Rural population in Portugal
Portugal: Rural population was 4.16 million in 2025. ▼ Falling
Latest (2025)
4.16 million
Change on year
up 0.6%
World rank
83rd
of 218 countries
All-time high
6.16 million
in 1962
All-time low
4.00 million
in 2018
Years of data
66
1960–2025
Rural population in Portugal, 1960–2025
Source: World Urbanization Prospects, United Nations (UN).
Analysis
The most recent figure for rural population in Portugal is 4.16 million, measured in 2025.
The figure is up 0.6% on the previous year and up 3.4% over ten years.
Over the whole period, rural population in Portugal peaked at 6.16 million in 1962 and was at its lowest, 4.00 million, in 2018.
Portugal ranks 83rd of 218 countries 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 Portugal, year by year
| Year | Value | Change |
|---|---|---|
| 1960 | 6.13 million | — |
| 1961 | 6.15 million | +0.3% |
| 1962 | 6.16 million | +0.2% |
| 1963 | 6.15 million | -0.2% |
| 1964 | 6.12 million | -0.5% |
| 1965 | 6.05 million | -1.0% |
| 1966 | 5.97 million | -1.4% |
| 1967 | 5.89 million | -1.3% |
| 1968 | 5.82 million | -1.2% |
| 1969 | 5.72 million | -1.7% |
| 1970 | 5.62 million | -1.7% |
| 1971 | 5.55 million | -1.3% |
| 1972 | 5.50 million | -1.0% |
| 1973 | 5.45 million | -0.9% |
| 1974 | 5.47 million | +0.5% |
| 1975 | 5.63 million | +2.9% |
| 1976 | 5.73 million | +1.9% |
| 1977 | 5.74 million | +0.0% |
| 1978 | 5.74 million | +0.0% |
| 1979 | 5.74 million | +0.0% |
| 1980 | 5.74 million | -0.0% |
| 1981 | 5.72 million | -0.2% |
| 1982 | 5.69 million | -0.5% |
| 1983 | 5.66 million | -0.7% |
| 1984 | 5.61 million | -0.8% |
| 1985 | 5.56 million | -0.9% |
| 1986 | 5.50 million | -1.1% |
| 1987 | 5.43 million | -1.2% |
| 1988 | 5.36 million | -1.3% |
| 1989 | 5.29 million | -1.3% |
| 1990 | 5.22 million | -1.4% |
| 1991 | 5.14 million | -1.4% |
| 1992 | 5.08 million | -1.3% |
| 1993 | 5.02 million | -1.2% |
| 1994 | 4.96 million | -1.1% |
| 1995 | 4.91 million | -1.0% |
| 1996 | 4.86 million | -1.0% |
| 1997 | 4.81 million | -1.0% |
| 1998 | 4.77 million | -0.9% |
| 1999 | 4.73 million | -0.9% |
| 2000 | 4.69 million | -0.7% |
| 2001 | 4.66 million | -0.8% |
| 2002 | 4.61 million | -1.1% |
| 2003 | 4.54 million | -1.4% |
| 2004 | 4.46 million | -1.7% |
| 2005 | 4.39 million | -1.8% |
| 2006 | 4.31 million | -1.7% |
| 2007 | 4.24 million | -1.5% |
| 2008 | 4.19 million | -1.4% |
| 2009 | 4.14 million | -1.1% |
| 2010 | 4.12 million | -0.6% |
| 2011 | 4.10 million | -0.3% |
| 2012 | 4.09 million | -0.4% |
| 2013 | 4.06 million | -0.5% |
| 2014 | 4.04 million | -0.5% |
| 2015 | 4.03 million | -0.4% |
| 2016 | 4.01 million | -0.3% |
| 2017 | 4.00 million | -0.2% |
| 2018 | 4.00 million | -0.1% |
| 2019 | 4.00 million | +0.0% |
| 2020 | 4.01 million | +0.1% |
| 2021 | 4.03 million | +0.7% |
| 2022 | 4.06 million | +0.6% |
| 2023 | 4.10 million | +1.2% |
| 2024 | 4.14 million | +0.8% |
| 2025 | 4.16 million | +0.6% |
Portugal compared with similar countries
- Portugal's 4.16 million is above the median for high income countries, which is 456,529, 9.1× the median. (85 countries reporting)
- Portugal's 4.16 million is above the median for Europe & Central Asia, which is 1.49 million, 2.8× the median. (57 countries reporting)
Averages by decade
| Decade | Average | Lowest | Highest | Years |
|---|---|---|---|---|
| 1960s | 6.01 million | 5.72 million | 6.16 million | 10 |
| 1970s | 5.62 million | 5.45 million | 5.74 million | 10 |
| 1980s | 5.56 million | 5.29 million | 5.74 million | 10 |
| 1990s | 4.95 million | 4.73 million | 5.22 million | 10 |
| 2000s | 4.42 million | 4.14 million | 4.69 million | 10 |
| 2010s | 4.04 million | 4.00 million | 4.12 million | 10 |
| 2020s | 4.08 million | 4.01 million | 4.16 million | 6 |
Countries ranked near Portugal
More agriculture & rural data for Portugal
- Agriculture, forestry, and fishing, value added (current US$), annual 7.28 % change on previous year (2025)
- Agriculture, forestry, and fishing, value added (current US$), per 0.0196 current US$ per US$ of GDP (2025)
- Agriculture, forestry, and fishing, value added (current US$), per 628.85 current US$ per person (2025)
- Rural population, annual growth rate 0.5936 % change on previous year (2025)
- Rural population, per unit of GDP 0 units per US$ of GDP (2025)
- Rural population, per capita 0.385 units per person (2025)
- Share of GDP from agriculture 2.0% (2025)
- Agriculture as a share of GDP vs. GDP per capita 2.0% (2025)
- Agricultural raw materials exports 1.9% (2025)
- Agricultural raw materials imports 1.4% (2025)
Frequently asked questions
- What is rural population in Portugal?
- Rural population in Portugal was 4.16 million in 2025, according to World Urbanization Prospects, United Nations (UN).
- What is the highest rural population recorded in Portugal?
- The highest recorded value was 6.16 million in 1962.
- What is the lowest rural population recorded in Portugal?
- The lowest recorded value was 4.00 million in 2018.
- How does Portugal rank for rural population?
- Portugal ranks 83rd out of 218 countries with data for 2025.
- Is rural population rising or falling in Portugal?
- Over the last ten years it is up 3.4%. The long-run trend across the full record is falling.
- Where does this Portugal 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.