Rural population in Myanmar
Myanmar: Rural population was 38.08 million in 2025. ▲ Rising
Latest (2025)
38.08 million
Change on year
up 0.4%
World rank
15th
of 218 countries
All-time high
38.08 million
in 2025
All-time low
17.60 million
in 1960
Years of data
66
1960–2025
Rural population in Myanmar, 1960–2025
Source: World Urbanization Prospects, United Nations (UN).
Analysis
Myanmar recorded 38.08 million for rural population in 2025. That is the highest value across all 66 years on record.
The figure is up 0.4% on the previous year and up 6.0% over ten years.
Over the whole period, rural population in Myanmar peaked at 38.08 million in 2025 and was at its lowest, 17.60 million, in 1960.
Myanmar ranks 15th of 218 countries on this measure, in the top 10%.
The long-run direction has been consistently rising across the 66 years of available data.
Rural population in Myanmar, year by year
| Year | Value | Change |
|---|---|---|
| 1960 | 17.60 million | — |
| 1961 | 17.88 million | +1.6% |
| 1962 | 18.17 million | +1.6% |
| 1963 | 18.46 million | +1.6% |
| 1964 | 18.77 million | +1.6% |
| 1965 | 19.08 million | +1.7% |
| 1966 | 19.41 million | +1.7% |
| 1967 | 19.75 million | +1.8% |
| 1968 | 20.10 million | +1.8% |
| 1969 | 20.47 million | +1.8% |
| 1970 | 20.86 million | +1.9% |
| 1971 | 21.25 million | +1.9% |
| 1972 | 21.67 million | +2.0% |
| 1973 | 22.08 million | +1.9% |
| 1974 | 22.48 million | +1.8% |
| 1975 | 22.89 million | +1.8% |
| 1976 | 23.30 million | +1.8% |
| 1977 | 23.73 million | +1.8% |
| 1978 | 24.17 million | +1.9% |
| 1979 | 24.62 million | +1.9% |
| 1980 | 25.07 million | +1.8% |
| 1981 | 25.52 million | +1.8% |
| 1982 | 25.95 million | +1.7% |
| 1983 | 26.43 million | +1.8% |
| 1984 | 26.94 million | +1.9% |
| 1985 | 27.44 million | +1.8% |
| 1986 | 27.91 million | +1.7% |
| 1987 | 28.35 million | +1.6% |
| 1988 | 28.76 million | +1.5% |
| 1989 | 29.16 million | +1.4% |
| 1990 | 29.54 million | +1.3% |
| 1991 | 29.91 million | +1.2% |
| 1992 | 30.25 million | +1.1% |
| 1993 | 30.59 million | +1.1% |
| 1994 | 30.92 million | +1.1% |
| 1995 | 31.25 million | +1.1% |
| 1996 | 31.58 million | +1.0% |
| 1997 | 31.91 million | +1.0% |
| 1998 | 32.23 million | +1.0% |
| 1999 | 32.53 million | +1.0% |
| 2000 | 32.82 million | +0.9% |
| 2001 | 33.09 million | +0.8% |
| 2002 | 33.34 million | +0.8% |
| 2003 | 33.57 million | +0.7% |
| 2004 | 33.78 million | +0.6% |
| 2005 | 33.97 million | +0.6% |
| 2006 | 34.14 million | +0.5% |
| 2007 | 34.31 million | +0.5% |
| 2008 | 34.43 million | +0.3% |
| 2009 | 34.55 million | +0.4% |
| 2010 | 34.74 million | +0.6% |
| 2011 | 34.95 million | +0.6% |
| 2012 | 35.19 million | +0.7% |
| 2013 | 35.43 million | +0.7% |
| 2014 | 35.67 million | +0.7% |
| 2015 | 35.91 million | +0.7% |
| 2016 | 36.14 million | +0.7% |
| 2017 | 36.38 million | +0.6% |
| 2018 | 36.59 million | +0.6% |
| 2019 | 36.81 million | +0.6% |
| 2020 | 37.03 million | +0.6% |
| 2021 | 37.24 million | +0.6% |
| 2022 | 37.46 million | +0.6% |
| 2023 | 37.69 million | +0.6% |
| 2024 | 37.90 million | +0.6% |
| 2025 | 38.08 million | +0.4% |
Myanmar compared with similar countries
- Myanmar's 38.08 million is above the median for lower middle income countries, which is 5.28 million, 7.2× the median. (47 countries reporting)
- Myanmar's 38.08 million is above the median for East Asia & Pacific, which is 377,513, 100.9× the median. (37 countries reporting)
Averages by decade
| Decade | Average | Lowest | Highest | Years |
|---|---|---|---|---|
| 1960s | 18.97 million | 17.60 million | 20.47 million | 10 |
| 1970s | 22.70 million | 20.86 million | 24.62 million | 10 |
| 1980s | 27.15 million | 25.07 million | 29.16 million | 10 |
| 1990s | 31.07 million | 29.54 million | 32.53 million | 10 |
| 2000s | 33.80 million | 32.82 million | 34.55 million | 10 |
| 2010s | 35.78 million | 34.74 million | 36.81 million | 10 |
| 2020s | 37.57 million | 37.03 million | 38.08 million | 6 |
Countries ranked near Myanmar
More agriculture & rural data for Myanmar
- Agriculture, forestry, and fishing, value added (current US$), annual 10.26 % change on previous year (2025)
- Agriculture, forestry, and fishing, value added (current US$), per 0.253 current US$ per US$ of GDP (2025)
- Agriculture, forestry, and fishing, value added (current US$), per 376.69 current US$ per person (2025)
- Rural population, annual growth rate 0.4495 % change on previous year (2025)
- Rural population, per unit of GDP 0.0005 units per US$ of GDP (2025)
- Rural population, per capita 0.6942 units per person (2025)
- Share of GDP from agriculture 25.3% (2025)
- Agriculture as a share of GDP vs. GDP per capita 25.3% (2025)
- Agricultural raw materials exports 3.3% (2024)
- Agricultural raw materials imports 0.5% (2024)
Frequently asked questions
- What is rural population in Myanmar?
- Rural population in Myanmar was 38.08 million in 2025, according to World Urbanization Prospects, United Nations (UN).
- What is the highest rural population recorded in Myanmar?
- The highest recorded value was 38.08 million in 2025.
- What is the lowest rural population recorded in Myanmar?
- The lowest recorded value was 17.60 million in 1960.
- How does Myanmar rank for rural population?
- Myanmar ranks 15th out of 218 countries with data for 2025.
- Is rural population rising or falling in Myanmar?
- Over the last ten years it is up 6.0%. The long-run trend across the full record is rising.
- Where does this Myanmar 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.