Rural population in Mexico
Mexico: Rural population was 26.34 million in 2025. ▲ Rising
Latest (2025)
26.34 million
Change on year
down 0.6%
World rank
21st
of 218 countries
All-time high
27.62 million
in 2015
All-time low
18.09 million
in 1960
Years of data
66
1960–2025
Rural population in Mexico, 1960–2025
Source: World Urbanization Prospects, United Nations (UN).
Analysis
The most recent figure for rural population in Mexico is 26.34 million, measured in 2025.
That represents a change of down 0.6% on the previous year and down 4.6% over ten years.
Over the whole period, rural population in Mexico peaked at 27.62 million in 2015 and was at its lowest, 18.09 million, in 1960.
That places Mexico 21st out of 218 countries with data for 2025, putting it in the top 10%.
The long-run direction has been consistently rising across the 66 years of available data.
Rural population in Mexico, year by year
| Year | Value | Change |
|---|---|---|
| 1960 | 18.09 million | — |
| 1961 | 18.35 million | +1.4% |
| 1962 | 18.62 million | +1.5% |
| 1963 | 18.89 million | +1.5% |
| 1964 | 19.17 million | +1.5% |
| 1965 | 19.45 million | +1.5% |
| 1966 | 19.73 million | +1.4% |
| 1967 | 20.01 million | +1.4% |
| 1968 | 20.28 million | +1.4% |
| 1969 | 20.56 million | +1.3% |
| 1970 | 20.82 million | +1.3% |
| 1971 | 21.06 million | +1.2% |
| 1972 | 21.29 million | +1.1% |
| 1973 | 21.50 million | +1.0% |
| 1974 | 21.70 million | +0.9% |
| 1975 | 21.89 million | +0.8% |
| 1976 | 22.06 million | +0.8% |
| 1977 | 22.22 million | +0.7% |
| 1978 | 22.37 million | +0.7% |
| 1979 | 22.52 million | +0.7% |
| 1980 | 22.67 million | +0.7% |
| 1981 | 22.80 million | +0.6% |
| 1982 | 22.90 million | +0.4% |
| 1983 | 22.99 million | +0.4% |
| 1984 | 23.08 million | +0.4% |
| 1985 | 23.17 million | +0.4% |
| 1986 | 23.25 million | +0.4% |
| 1987 | 23.34 million | +0.4% |
| 1988 | 23.44 million | +0.4% |
| 1989 | 23.53 million | +0.4% |
| 1990 | 23.64 million | +0.5% |
| 1991 | 23.76 million | +0.5% |
| 1992 | 23.89 million | +0.5% |
| 1993 | 24.01 million | +0.5% |
| 1994 | 24.14 million | +0.5% |
| 1995 | 24.26 million | +0.5% |
| 1996 | 24.38 million | +0.5% |
| 1997 | 24.49 million | +0.4% |
| 1998 | 24.59 million | +0.4% |
| 1999 | 24.68 million | +0.4% |
| 2000 | 24.73 million | +0.2% |
| 2001 | 24.73 million | -0.0% |
| 2002 | 24.69 million | -0.2% |
| 2003 | 24.67 million | -0.1% |
| 2004 | 24.71 million | +0.2% |
| 2005 | 24.89 million | +0.7% |
| 2006 | 25.21 million | +1.3% |
| 2007 | 25.56 million | +1.4% |
| 2008 | 25.93 million | +1.5% |
| 2009 | 26.30 million | +1.4% |
| 2010 | 26.67 million | +1.4% |
| 2011 | 27.01 million | +1.2% |
| 2012 | 27.27 million | +1.0% |
| 2013 | 27.46 million | +0.7% |
| 2014 | 27.58 million | +0.4% |
| 2015 | 27.62 million | +0.1% |
| 2016 | 27.58 million | -0.1% |
| 2017 | 27.49 million | -0.3% |
| 2018 | 27.37 million | -0.4% |
| 2019 | 27.22 million | -0.6% |
| 2020 | 27.04 million | -0.7% |
| 2021 | 26.89 million | -0.5% |
| 2022 | 26.75 million | -0.5% |
| 2023 | 26.63 million | -0.5% |
| 2024 | 26.49 million | -0.5% |
| 2025 | 26.34 million | -0.6% |
Mexico compared with similar countries
- Mexico's 26.34 million is above the median for upper middle income countries, which is 1.53 million, 17.2× the median. (59 countries reporting)
- Mexico's 26.34 million is above the median for Latin America & Caribbean, which is 622,054, 42.3× the median. (42 countries reporting)
Averages by decade
| Decade | Average | Lowest | Highest | Years |
|---|---|---|---|---|
| 1960s | 19.31 million | 18.09 million | 20.56 million | 10 |
| 1970s | 21.74 million | 20.82 million | 22.52 million | 10 |
| 1980s | 23.12 million | 22.67 million | 23.53 million | 10 |
| 1990s | 24.18 million | 23.64 million | 24.68 million | 10 |
| 2000s | 25.14 million | 24.67 million | 26.30 million | 10 |
| 2010s | 27.33 million | 26.67 million | 27.62 million | 10 |
| 2020s | 26.69 million | 26.34 million | 27.04 million | 6 |
Countries ranked near Mexico
More agriculture & rural data for Mexico
- Agriculture, forestry, and fishing, value added (current US$), annual 0.4963 % change on previous year (2025)
- Agriculture, forestry, and fishing, value added (current US$), per 0.0388 current US$ per US$ of GDP (2025)
- Agriculture, forestry, and fishing, value added (current US$), per 539.47 current US$ per person (2025)
- Rural population, annual growth rate -0.5998 % change on previous year (2025)
- Rural population, per unit of GDP 0 units per US$ of GDP (2025)
- Rural population, per capita 0.1996 units per person (2025)
- Share of GDP from agriculture 3.9% (2025)
- Agriculture as a share of GDP vs. GDP per capita 3.9% (2025)
- Agricultural raw materials exports 0.1% (2025)
- Agricultural raw materials imports 0.7% (2025)
Frequently asked questions
- What is rural population in Mexico?
- Rural population in Mexico was 26.34 million in 2025, according to World Urbanization Prospects, United Nations (UN).
- What is the highest rural population recorded in Mexico?
- The highest recorded value was 27.62 million in 2015.
- What is the lowest rural population recorded in Mexico?
- The lowest recorded value was 18.09 million in 1960.
- How does Mexico rank for rural population?
- Mexico ranks 21st out of 218 countries with data for 2025.
- Is rural population rising or falling in Mexico?
- Over the last ten years it is down 4.6%. The long-run trend across the full record is rising.
- Where does this Mexico 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.