Rural population in South Africa
South Africa: Rural population was 23.43 million in 2025. ▲ Rising
Latest (2025)
23.43 million
Change on year
up 0.8%
World rank
24th
of 218 countries
All-time high
23.43 million
in 2025
All-time low
8.76 million
in 1960
Years of data
66
1960–2025
Rural population in South Africa, 1960–2025
Source: World Urbanization Prospects, United Nations (UN).
Analysis
In 2025, rural population in South Africa stood at 23.43 million. That is the highest value across all 66 years on record.
That represents a change of up 0.8% on the previous year and up 12.3% over ten years.
Over the whole period, rural population in South Africa peaked at 23.43 million in 2025 and was at its lowest, 8.76 million, in 1960.
That places South Africa 24th out of 218 countries with data for 2025, putting it in the top quarter.
The long-run direction has been consistently rising across the 66 years of available data.
Rural population in South Africa, year by year
| Year | Value | Change |
|---|---|---|
| 1960 | 8.76 million | — |
| 1961 | 8.98 million | +2.5% |
| 1962 | 9.23 million | +2.7% |
| 1963 | 9.49 million | +2.8% |
| 1964 | 9.76 million | +2.9% |
| 1965 | 10.05 million | +2.9% |
| 1966 | 10.35 million | +3.0% |
| 1967 | 10.66 million | +3.0% |
| 1968 | 10.98 million | +3.0% |
| 1969 | 11.30 million | +3.0% |
| 1970 | 11.64 million | +2.9% |
| 1971 | 11.96 million | +2.8% |
| 1972 | 12.30 million | +2.8% |
| 1973 | 12.64 million | +2.8% |
| 1974 | 12.99 million | +2.8% |
| 1975 | 13.34 million | +2.7% |
| 1976 | 13.69 million | +2.6% |
| 1977 | 14.05 million | +2.6% |
| 1978 | 14.43 million | +2.6% |
| 1979 | 14.80 million | +2.6% |
| 1980 | 15.23 million | +2.9% |
| 1981 | 15.73 million | +3.3% |
| 1982 | 16.24 million | +3.3% |
| 1983 | 16.77 million | +3.2% |
| 1984 | 17.29 million | +3.1% |
| 1985 | 17.80 million | +2.9% |
| 1986 | 18.25 million | +2.5% |
| 1987 | 18.63 million | +2.1% |
| 1988 | 18.96 million | +1.8% |
| 1989 | 19.27 million | +1.6% |
| 1990 | 19.57 million | +1.6% |
| 1991 | 19.84 million | +1.4% |
| 1992 | 20.08 million | +1.2% |
| 1993 | 20.40 million | +1.6% |
| 1994 | 20.65 million | +1.2% |
| 1995 | 20.80 million | +0.8% |
| 1996 | 20.95 million | +0.7% |
| 1997 | 21.00 million | +0.3% |
| 1998 | 20.96 million | -0.2% |
| 1999 | 20.82 million | -0.7% |
| 2000 | 20.63 million | -0.9% |
| 2001 | 20.45 million | -0.8% |
| 2002 | 20.33 million | -0.6% |
| 2003 | 20.19 million | -0.7% |
| 2004 | 20.04 million | -0.7% |
| 2005 | 19.88 million | -0.8% |
| 2006 | 19.74 million | -0.7% |
| 2007 | 19.61 million | -0.6% |
| 2008 | 19.54 million | -0.4% |
| 2009 | 19.52 million | -0.1% |
| 2010 | 19.56 million | +0.2% |
| 2011 | 19.69 million | +0.6% |
| 2012 | 19.92 million | +1.2% |
| 2013 | 20.20 million | +1.4% |
| 2014 | 20.49 million | +1.4% |
| 2015 | 20.87 million | +1.8% |
| 2016 | 21.03 million | +0.8% |
| 2017 | 21.13 million | +0.5% |
| 2018 | 21.47 million | +1.6% |
| 2019 | 21.80 million | +1.6% |
| 2020 | 22.14 million | +1.6% |
| 2021 | 22.48 million | +1.5% |
| 2022 | 22.78 million | +1.4% |
| 2023 | 23.02 million | +1.0% |
| 2024 | 23.24 million | +1.0% |
| 2025 | 23.43 million | +0.8% |
South Africa compared with similar countries
- South Africa's 23.43 million is above the median for upper middle income countries, which is 1.53 million, 15.3× the median. (59 countries reporting)
- South Africa's 23.43 million is above the median for Sub-Saharan Africa, which is 9.41 million, 2.5× the median. (48 countries reporting)
Averages by decade
| Decade | Average | Lowest | Highest | Years |
|---|---|---|---|---|
| 1960s | 9.96 million | 8.76 million | 11.30 million | 10 |
| 1970s | 13.18 million | 11.64 million | 14.80 million | 10 |
| 1980s | 17.42 million | 15.23 million | 19.27 million | 10 |
| 1990s | 20.51 million | 19.57 million | 21.00 million | 10 |
| 2000s | 19.99 million | 19.52 million | 20.63 million | 10 |
| 2010s | 20.62 million | 19.56 million | 21.80 million | 10 |
| 2020s | 22.85 million | 22.14 million | 23.43 million | 6 |
Countries ranked near South Africa
More agriculture & rural data for South Africa
- Agriculture, forestry, and fishing, value added (current US$), annual 7.11 % change on previous year (2025)
- Agriculture, forestry, and fishing, value added (current US$), per 0.0283 current US$ per US$ of GDP (2025)
- Agriculture, forestry, and fishing, value added (current US$), per 186.56 current US$ per person (2025)
- Rural population, annual growth rate 0.812 % change on previous year (2025)
- Rural population, per unit of GDP 0.0001 units per US$ of GDP (2025)
- Rural population, per capita 0.3618 units per person (2025)
- Share of GDP from agriculture 2.8% (2025)
- Agriculture as a share of GDP vs. GDP per capita 2.8% (2025)
- Agricultural raw materials exports 2.0% (2025)
- Agricultural raw materials imports 1.0% (2025)
Frequently asked questions
- What is rural population in South Africa?
- Rural population in South Africa was 23.43 million in 2025, according to World Urbanization Prospects, United Nations (UN).
- What is the highest rural population recorded in South Africa?
- The highest recorded value was 23.43 million in 2025.
- What is the lowest rural population recorded in South Africa?
- The lowest recorded value was 8.76 million in 1960.
- How does South Africa rank for rural population?
- South Africa ranks 24th out of 218 countries with data for 2025.
- Is rural population rising or falling in South Africa?
- Over the last ten years it is up 12.3%. The long-run trend across the full record is rising.
- Where does this South Africa 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.