1.4% |
| 1966 | 1.33 million | -1.0% |
| 1967 | 1.29 million | -2.5% |
| 1968 | 1.25 million | -3.7% |
| 1969 | 1.19 million | -4.6% |
| 1970 | 1.13 million | -5.1% |
| 1971 | 1.07 million | -5.3% |
| 1972 | 1.02 million | -4.9% |
| 1973 | 987,783 | -2.8% |
| 1974 | 983,264 | -0.5% |
| 1975 | 985,005 | +0.2% |
| 1976 | 987,664 | +0.3% |
| 1977 | 991,311 | +0.4% |
| 1978 | 996,023 | +0.5% |
| 1979 | 1.00 million | +0.6% |
| 1980 | 1.01 million | +0.7% |
| 1981 | 1.02 million | +0.7% |
| 1982 | 998,070 | -1.8% |
| 1983 | 954,518 | -4.4% |
| 1984 | 931,227 | -2.4% |
| 1985 | 926,620 | -0.5% |
| 1986 | 918,714 | -0.9% |
| 1987 | 907,768 | -1.2% |
| 1988 | 894,555 | -1.5% |
| 1989 | 879,680 | -1.7% |
| 1990 | 863,428 | -1.8% |
| 1991 | 846,031 | -2.0% |
| 1992 | 827,788 | -2.2% |
| 1993 | 809,010 | -2.3% |
| 1994 | 789,947 | -2.4% |
| 1995 | 770,864 | -2.4% |
| 1996 | 752,101 | -2.4% |
| 1997 | 734,150 | -2.4% |
| 1998 | 717,645 | -2.2% |
| 1999 | 703,223 | -2.0% |
| 2000 | 692,260 | -1.6% |
| 2001 | 685,211 | -1.0% |
| 2002 | 681,632 | -0.5% |
| 2003 | 681,858 | +0.0% |
| 2004 | 686,271 | +0.6% |
| 2005 | 695,101 | +1.3% |
| 2006 | 708,060 | +1.9% |
| 2007 | 723,001 | +2.1% |
| 2008 | 739,058 | +2.2% |
| 2009 | 755,434 | +2.2% |
| 2010 | 772,092 | +2.2% |
| 2011 | 755,029 | -2.2% |
| 2012 | 737,021 | -2.4% |
| 2013 | 753,709 | +2.3% |
| 2014 | 770,357 | +2.2% |
| 2015 | 795,843 | +3.3% |
| 2016 | 808,058 | +1.5% |
| 2017 | 821,006 | +1.6% |
| 2018 | 834,319 | +1.6% |
| 2019 | 846,496 | +1.5% |
| 2020 | 857,578 | +1.3% |
| 2021 | 867,887 | +1.2% |
| 2022 | 877,793 | +1.1% |
| 2023 | 886,562 | +1.0% |
| 2024 | 894,181 | +0.9% |
| 2025 | 901,647 | +0.8% |
Libya compared with similar countries
- Libya's 901,647 is below the median for upper middle income countries, which is 1.53 million, 59% of the median. (59 countries reporting)
- Libya's 901,647 is below the median for Middle East, North Africa, Afghanistan & Pakistan, which is 1.62 million, 56% of the median. (23 countries reporting)
Averages by decade
| Decade | Average | Lowest | Highest | Years |
|---|---|---|---|---|
| 1960s | 1.26 million | 1.15 million | 1.34 million | 10 |
| 1970s | 1.01 million | 983,264 | 1.13 million | 10 |
| 1980s | 943,597 | 879,680 | 1.02 million | 10 |
| 1990s | 781,419 | 703,223 | 863,428 | 10 |
| 2000s | 704,789 | 681,632 | 755,434 | 10 |
| 2010s | 789,393 | 737,021 | 846,496 | 10 |
| 2020s | 880,941 | 857,578 | 901,647 | 6 |
Countries ranked near Libya
More agriculture & rural data for Libya
- Agriculture, forestry, and fishing, value added (current US$), annual -37.76 % change on previous year (2025)
- Agriculture, forestry, and fishing, value added (current US$), per 0.015 current US$ per US$ of GDP (2025)
- Agriculture, forestry, and fishing, value added (current US$), per 96.79 current US$ per person (2025)
- Rural population, annual growth rate 0.835 % change on previous year (2025)
- Rural population, per unit of GDP 0 units per US$ of GDP (2025)
- Rural population, per capita 0.1209 units per person (2025)
- Share of GDP from agriculture 1.5% (2025)
- Agriculture as a share of GDP vs. GDP per capita 1.5% (2025)
- Agricultural raw materials exports 0.0% (2019)
- Agricultural raw materials imports 0.4% (2019)
Frequently asked questions
- What is rural population in Libya?
- Rural population in Libya was 901,647 in 2025, according to World Urbanization Prospects, United Nations (UN).
- What is the highest rural population recorded in Libya?
- The highest recorded value was 1.34 million in 1965.
- What is the lowest rural population recorded in Libya?
- The lowest recorded value was 681,632 in 2002.
- How does Libya rank for rural population?
- Libya ranks 134th out of 218 countries with data for 2025.
- Is rural population rising or falling in Libya?
- Over the last ten years it is up 13.3%. The long-run trend across the full record is falling.
- Where does this Libya 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.