Rural population in Tanzania
Tanzania: Rural population was 44.53 million in 2025. ▲ Rising
Latest (2025)
44.53 million
Change on year
up 1.7%
World rank
13th
of 218 countries
All-time high
44.53 million
in 2025
All-time low
9.42 million
in 1960
Years of data
66
1960–2025
Rural population in Tanzania, 1960–2025
Source: World Urbanization Prospects, United Nations (UN).
Analysis
Tanzania recorded 44.53 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 24.4% over ten years.
Over the whole period, rural population in Tanzania peaked at 44.53 million in 2025 and was at its lowest, 9.42 million, in 1960.
That places Tanzania 13th out of 218 countries with data for 2025, putting it in the top 10%.
The long-run direction has been consistently rising across the 66 years of available data.
Rural population in Tanzania, year by year
| Year | Value | Change |
|---|---|---|
| 1960 | 9.42 million | — |
| 1961 | 9.69 million | +2.9% |
| 1962 | 9.97 million | +2.9% |
| 1963 | 10.27 million | +3.0% |
| 1964 | 10.58 million | +3.0% |
| 1965 | 10.90 million | +3.1% |
| 1966 | 11.24 million | +3.1% |
| 1967 | 11.59 million | +3.1% |
| 1968 | 11.95 million | +3.1% |
| 1969 | 12.30 million | +3.0% |
| 1970 | 12.65 million | +2.8% |
| 1971 | 12.98 million | +2.6% |
| 1972 | 13.32 million | +2.6% |
| 1973 | 13.65 million | +2.5% |
| 1974 | 13.99 million | +2.5% |
| 1975 | 14.34 million | +2.5% |
| 1976 | 14.71 million | +2.6% |
| 1977 | 15.10 million | +2.7% |
| 1978 | 15.52 million | +2.8% |
| 1979 | 15.94 million | +2.7% |
| 1980 | 16.36 million | +2.6% |
| 1981 | 16.77 million | +2.5% |
| 1982 | 17.19 million | +2.5% |
| 1983 | 17.67 million | +2.8% |
| 1984 | 18.17 million | +2.8% |
| 1985 | 18.68 million | +2.8% |
| 1986 | 19.21 million | +2.9% |
| 1987 | 19.75 million | +2.8% |
| 1988 | 20.26 million | +2.6% |
| 1989 | 20.71 million | +2.2% |
| 1990 | 21.17 million | +2.2% |
| 1991 | 21.62 million | +2.1% |
| 1992 | 22.08 million | +2.1% |
| 1993 | 22.69 million | +2.8% |
| 1994 | 23.49 million | +3.5% |
| 1995 | 24.15 million | +2.8% |
| 1996 | 24.50 million | +1.5% |
| 1997 | 24.90 million | +1.6% |
| 1998 | 25.46 million | +2.2% |
| 1999 | 26.03 million | +2.3% |
| 2000 | 26.66 million | +2.4% |
| 2001 | 27.24 million | +2.2% |
| 2002 | 27.80 million | +2.0% |
| 2003 | 28.37 million | +2.0% |
| 2004 | 28.93 million | +2.0% |
| 2005 | 29.50 million | +2.0% |
| 2006 | 30.07 million | +1.9% |
| 2007 | 30.63 million | +1.9% |
| 2008 | 31.17 million | +1.7% |
| 2009 | 31.64 million | +1.5% |
| 2010 | 32.14 million | +1.6% |
| 2011 | 32.74 million | +1.9% |
| 2012 | 33.40 million | +2.0% |
| 2013 | 34.14 million | +2.2% |
| 2014 | 34.92 million | +2.3% |
| 2015 | 35.79 million | +2.5% |
| 2016 | 36.73 million | +2.6% |
| 2017 | 37.68 million | +2.6% |
| 2018 | 38.58 million | +2.4% |
| 2019 | 39.44 million | +2.2% |
| 2020 | 40.33 million | +2.3% |
| 2021 | 41.25 million | +2.3% |
| 2022 | 42.18 million | +2.3% |
| 2023 | 42.99 million | +1.9% |
| 2024 | 43.76 million | +1.8% |
| 2025 | 44.53 million | +1.7% |
Tanzania compared with similar countries
- Tanzania's 44.53 million is above the median for lower middle income countries, which is 5.28 million, 8.4× the median. (47 countries reporting)
- Tanzania's 44.53 million is above the median for Sub-Saharan Africa, which is 9.41 million, 4.7× the median. (48 countries reporting)
Averages by decade
| Decade | Average | Lowest | Highest | Years |
|---|---|---|---|---|
| 1960s | 10.79 million | 9.42 million | 12.30 million | 10 |
| 1970s | 14.22 million | 12.65 million | 15.94 million | 10 |
| 1980s | 18.48 million | 16.36 million | 20.71 million | 10 |
| 1990s | 23.61 million | 21.17 million | 26.03 million | 10 |
| 2000s | 29.20 million | 26.66 million | 31.64 million | 10 |
| 2010s | 35.56 million | 32.14 million | 39.44 million | 10 |
| 2020s | 42.51 million | 40.33 million | 44.53 million | 6 |
Countries ranked near Tanzania
More agriculture & rural data for Tanzania
- Agriculture, forestry, and fishing, value added (current US$), annual 11.77 % change on previous year (2025)
- Agriculture, forestry, and fishing, value added (current US$), per 0.2291 current US$ per US$ of GDP (2025)
- Agriculture, forestry, and fishing, value added (current US$), per 292.74 current US$ per person (2025)
- Rural population, annual growth rate 1.74 % change on previous year (2025)
- Rural population, per unit of GDP 0.0005 units per US$ of GDP (2025)
- Rural population, per capita 0.6312 units per person (2025)
- Share of GDP from agriculture 22.9% (2025)
- Agriculture as a share of GDP vs. GDP per capita 22.9% (2025)
- Agricultural raw materials exports 2.5% (2024)
- Agricultural raw materials imports 1.1% (2024)
Frequently asked questions
- What is rural population in Tanzania?
- Rural population in Tanzania was 44.53 million in 2025, according to World Urbanization Prospects, United Nations (UN).
- What is the highest rural population recorded in Tanzania?
- The highest recorded value was 44.53 million in 2025.
- What is the lowest rural population recorded in Tanzania?
- The lowest recorded value was 9.42 million in 1960.
- How does Tanzania rank for rural population?
- Tanzania ranks 13th out of 218 countries with data for 2025.
- Is rural population rising or falling in Tanzania?
- Over the last ten years it is up 24.4%. The long-run trend across the full record is rising.
- Where does this Tanzania 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.