Rural population in Thailand
Thailand: Rural population was 26.64 million in 2025. ▲ Rising
Latest (2025)
26.64 million
Change on year
down 2.5%
World rank
20th
of 218 countries
All-time high
45.15 million
in 1993
All-time low
23.68 million
in 1960
Years of data
66
1960–2025
Rural population in Thailand, 1960–2025
Source: World Urbanization Prospects, United Nations (UN).
Analysis
Thailand recorded 26.64 million for rural population in 2025.
The figure is down 2.5% on the previous year and down 28.8% over ten years.
Over the whole period, rural population in Thailand peaked at 45.15 million in 1993 and was at its lowest, 23.68 million, in 1960.
Thailand ranks 20th of 218 countries on this measure, in the top 10%.
The long-run direction has been consistently rising across the 66 years of available data.
Rural population in Thailand, year by year
| Year | Value | Change |
|---|---|---|
| 1960 | 23.68 million | — |
| 1961 | 24.34 million | +2.8% |
| 1962 | 25.04 million | +2.9% |
| 1963 | 25.76 million | +2.9% |
| 1964 | 26.50 million | +2.9% |
| 1965 | 27.27 million | +2.9% |
| 1966 | 28.04 million | +2.8% |
| 1967 | 28.83 million | +2.8% |
| 1968 | 29.61 million | +2.7% |
| 1969 | 30.40 million | +2.6% |
| 1970 | 31.17 million | +2.6% |
| 1971 | 31.93 million | +2.4% |
| 1972 | 32.65 million | +2.3% |
| 1973 | 33.37 million | +2.2% |
| 1974 | 34.06 million | +2.1% |
| 1975 | 34.71 million | +1.9% |
| 1976 | 35.33 million | +1.8% |
| 1977 | 35.95 million | +1.7% |
| 1978 | 36.57 million | +1.7% |
| 1979 | 37.19 million | +1.7% |
| 1980 | 37.85 million | +1.8% |
| 1981 | 38.53 million | +1.8% |
| 1982 | 39.21 million | +1.8% |
| 1983 | 39.91 million | +1.8% |
| 1984 | 40.62 million | +1.8% |
| 1985 | 41.31 million | +1.7% |
| 1986 | 41.99 million | +1.6% |
| 1987 | 42.65 million | +1.6% |
| 1988 | 43.29 million | +1.5% |
| 1989 | 43.88 million | +1.4% |
| 1990 | 44.44 million | +1.3% |
| 1991 | 44.87 million | +1.0% |
| 1992 | 45.10 million | +0.5% |
| 1993 | 45.15 million | +0.1% |
| 1994 | 45.06 million | -0.2% |
| 1995 | 44.85 million | -0.5% |
| 1996 | 44.56 million | -0.7% |
| 1997 | 44.21 million | -0.8% |
| 1998 | 43.85 million | -0.8% |
| 1999 | 43.51 million | -0.8% |
| 2000 | 43.18 million | -0.8% |
| 2001 | 42.81 million | -0.9% |
| 2002 | 42.37 million | -1.0% |
| 2003 | 41.89 million | -1.1% |
| 2004 | 41.38 million | -1.2% |
| 2005 | 40.84 million | -1.3% |
| 2006 | 40.31 million | -1.3% |
| 2007 | 39.79 million | -1.3% |
| 2008 | 39.29 million | -1.3% |
| 2009 | 38.83 million | -1.2% |
| 2010 | 38.40 million | -1.1% |
| 2011 | 38.09 million | -0.8% |
| 2012 | 37.93 million | -0.4% |
| 2013 | 37.83 million | -0.3% |
| 2014 | 37.70 million | -0.4% |
| 2015 | 37.42 million | -0.7% |
| 2016 | 36.93 million | -1.3% |
| 2017 | 36.13 million | -2.2% |
| 2018 | 32.42 million | -10.3% |
| 2019 | 31.52 million | -2.8% |
| 2020 | 30.64 million | -2.8% |
| 2021 | 29.76 million | -2.9% |
| 2022 | 28.88 million | -3.0% |
| 2023 | 28.01 million | -3.0% |
| 2024 | 27.33 million | -2.4% |
| 2025 | 26.64 million | -2.5% |
Thailand compared with similar countries
- Thailand's 26.64 million is above the median for upper middle income countries, which is 1.53 million, 17.4× the median. (59 countries reporting)
- Thailand's 26.64 million is above the median for East Asia & Pacific, which is 377,513, 70.6× the median. (37 countries reporting)
Averages by decade
| Decade | Average | Lowest | Highest | Years |
|---|---|---|---|---|
| 1960s | 26.95 million | 23.68 million | 30.40 million | 10 |
| 1970s | 34.29 million | 31.17 million | 37.19 million | 10 |
| 1980s | 40.92 million | 37.85 million | 43.88 million | 10 |
| 1990s | 44.56 million | 43.51 million | 45.15 million | 10 |
| 2000s | 41.07 million | 38.83 million | 43.18 million | 10 |
| 2010s | 36.44 million | 31.52 million | 38.40 million | 10 |
| 2020s | 28.54 million | 26.64 million | 30.64 million | 6 |
Countries ranked near Thailand
More agriculture & rural data for Thailand
- Agriculture, forestry, and fishing, value added (current US$), annual 7.21 % change on previous year (2025)
- Agriculture, forestry, and fishing, value added (current US$), per 0.0875 current US$ per US$ of GDP (2025)
- Agriculture, forestry, and fishing, value added (current US$), per 704.7 current US$ per person (2025)
- Rural population, annual growth rate -2.51 % change on previous year (2025)
- Rural population, per unit of GDP 0 units per US$ of GDP (2025)
- Rural population, per capita 0.372 units per person (2025)
- Share of GDP from agriculture 8.7% (2025)
- Agriculture as a share of GDP vs. GDP per capita 8.7% (2025)
- Agricultural raw materials exports 4.0% (2024)
- Agricultural raw materials imports 1.3% (2024)
Frequently asked questions
- What is rural population in Thailand?
- Rural population in Thailand was 26.64 million in 2025, according to World Urbanization Prospects, United Nations (UN).
- What is the highest rural population recorded in Thailand?
- The highest recorded value was 45.15 million in 1993.
- What is the lowest rural population recorded in Thailand?
- The lowest recorded value was 23.68 million in 1960.
- How does Thailand rank for rural population?
- Thailand ranks 20th out of 218 countries with data for 2025.
- Is rural population rising or falling in Thailand?
- Over the last ten years it is down 28.8%. The long-run trend across the full record is rising.
- Where does this Thailand 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.