Rural population in Low & middle income
Low & middle income: Rural population was 3.18 billion in 2025. β² Rising
Rural population in Low & middle income, 1960β2025
Source: World Urbanization Prospects, United Nations (UN).
Analysis
In 2025, rural population in Low & middle income stood at 3.18 billion. That is the highest value across all 66 years on record.
Compared with earlier readings it is up 0.3% on the previous year and up 2.4% over ten years.
Over the whole period, rural population in Low & middle income peaked at 3.18 billion in 2025 and was at its lowest, 1.64 billion, in 1960.
Low & middle income ranks 3rd of 46 groups on this measure, in the top 10%.
The long-run direction has been consistently rising across the 66 years of available data.
Averages by decade
| Decade | Average | Lowest | Highest | Years |
|---|---|---|---|---|
| 1960s | 1.79 billion | 1.64 billion | 1.97 billion | 10 |
| 1970s | 2.18 billion | 2.01 billion | 2.34 billion | 10 |
| 1980s | 2.52 billion | 2.37 billion | 2.68 billion | 10 |
| 1990s | 2.86 billion | 2.72 billion | 2.96 billion | 10 |
| 2000s | 3.03 billion | 2.98 billion | 3.08 billion | 10 |
| 2010s | 3.11 billion | 3.09 billion | 3.13 billion | 10 |
| 2020s | 3.16 billion | 3.14 billion | 3.18 billion | 6 |
Countries ranked near Low & middle income
- 1 India 941.42 million compare
- 2 China, People's Republic of 473.41 million compare
- 3 Pakistan 154.34 million compare
- 4 Bangladesh 117.29 million compare
- 5 Indonesia 116.02 million compare
- 6 Ethiopia, The Federal Democratic Republic of 102.81 million compare
More agriculture & rural data for Low & middle income
- Agricultural raw materials exports 1.2% (2024)
- Agriculture, forestry, and fishing, value added 3.77 trillion current US$ (2025)
- Agriculture, forestry, and fishing, value added 9.1% (2025)
- Rural population growth 0.3% (2025)
- Agricultural raw materials imports 1.8% (2024)
- Rural population 46.9% (2025)
- Cereal production 1.02 billion metric tons (2024)
- Cereal yield 3,176 kg per hectare (2024)
- Land under cereal production 320.08 million hectares (2024)
- Fertilizer consumption 154.34 kilograms per hectare of arable land (2023)
Frequently asked questions
- What is rural population in Low & middle income?
- Rural population in Low & middle income was 3.18 billion in 2025, according to World Urbanization Prospects, United Nations (UN).
- What is the highest rural population recorded in Low & middle income?
- The highest recorded value was 3.18 billion in 2025.
- What is the lowest rural population recorded in Low & middle income?
- The lowest recorded value was 1.64 billion in 1960.
- How does Low & middle income rank for rural population?
- Low & middle income ranks 3rd out of 46 groups with data for 2025.
- Is rural population rising or falling in Low & middle income?
- Over the last ten years it is up 2.4%. The long-run trend across the full record is rising.
- Where does this Low & middle income 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 Β· JSON β 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.