Rural population in Tuvalu
Tuvalu: Rural population was 3,280 in 2025. ▼ Falling
Rural population in Tuvalu, 1960–2025
Source: World Urbanization Prospects, United Nations (UN).
Analysis
Tuvalu recorded 3,280 for rural population in 2025. That is the lowest value across all 66 years on record.
The figure is down 3.6% on the previous year and down 27.2% over ten years.
Over the whole period, rural population in Tuvalu peaked at 5,327 in 1987 and was at its lowest, 3,280, in 2025.
That places Tuvalu 204th out of 218 countries with data for 2025, putting it in the bottom quarter.
The long-run direction has been consistently falling across the 66 years of available data.
Rural population in Tuvalu, year by year
| Year | Value | Change |
|---|---|---|
| 1960 | 4,906 | — |
| 1961 | 4,945 | +0.8% |
| 1962 | 4,985 | +0.8% |
| 1963 | 5,025 | +0.8% |
| 1964 | 5,015 | -0.2% |
| 1965 | 4,964 | -1.0% |
| 1966 | 4,916 | -1.0% |
| 1967 | 4,866 | -1.0% |
| 1968 | 4,825 | -0.8% |
| 1969 | 4,822 | -0.1% |
| 1970 | 4,844 | +0.5% |
| 1971 | 4,859 | +0.3% |
| 1972 | 4,861 | +0.0% |
| 1973 | 4,845 | -0.3% |
| 1974 | 4,935 | +1.9% |
| 1975 | 5,057 | +2.5% |
| 1976 | 5,092 | +0.7% |
| 1977 | 5,083 | -0.2% |
| 1978 | 5,075 | -0.2% |
| 1979 | 5,098 | +0.5% |
| 1980 | 5,144 | +0.9% |
| 1981 | 5,187 | +0.8% |
| 1982 | 5,222 | +0.7% |
| 1983 | 5,251 | +0.6% |
| 1984 | 5,267 | +0.3% |
| 1985 | 5,292 | +0.5% |
| 1986 | 5,321 | +0.5% |
| 1987 | 5,327 | +0.1% |
| 1988 | 5,323 | -0.1% |
| 1989 | 5,316 | -0.1% |
| 1990 | 5,308 | -0.2% |
| 1991 | 5,306 | -0.0% |
| 1992 | 5,304 | -0.0% |
| 1993 | 5,297 | -0.1% |
| 1994 | 5,291 | -0.1% |
| 1995 | 5,284 | -0.1% |
| 1996 | 5,274 | -0.2% |
| 1997 | 5,262 | -0.2% |
| 1998 | 5,246 | -0.3% |
| 1999 | 5,224 | -0.4% |
| 2000 | 5,200 | -0.5% |
| 2001 | 5,168 | -0.6% |
| 2002 | 5,125 | -0.8% |
| 2003 | 5,090 | -0.7% |
| 2004 | 5,065 | -0.5% |
| 2005 | 5,028 | -0.7% |
| 2006 | 4,975 | -1.1% |
| 2007 | 4,921 | -1.1% |
| 2008 | 4,868 | -1.1% |
| 2009 | 4,815 | -1.1% |
| 2010 | 4,771 | -0.9% |
| 2011 | 4,739 | -0.7% |
| 2012 | 4,713 | -0.5% |
| 2013 | 4,661 | -1.1% |
| 2014 | 4,580 | -1.7% |
| 2015 | 4,504 | -1.7% |
| 2016 | 4,429 | -1.7% |
| 2017 | 4,353 | -1.7% |
| 2018 | 4,240 | -2.6% |
| 2019 | 4,101 | -3.3% |
| 2020 | 3,960 | -3.4% |
| 2021 | 3,812 | -3.7% |
| 2022 | 3,666 | -3.8% |
| 2023 | 3,533 | -3.6% |
| 2024 | 3,403 | -3.7% |
| 2025 | 3,280 | -3.6% |
Tuvalu compared with similar countries
- Tuvalu's 3,280 is below the median for upper middle income countries, which is 1.53 million, 0% of the median. (59 countries reporting)
- Tuvalu's 3,280 is below the median for East Asia & Pacific, which is 377,513, 1% of the median. (37 countries reporting)
Averages by decade
| Decade | Average | Lowest | Highest | Years |
|---|---|---|---|---|
| 1960s | 4,927 | 4,822 | 5,025 | 10 |
| 1970s | 4,975 | 4,844 | 5,098 | 10 |
| 1980s | 5,265 | 5,144 | 5,327 | 10 |
| 1990s | 5,280 | 5,224 | 5,308 | 10 |
| 2000s | 5,026 | 4,815 | 5,200 | 10 |
| 2010s | 4,509 | 4,101 | 4,771 | 10 |
| 2020s | 3,609 | 3,280 | 3,960 | 6 |
Countries ranked near Tuvalu
- 201 United States Virgin Islands 4,786 compare
- 202 Palau 3,659 compare
- 203 Northern Mariana Islands 3,406 compare
- 205 Turks and Caicos Islands 2,626 compare
- 206 San Marino 959 compare
- 207 Bahrain 0 compare
- 207 Bermuda 0 compare
- 207 Cayman Islands 0
- 207 Gibraltar 0
- 207 Hong Kong 0 compare
- 207 Kuwait 0 compare
- 207 Macao 0 compare
- 207 Monaco 0
- 207 Nauru 0
- 207 Singapore 0
- 207 Sint Maarten (Dutch part) 0
- 207 Saint Martin (French part) 0
More agriculture & rural data for Tuvalu
- Agriculture, forestry, and fishing, value added (current US$), annual -17.15 % change on previous year (2015)
- Agriculture, forestry, and fishing, value added (current US$), per 0.1594 current US$ per US$ of GDP (2015)
- Agriculture, forestry, and fishing, value added (current US$), per 534.44 current US$ per person (2015)
- Rural population, annual growth rate -3.61 % change on previous year (2025)
- Rural population, per unit of GDP 0.0001 units per US$ of GDP (2025)
- Rural population, per capita 0.3456 units per person (2025)
- Share of GDP from agriculture 15.9% (2015)
- Agriculture as a share of GDP vs. GDP per capita 15.9% (2015)
- Agricultural raw materials imports 1.1% (2008)
- Rural population 34.6% (2025)
Frequently asked questions
- What is rural population in Tuvalu?
- Rural population in Tuvalu was 3,280 in 2025, according to World Urbanization Prospects, United Nations (UN).
- What is the highest rural population recorded in Tuvalu?
- The highest recorded value was 5,327 in 1987.
- What is the lowest rural population recorded in Tuvalu?
- The lowest recorded value was 3,280 in 2025.
- How does Tuvalu rank for rural population?
- Tuvalu ranks 204th out of 218 countries with data for 2025.
- Is rural population rising or falling in Tuvalu?
- Over the last ten years it is down 27.2%. The long-run trend across the full record is falling.
- Where does this Tuvalu 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.