Rural population in South Sudan
South Sudan: Rural population was 9.55 million in 2025. ▲ Rising
Rural population in South Sudan, 1960–2025
Source: World Urbanization Prospects, United Nations (UN).
Analysis
South Sudan recorded 9.55 million for rural population in 2025. That is the highest value across all 66 years on record.
That represents a change of up 1.7% on the previous year and up 5.8% over ten years.
Over the whole period, rural population in South Sudan peaked at 9.55 million in 2025 and was at its lowest, 2.68 million, in 1960.
That places South Sudan 57th 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 South Sudan, year by year
| Year | Value | Change |
|---|---|---|
| 1960 | 2.68 million | — |
| 1961 | 2.72 million | +1.6% |
| 1962 | 2.76 million | +1.6% |
| 1963 | 2.81 million | +1.6% |
| 1964 | 2.86 million | +1.9% |
| 1965 | 2.92 million | +1.9% |
| 1966 | 2.96 million | +1.5% |
| 1967 | 3.00 million | +1.3% |
| 1968 | 3.04 million | +1.4% |
| 1969 | 3.08 million | +1.3% |
| 1970 | 3.12 million | +1.3% |
| 1971 | 3.17 million | +1.7% |
| 1972 | 3.24 million | +2.1% |
| 1973 | 3.32 million | +2.4% |
| 1974 | 3.41 million | +2.6% |
| 1975 | 3.50 million | +2.6% |
| 1976 | 3.59 million | +2.6% |
| 1977 | 3.68 million | +2.6% |
| 1978 | 3.78 million | +2.6% |
| 1979 | 3.87 million | +2.5% |
| 1980 | 3.97 million | +2.5% |
| 1981 | 4.07 million | +2.5% |
| 1982 | 4.17 million | +2.5% |
| 1983 | 4.26 million | +2.2% |
| 1984 | 4.34 million | +1.7% |
| 1985 | 4.39 million | +1.3% |
| 1986 | 4.44 million | +1.2% |
| 1987 | 4.45 million | +0.1% |
| 1988 | 4.31 million | -3.1% |
| 1989 | 4.15 million | -3.6% |
| 1990 | 4.14 million | -0.3% |
| 1991 | 4.19 million | +1.3% |
| 1992 | 4.23 million | +0.9% |
| 1993 | 4.25 million | +0.5% |
| 1994 | 4.34 million | +2.0% |
| 1995 | 4.46 million | +2.7% |
| 1996 | 4.55 million | +2.2% |
| 1997 | 4.67 million | +2.5% |
| 1998 | 4.75 million | +1.7% |
| 1999 | 4.86 million | +2.4% |
| 2000 | 5.06 million | +4.2% |
| 2001 | 5.28 million | +4.3% |
| 2002 | 5.51 million | +4.3% |
| 2003 | 5.76 million | +4.4% |
| 2004 | 6.02 million | +4.6% |
| 2005 | 6.31 million | +4.8% |
| 2006 | 6.62 million | +5.0% |
| 2007 | 6.96 million | +5.1% |
| 2008 | 7.32 million | +5.1% |
| 2009 | 7.64 million | +4.5% |
| 2010 | 8.04 million | +5.1% |
| 2011 | 8.46 million | +5.2% |
| 2012 | 8.82 million | +4.2% |
| 2013 | 9.12 million | +3.5% |
| 2014 | 9.15 million | +0.3% |
| 2015 | 9.02 million | -1.5% |
| 2016 | 8.76 million | -2.8% |
| 2017 | 8.27 million | -5.6% |
| 2018 | 8.14 million | -1.7% |
| 2019 | 8.35 million | +2.6% |
| 2020 | 8.54 million | +2.3% |
| 2021 | 8.64 million | +1.2% |
| 2022 | 8.73 million | +1.1% |
| 2023 | 9.06 million | +3.8% |
| 2024 | 9.39 million | +3.6% |
| 2025 | 9.55 million | +1.7% |
South Sudan compared with similar countries
- South Sudan's 9.55 million is below the median for low income countries, which is 15.21 million, 63% of the median. (25 countries reporting)
- South Sudan's 9.55 million is above the median for Sub-Saharan Africa, which is 9.41 million, 1.0× the median. (48 countries reporting)
Averages by decade
| Decade | Average | Lowest | Highest | Years |
|---|---|---|---|---|
| 1960s | 2.88 million | 2.68 million | 3.08 million | 10 |
| 1970s | 3.47 million | 3.12 million | 3.87 million | 10 |
| 1980s | 4.26 million | 3.97 million | 4.45 million | 10 |
| 1990s | 4.44 million | 4.14 million | 4.86 million | 10 |
| 2000s | 6.25 million | 5.06 million | 7.64 million | 10 |
| 2010s | 8.61 million | 8.04 million | 9.15 million | 10 |
| 2020s | 8.98 million | 8.54 million | 9.55 million | 6 |
Countries ranked near South Sudan
More agriculture & rural data for South Sudan
- Rural population, per capita 0.7832 units per person (2025)
- Agriculture, forestry, and fishing, value added (current US$), annual 17.13 % change on previous year (2015)
- Agriculture, forestry, and fishing, value added (current US$), per 0.1036 current US$ per US$ of GDP (2015)
- Agriculture, forestry, and fishing, value added (current US$), per 111.85 current US$ per person (2015)
- Rural population, per unit of GDP 0.0008 units per US$ of GDP (2015)
- Rural population, annual growth rate 1.66 % change on previous year (2025)
- Rural population growth 1.6% (2025)
- Rural population 78.3% (2025)
- Share of GDP from agriculture 10.4% (2015)
- Agriculture as a share of GDP vs. GDP per capita 10.4% (2015)
Frequently asked questions
- What is rural population in South Sudan?
- Rural population in South Sudan was 9.55 million in 2025, according to World Urbanization Prospects, United Nations (UN).
- What is the highest rural population recorded in South Sudan?
- The highest recorded value was 9.55 million in 2025.
- What is the lowest rural population recorded in South Sudan?
- The lowest recorded value was 2.68 million in 1960.
- How does South Sudan rank for rural population?
- South Sudan ranks 57th out of 218 countries with data for 2025.
- Is rural population rising or falling in South Sudan?
- Over the last ten years it is up 5.8%. The long-run trend across the full record is rising.
- Where does this South Sudan 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.