Rural population in OECD members
OECD members: Rural population was 262.00 million in 2025. ▼ Falling
Latest (2025)
262.00 million
Change on year
down 0.3%
Rank
30th
of 47 groups
All-time high
310.95 million
in 1961
All-time low
262.00 million
in 2025
Years of data
66
1960–2025
Rural population in OECD members, 1960–2025
Source: World Urbanization Prospects, United Nations (UN).
Analysis
In 2025, rural population in OECD members stood at 262.00 million. That is the lowest value across all 66 years on record.
That represents a change of down 0.3% on the previous year and down 0.5% over ten years.
Over the whole period, rural population in OECD members peaked at 310.95 million in 1961 and was at its lowest, 262.00 million, in 2025.
OECD members ranks 30th of 47 groups on this measure, in the middle of the range.
The long-run direction has been consistently falling across the 66 years of available data.
Rural population in OECD members, year by year
| Year | Value | Change |
|---|---|---|
| 1960 | 310.85 million | — |
| 1961 | 310.95 million | +0.0% |
| 1962 | 310.87 million | -0.0% |
| 1963 | 310.53 million | -0.1% |
| 1964 | 309.90 million | -0.2% |
| 1965 | 308.99 million | -0.3% |
| 1966 | 307.90 million | -0.4% |
| 1967 | 306.75 million | -0.4% |
| 1968 | 305.58 million | -0.4% |
| 1969 | 304.56 million | -0.3% |
| 1970 | 303.85 million | -0.2% |
| 1971 | 303.89 million | +0.0% |
| 1972 | 303.64 million | -0.1% |
| 1973 | 303.26 million | -0.1% |
| 1974 | 302.99 million | -0.1% |
| 1975 | 303.18 million | +0.1% |
| 1976 | 303.32 million | +0.0% |
| 1977 | 303.57 million | +0.1% |
| 1978 | 304.02 million | +0.1% |
| 1979 | 304.40 million | +0.1% |
| 1980 | 304.33 million | -0.0% |
| 1981 | 304.48 million | +0.1% |
| 1982 | 304.51 million | +0.0% |
| 1983 | 304.44 million | -0.0% |
| 1984 | 304.15 million | -0.1% |
| 1985 | 303.78 million | -0.1% |
| 1986 | 303.31 million | -0.2% |
| 1987 | 302.73 million | -0.2% |
| 1988 | 302.11 million | -0.2% |
| 1989 | 301.64 million | -0.2% |
| 1990 | 301.43 million | -0.1% |
| 1991 | 301.44 million | +0.0% |
| 1992 | 301.23 million | -0.1% |
| 1993 | 300.67 million | -0.2% |
| 1994 | 299.81 million | -0.3% |
| 1995 | 298.89 million | -0.3% |
| 1996 | 297.71 million | -0.4% |
| 1997 | 296.37 million | -0.5% |
| 1998 | 295.31 million | -0.4% |
| 1999 | 294.45 million | -0.3% |
| 2000 | 293.31 million | -0.4% |
| 2001 | 291.69 million | -0.6% |
| 2002 | 289.10 million | -0.9% |
| 2003 | 286.06 million | -1.1% |
| 2004 | 283.05 million | -1.1% |
| 2005 | 280.58 million | -0.9% |
| 2006 | 278.92 million | -0.6% |
| 2007 | 277.43 million | -0.5% |
| 2008 | 276.38 million | -0.4% |
| 2009 | 275.45 million | -0.3% |
| 2010 | 274.61 million | -0.3% |
| 2011 | 273.90 million | -0.3% |
| 2012 | 272.52 million | -0.5% |
| 2013 | 269.27 million | -1.2% |
| 2014 | 265.81 million | -1.3% |
| 2015 | 263.36 million | -0.9% |
| 2016 | 262.86 million | -0.2% |
| 2017 | 263.52 million | +0.3% |
| 2018 | 263.92 million | +0.1% |
| 2019 | 263.95 million | +0.0% |
| 2020 | 263.75 million | -0.1% |
| 2021 | 262.62 million | -0.4% |
| 2022 | 262.63 million | +0.0% |
| 2023 | 262.94 million | +0.1% |
| 2024 | 262.80 million | -0.1% |
| 2025 | 262.00 million | -0.3% |
Averages by decade
| Decade | Average | Lowest | Highest | Years |
|---|---|---|---|---|
| 1960s | 308.69 million | 304.56 million | 310.95 million | 10 |
| 1970s | 303.61 million | 302.99 million | 304.40 million | 10 |
| 1980s | 303.55 million | 301.64 million | 304.51 million | 10 |
| 1990s | 298.73 million | 294.45 million | 301.44 million | 10 |
| 2000s | 283.20 million | 275.45 million | 293.31 million | 10 |
| 2010s | 267.37 million | 262.86 million | 274.61 million | 10 |
| 2020s | 262.79 million | 262.00 million | 263.75 million | 6 |
Countries ranked near OECD members
- 27 Madagascar 21.97 million compare
- 28 Iran 20.91 million compare
- 29 Malawi 18.31 million compare
- 30 Uzbekistan 18.15 million compare
- 31 Italy 17.86 million compare
- 32 Sri Lanka 17.31 million compare
- 33 Burkina Faso 17.11 million compare
More agriculture & rural data for OECD members
- Agriculture, forestry, and fishing, value added (current US$), annual 3.99 % change on previous year (2024)
- Agriculture, forestry, and fishing, value added 977.64 billion current US$ (2024)
- Agriculture, forestry, and fishing, value added 1.4% (2024)
- Rural population growth -0.3% (2025)
- Rural population 18.7% (2025)
- Agricultural raw materials imports 1.1% (2024)
- Agricultural raw materials exports 1.3% (2024)
- Rural population, per capita 0.1868 units per person (2025)
- Rural population, annual growth rate -0.3033 % change on previous year (2025)
- Agriculture, forestry, and fishing, value added (current US$), per 699.9 current US$ per person (2024)
Frequently asked questions
- What is rural population in OECD members?
- Rural population in OECD members was 262.00 million in 2025, according to World Urbanization Prospects, United Nations (UN).
- What is the highest rural population recorded in OECD members?
- The highest recorded value was 310.95 million in 1961.
- What is the lowest rural population recorded in OECD members?
- The lowest recorded value was 262.00 million in 2025.
- How does OECD members rank for rural population?
- OECD members ranks 30th out of 47 groups with data for 2025.
- Is rural population rising or falling in OECD members?
- Over the last ten years it is down 0.5%. The long-run trend across the full record is falling.
- Where does this OECD members 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.