Rural population in Senegal
Senegal: Rural population was 8.37 million in 2025. ▲ Rising
Latest (2025)
8.37 million
Change on year
up 1.1%
World rank
65th
of 218 countries
All-time high
8.37 million
in 2025
All-time low
2.59 million
in 1960
Years of data
66
1960–2025
Rural population in Senegal, 1960–2025
Source: World Urbanization Prospects, United Nations (UN).
Analysis
Senegal recorded 8.37 million for rural population in 2025. That is the highest value across all 66 years on record.
That represents a change of up 1.1% on the previous year and up 6.8% over ten years.
Over the whole period, rural population in Senegal peaked at 8.37 million in 2025 and was at its lowest, 2.59 million, in 1960.
That places Senegal 65th out of 218 countries with data for 2025, putting it in the middle of the range.
The long-run direction has been consistently rising across the 66 years of available data.
Rural population in Senegal, year by year
| Year | Value | Change |
|---|---|---|
| 1960 | 2.59 million | — |
| 1961 | 2.65 million | +2.6% |
| 1962 | 2.71 million | +2.2% |
| 1963 | 2.76 million | +1.9% |
| 1964 | 2.81 million | +1.6% |
| 1965 | 2.85 million | +1.5% |
| 1966 | 2.89 million | +1.4% |
| 1967 | 2.93 million | +1.4% |
| 1968 | 2.97 million | +1.4% |
| 1969 | 3.02 million | +1.6% |
| 1970 | 3.07 million | +1.8% |
| 1971 | 3.13 million | +2.0% |
| 1972 | 3.20 million | +2.2% |
| 1973 | 3.27 million | +2.2% |
| 1974 | 3.34 million | +2.2% |
| 1975 | 3.42 million | +2.1% |
| 1976 | 3.48 million | +2.0% |
| 1977 | 3.55 million | +1.8% |
| 1978 | 3.61 million | +1.7% |
| 1979 | 3.67 million | +1.8% |
| 1980 | 3.74 million | +1.9% |
| 1981 | 3.82 million | +2.0% |
| 1982 | 3.90 million | +2.1% |
| 1983 | 3.98 million | +2.2% |
| 1984 | 4.07 million | +2.2% |
| 1985 | 4.17 million | +2.3% |
| 1986 | 4.27 million | +2.4% |
| 1987 | 4.37 million | +2.5% |
| 1988 | 4.48 million | +2.5% |
| 1989 | 4.60 million | +2.5% |
| 1990 | 4.71 million | +2.6% |
| 1991 | 4.83 million | +2.6% |
| 1992 | 4.96 million | +2.5% |
| 1993 | 5.08 million | +2.5% |
| 1994 | 5.20 million | +2.4% |
| 1995 | 5.33 million | +2.3% |
| 1996 | 5.44 million | +2.2% |
| 1997 | 5.56 million | +2.1% |
| 1998 | 5.67 million | +2.1% |
| 1999 | 5.79 million | +2.1% |
| 2000 | 5.91 million | +2.1% |
| 2001 | 6.04 million | +2.1% |
| 2002 | 6.16 million | +2.1% |
| 2003 | 6.29 million | +2.0% |
| 2004 | 6.41 million | +1.9% |
| 2005 | 6.53 million | +1.9% |
| 2006 | 6.65 million | +1.8% |
| 2007 | 6.77 million | +1.8% |
| 2008 | 6.88 million | +1.8% |
| 2009 | 7.00 million | +1.7% |
| 2010 | 7.12 million | +1.7% |
| 2011 | 7.25 million | +1.8% |
| 2012 | 7.38 million | +1.9% |
| 2013 | 7.54 million | +2.1% |
| 2014 | 7.70 million | +2.2% |
| 2015 | 7.84 million | +1.8% |
| 2016 | 7.96 million | +1.5% |
| 2017 | 8.06 million | +1.2% |
| 2018 | 8.13 million | +0.9% |
| 2019 | 8.19 million | +0.7% |
| 2020 | 8.22 million | +0.4% |
| 2021 | 8.23 million | +0.1% |
| 2022 | 8.22 million | -0.1% |
| 2023 | 8.19 million | -0.3% |
| 2024 | 8.28 million | +1.1% |
| 2025 | 8.37 million | +1.1% |
Senegal compared with similar countries
- Senegal's 8.37 million is above the median for lower middle income countries, which is 5.28 million, 1.6× the median. (47 countries reporting)
- Senegal's 8.37 million is below the median for Sub-Saharan Africa, which is 9.41 million, 89% of the median. (48 countries reporting)
Averages by decade
| Decade | Average | Lowest | Highest | Years |
|---|---|---|---|---|
| 1960s | 2.82 million | 2.59 million | 3.02 million | 10 |
| 1970s | 3.37 million | 3.07 million | 3.67 million | 10 |
| 1980s | 4.14 million | 3.74 million | 4.60 million | 10 |
| 1990s | 5.26 million | 4.71 million | 5.79 million | 10 |
| 2000s | 6.46 million | 5.91 million | 7.00 million | 10 |
| 2010s | 7.72 million | 7.12 million | 8.19 million | 10 |
| 2020s | 8.25 million | 8.19 million | 8.37 million | 6 |
Countries ranked near Senegal
More agriculture & rural data for Senegal
- Cropland extent over the long-term, annual growth rate 1.05 % change on previous year (2025)
- Cropland extent over the long-term, per unit of GDP 0.0001 hectares per US$ of GDP (2025)
- Cropland extent over the long-term, per capita 0.214 hectares per person (2025)
- Agricultural area over the long-term, annual growth rate 0.4391 % change on previous year (2025)
- Agricultural area over the long-term, per unit of GDP 0.0003 hectares per US$ of GDP (2025)
- Agricultural area over the long-term, per capita 0.5098 hectares per person (2025)
- Agriculture, forestry, and fishing, value added (current US$), annual 26.22 % change on previous year (2025)
- Agriculture, forestry, and fishing, value added (current US$), per 0.1708 current US$ per US$ of GDP (2025)
- Agriculture, forestry, and fishing, value added (current US$), per 333.94 current US$ per person (2025)
- Rural population, annual growth rate 1.11 % change on previous year (2025)
Frequently asked questions
- What is rural population in Senegal?
- Rural population in Senegal was 8.37 million in 2025, according to World Urbanization Prospects, United Nations (UN).
- What is the highest rural population recorded in Senegal?
- The highest recorded value was 8.37 million in 2025.
- What is the lowest rural population recorded in Senegal?
- The lowest recorded value was 2.59 million in 1960.
- How does Senegal rank for rural population?
- Senegal ranks 65th out of 218 countries with data for 2025.
- Is rural population rising or falling in Senegal?
- Over the last ten years it is up 6.8%. The long-run trend across the full record is rising.
- Where does this Senegal 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.