Rural population in South Asia (IDA & IBRD)
South Asia (IDA & IBRD): Rural population was 1.09 billion in 2025. ▲ Rising
Rural population in South Asia (IDA & IBRD), 1960–2025
Source: World Urbanization Prospects, United Nations (UN).
Analysis
South Asia (IDA & IBRD) recorded 1.09 billion for rural population in 2025. That is the highest value across all 66 years on record.
The figure is up 0.4% on the previous year and up 4.9% over ten years.
Over the whole period, rural population in South Asia (IDA & IBRD) peaked at 1.09 billion in 2025 and was at its lowest, 425.05 million, in 1960.
South Asia (IDA & IBRD) ranks 9th of 45 groups on this measure, in the top quarter.
The long-run direction has been consistently rising across the 66 years of available data.
Averages by decade
| Decade | Average | Lowest | Highest | Years |
|---|---|---|---|---|
| 1960s | 469.69 million | 425.05 million | 513.92 million | 10 |
| 1970s | 569.09 million | 524.11 million | 614.83 million | 10 |
| 1980s | 686.08 million | 626.30 million | 748.66 million | 10 |
| 1990s | 826.33 million | 762.88 million | 889.24 million | 10 |
| 2000s | 950.84 million | 902.64 million | 990.05 million | 10 |
| 2010s | 1.03 billion | 997.55 million | 1.06 billion | 10 |
| 2020s | 1.08 billion | 1.07 billion | 1.09 billion | 6 |
Countries ranked near South Asia (IDA & IBRD)
- 6 Ethiopia 102.81 million compare
- 7 Nigeria 86.04 million compare
- 8 United States of America 67.70 million compare
- 9 Egypt 67.58 million compare
- 10 Viet Nam 62.15 million compare
- 11 Congo, Democratic Republic of the 61.93 million compare
- 12 Philippines 51.65 million compare
More agriculture & rural data for South Asia (IDA & IBRD)
- Agriculture, forestry, and fishing, value added (current US$), annual -2.13 % change on previous year (2025)
- Agriculture, forestry, and fishing, value added 714.12 billion current US$ (2025)
- Rural population growth 0.4% (2025)
- Rural population 64.2% (2025)
- Agricultural raw materials imports 1.6% (2024)
- Agricultural raw materials exports 1.0% (2024)
- Rural population, per capita 0.6421 units per person (2025)
- Rural population, per unit of GDP 0.0002 units per US$ of GDP (2025)
- Agriculture, forestry, and fishing, value added (current US$), per 421.99 current US$ per person (2025)
- Rural population, annual growth rate 0.3704 % change on previous year (2025)
Frequently asked questions
- What is rural population in South Asia (IDA & IBRD)?
- Rural population in South Asia (IDA & IBRD) was 1.09 billion in 2025, according to World Urbanization Prospects, United Nations (UN).
- What is the highest rural population recorded in South Asia (IDA & IBRD)?
- The highest recorded value was 1.09 billion in 2025.
- What is the lowest rural population recorded in South Asia (IDA & IBRD)?
- The lowest recorded value was 425.05 million in 1960.
- How does South Asia (IDA & IBRD) rank for rural population?
- South Asia (IDA & IBRD) ranks 9th out of 45 groups with data for 2025.
- Is rural population rising or falling in South Asia (IDA & IBRD)?
- Over the last ten years it is up 4.9%. The long-run trend across the full record is rising.
- Where does this South Asia (IDA & IBRD) 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.