Rural population in Sweden
Sweden: Rural population was 1.16 million in 2025. ▼ Falling
Rural population in Sweden, 1960–2025
Source: World Urbanization Prospects, United Nations (UN).
Analysis
The most recent figure for rural population in Sweden is 1.16 million, measured in 2025. That is the lowest value across all 66 years on record.
The figure is down 1.7% on the previous year and down 11.8% over ten years.
Over the whole period, rural population in Sweden peaked at 2.06 million in 1960 and was at its lowest, 1.16 million, in 2025.
Sweden ranks 122nd 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 Sweden, year by year
| Year | Value | Change |
|---|---|---|
| 1960 | 2.06 million | — |
| 1961 | 2.00 million | -2.8% |
| 1962 | 1.94 million | -3.0% |
| 1963 | 1.88 million | -3.2% |
| 1964 | 1.82 million | -3.1% |
| 1965 | 1.77 million | -2.9% |
| 1966 | 1.72 million | -3.0% |
| 1967 | 1.66 million | -3.5% |
| 1968 | 1.59 million | -3.8% |
| 1969 | 1.54 million | -3.3% |
| 1970 | 1.51 million | -2.2% |
| 1971 | 1.49 million | -1.5% |
| 1972 | 1.46 million | -1.5% |
| 1973 | 1.44 million | -1.4% |
| 1974 | 1.43 million | -1.0% |
| 1975 | 1.42 million | -0.6% |
| 1976 | 1.42 million | -0.4% |
| 1977 | 1.41 million | -0.3% |
| 1978 | 1.41 million | -0.2% |
| 1979 | 1.41 million | -0.2% |
| 1980 | 1.41 million | +0.0% |
| 1981 | 1.41 million | +0.1% |
| 1982 | 1.41 million | +0.0% |
| 1983 | 1.41 million | +0.0% |
| 1984 | 1.41 million | +0.1% |
| 1985 | 1.41 million | +0.2% |
| 1986 | 1.41 million | +0.2% |
| 1987 | 1.41 million | +0.1% |
| 1988 | 1.41 million | +0.0% |
| 1989 | 1.42 million | +0.2% |
| 1990 | 1.42 million | +0.3% |
| 1991 | 1.42 million | +0.1% |
| 1992 | 1.42 million | -0.1% |
| 1993 | 1.42 million | -0.1% |
| 1994 | 1.42 million | +0.1% |
| 1995 | 1.42 million | +0.1% |
| 1996 | 1.42 million | -0.1% |
| 1997 | 1.42 million | -0.1% |
| 1998 | 1.42 million | -0.1% |
| 1999 | 1.42 million | -0.1% |
| 2000 | 1.42 million | -0.0% |
| 2001 | 1.42 million | +0.0% |
| 2002 | 1.42 million | +0.0% |
| 2003 | 1.42 million | -0.0% |
| 2004 | 1.41 million | -0.1% |
| 2005 | 1.41 million | -0.1% |
| 2006 | 1.41 million | -0.1% |
| 2007 | 1.41 million | -0.1% |
| 2008 | 1.41 million | -0.3% |
| 2009 | 1.40 million | -0.4% |
| 2010 | 1.39 million | -0.5% |
| 2011 | 1.38 million | -0.8% |
| 2012 | 1.37 million | -1.1% |
| 2013 | 1.35 million | -1.3% |
| 2014 | 1.33 million | -1.4% |
| 2015 | 1.31 million | -1.6% |
| 2016 | 1.29 million | -1.6% |
| 2017 | 1.28 million | -0.5% |
| 2018 | 1.27 million | -0.7% |
| 2019 | 1.26 million | -0.9% |
| 2020 | 1.25 million | -1.2% |
| 2021 | 1.23 million | -1.3% |
| 2022 | 1.22 million | -1.3% |
| 2023 | 1.20 million | -1.5% |
| 2024 | 1.18 million | -1.7% |
| 2025 | 1.16 million | -1.7% |
Sweden compared with similar countries
- Sweden's 1.16 million is above the median for high income countries, which is 456,529, 2.5× the median. (85 countries reporting)
- Sweden's 1.16 million is below the median for Europe & Central Asia, which is 1.49 million, 78% of the median. (57 countries reporting)
Averages by decade
| Decade | Average | Lowest | Highest | Years |
|---|---|---|---|---|
| 1960s | 1.80 million | 1.54 million | 2.06 million | 10 |
| 1970s | 1.44 million | 1.41 million | 1.51 million | 10 |
| 1980s | 1.41 million | 1.41 million | 1.42 million | 10 |
| 1990s | 1.42 million | 1.42 million | 1.42 million | 10 |
| 2000s | 1.41 million | 1.40 million | 1.42 million | 10 |
| 2010s | 1.33 million | 1.26 million | 1.39 million | 10 |
| 2020s | 1.20 million | 1.16 million | 1.25 million | 6 |
Countries ranked near Sweden
More agriculture & rural data for Sweden
- Agriculture, forestry, and fishing, value added (current US$), annual 15.81 % change on previous year (2025)
- Agriculture, forestry, and fishing, value added (current US$), per 0.015 current US$ per US$ of GDP (2025)
- Agriculture, forestry, and fishing, value added (current US$), per 949.09 current US$ per person (2025)
- Rural population, annual growth rate -1.74 % change on previous year (2025)
- Rural population, per unit of GDP 0 units per US$ of GDP (2025)
- Rural population, per capita 0.1092 units per person (2025)
- Share of GDP from agriculture 1.5% (2025)
- Agriculture as a share of GDP vs. GDP per capita 1.5% (2025)
- Agricultural raw materials exports 3.6% (2024)
- Agricultural raw materials imports 1.3% (2024)
Frequently asked questions
- What is rural population in Sweden?
- Rural population in Sweden was 1.16 million in 2025, according to World Urbanization Prospects, United Nations (UN).
- What is the highest rural population recorded in Sweden?
- The highest recorded value was 2.06 million in 1960.
- What is the lowest rural population recorded in Sweden?
- The lowest recorded value was 1.16 million in 2025.
- How does Sweden rank for rural population?
- Sweden ranks 122nd out of 218 countries with data for 2025.
- Is rural population rising or falling in Sweden?
- Over the last ten years it is down 11.8%. The long-run trend across the full record is falling.
- Where does this Sweden 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.