Rural population in Nigeria
Nigeria: Rural population was 86.04 million in 2025. ▲ Rising
Latest (2025)
86.04 million
Change on year
down 0.1%
World rank
7th
of 218 countries
All-time high
86.20 million
in 2023
All-time low
38.64 million
in 1960
Years of data
66
1960–2025
Rural population in Nigeria, 1960–2025
Source: World Urbanization Prospects, United Nations (UN).
Analysis
In 2025, rural population in Nigeria stood at 86.04 million.
Compared with earlier readings it is down 0.1% on the previous year and up 1.9% over ten years.
Over the whole period, rural population in Nigeria peaked at 86.20 million in 2023 and was at its lowest, 38.64 million, in 1960.
That places Nigeria 7th 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 Nigeria, year by year
| Year | Value | Change |
|---|---|---|
| 1960 | 38.64 million | — |
| 1961 | 39.19 million | +1.4% |
| 1962 | 39.75 million | +1.4% |
| 1963 | 40.34 million | +1.5% |
| 1964 | 40.93 million | +1.5% |
| 1965 | 41.54 million | +1.5% |
| 1966 | 42.15 million | +1.5% |
| 1967 | 42.73 million | +1.4% |
| 1968 | 43.33 million | +1.4% |
| 1969 | 43.95 million | +1.4% |
| 1970 | 44.59 million | +1.5% |
| 1971 | 45.26 million | +1.5% |
| 1972 | 45.96 million | +1.5% |
| 1973 | 46.70 million | +1.6% |
| 1974 | 47.51 million | +1.7% |
| 1975 | 48.38 million | +1.8% |
| 1976 | 49.32 million | +1.9% |
| 1977 | 50.32 million | +2.0% |
| 1978 | 51.37 million | +2.1% |
| 1979 | 52.44 million | +2.1% |
| 1980 | 53.54 million | +2.1% |
| 1981 | 54.63 million | +2.0% |
| 1982 | 55.69 million | +1.9% |
| 1983 | 56.53 million | +1.5% |
| 1984 | 57.36 million | +1.5% |
| 1985 | 58.35 million | +1.7% |
| 1986 | 59.27 million | +1.6% |
| 1987 | 60.17 million | +1.5% |
| 1988 | 61.08 million | +1.5% |
| 1989 | 62.01 million | +1.5% |
| 1990 | 62.95 million | +1.5% |
| 1991 | 63.85 million | +1.4% |
| 1992 | 64.76 million | +1.4% |
| 1993 | 65.67 million | +1.4% |
| 1994 | 66.56 million | +1.4% |
| 1995 | 67.45 million | +1.3% |
| 1996 | 68.31 million | +1.3% |
| 1997 | 69.15 million | +1.2% |
| 1998 | 69.99 million | +1.2% |
| 1999 | 70.83 million | +1.2% |
| 2000 | 71.69 million | +1.2% |
| 2001 | 72.56 million | +1.2% |
| 2002 | 73.44 million | +1.2% |
| 2003 | 74.31 million | +1.2% |
| 2004 | 75.18 million | +1.2% |
| 2005 | 76.04 million | +1.1% |
| 2006 | 76.89 million | +1.1% |
| 2007 | 77.80 million | +1.2% |
| 2008 | 78.72 million | +1.2% |
| 2009 | 79.62 million | +1.2% |
| 2010 | 80.53 million | +1.1% |
| 2011 | 81.42 million | +1.1% |
| 2012 | 82.28 million | +1.1% |
| 2013 | 83.08 million | +1.0% |
| 2014 | 83.80 million | +0.9% |
| 2015 | 84.41 million | +0.7% |
| 2016 | 84.94 million | +0.6% |
| 2017 | 85.41 million | +0.6% |
| 2018 | 85.76 million | +0.4% |
| 2019 | 85.97 million | +0.3% |
| 2020 | 86.10 million | +0.1% |
| 2021 | 86.17 million | +0.1% |
| 2022 | 86.20 million | +0.0% |
| 2023 | 86.20 million | +0.0% |
| 2024 | 86.15 million | -0.1% |
| 2025 | 86.04 million | -0.1% |
Nigeria compared with similar countries
- Nigeria's 86.04 million is above the median for lower middle income countries, which is 5.28 million, 16.3× the median. (47 countries reporting)
- Nigeria's 86.04 million is above the median for Sub-Saharan Africa, which is 9.41 million, 9.1× the median. (48 countries reporting)
Averages by decade
| Decade | Average | Lowest | Highest | Years |
|---|---|---|---|---|
| 1960s | 41.25 million | 38.64 million | 43.95 million | 10 |
| 1970s | 48.19 million | 44.59 million | 52.44 million | 10 |
| 1980s | 57.86 million | 53.54 million | 62.01 million | 10 |
| 1990s | 66.95 million | 62.95 million | 70.83 million | 10 |
| 2000s | 75.63 million | 71.69 million | 79.62 million | 10 |
| 2010s | 83.76 million | 80.53 million | 85.97 million | 10 |
| 2020s | 86.14 million | 86.04 million | 86.20 million | 6 |
Countries ranked near Nigeria
More agriculture & rural data for Nigeria
- Agriculture, forestry, and fishing, value added (current US$), annual 2.38 % change on previous year (2025)
- Agriculture, forestry, and fishing, value added (current US$), per 0.2298 current US$ per US$ of GDP (2025)
- Agriculture, forestry, and fishing, value added (current US$), per 281.32 current US$ per person (2025)
- Rural population, annual growth rate -0.1218 % change on previous year (2025)
- Rural population, per unit of GDP 0.0003 units per US$ of GDP (2025)
- Rural population, per capita 0.3622 units per person (2025)
- Share of GDP from agriculture 23.0% (2025)
- Agriculture as a share of GDP vs. GDP per capita 23.0% (2025)
- Agricultural raw materials exports 0.4% (2024)
- Agricultural raw materials imports 0.6% (2024)
Frequently asked questions
- What is rural population in Nigeria?
- Rural population in Nigeria was 86.04 million in 2025, according to World Urbanization Prospects, United Nations (UN).
- What is the highest rural population recorded in Nigeria?
- The highest recorded value was 86.20 million in 2023.
- What is the lowest rural population recorded in Nigeria?
- The lowest recorded value was 38.64 million in 1960.
- How does Nigeria rank for rural population?
- Nigeria ranks 7th out of 218 countries with data for 2025.
- Is rural population rising or falling in Nigeria?
- Over the last ten years it is up 1.9%. The long-run trend across the full record is rising.
- Where does this Nigeria 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.