Rural population in Ukraine
Ukraine: Rural population was 11.85 million in 2025. ▼ Falling
Latest (2025)
11.85 million
Change on year
up 2.7%
World rank
44th
of 218 countries
All-time high
22.54 million
in 1960
All-time low
11.52 million
in 2023
Years of data
66
1960–2025
Rural population in Ukraine, 1960–2025
Source: World Urbanization Prospects, United Nations (UN).
Analysis
Ukraine recorded 11.85 million for rural population in 2025.
Compared with earlier readings it is up 2.7% on the previous year and down 16.1% over ten years.
Over the whole period, rural population in Ukraine peaked at 22.54 million in 1960 and was at its lowest, 11.52 million, in 2023.
That places Ukraine 44th out of 218 countries with data for 2025, putting it in the top quarter.
The long-run direction has been consistently falling across the 66 years of available data.
Rural population in Ukraine, year by year
| Year | Value | Change |
|---|---|---|
| 1960 | 22.54 million | — |
| 1961 | 22.47 million | -0.3% |
| 1962 | 22.51 million | +0.2% |
| 1963 | 22.50 million | -0.1% |
| 1964 | 22.42 million | -0.3% |
| 1965 | 22.29 million | -0.6% |
| 1966 | 22.14 million | -0.7% |
| 1967 | 21.98 million | -0.7% |
| 1968 | 21.78 million | -0.9% |
| 1969 | 21.56 million | -1.0% |
| 1970 | 21.34 million | -1.0% |
| 1971 | 21.07 million | -1.3% |
| 1972 | 20.80 million | -1.3% |
| 1973 | 20.58 million | -1.1% |
| 1974 | 20.36 million | -1.0% |
| 1975 | 20.12 million | -1.2% |
| 1976 | 19.86 million | -1.3% |
| 1977 | 19.61 million | -1.3% |
| 1978 | 19.32 million | -1.5% |
| 1979 | 19.08 million | -1.2% |
| 1980 | 18.89 million | -1.0% |
| 1981 | 18.71 million | -1.0% |
| 1982 | 18.52 million | -1.0% |
| 1983 | 18.33 million | -1.1% |
| 1984 | 18.10 million | -1.2% |
| 1985 | 17.88 million | -1.2% |
| 1986 | 17.68 million | -1.1% |
| 1987 | 17.47 million | -1.2% |
| 1988 | 17.26 million | -1.2% |
| 1989 | 17.09 million | -1.0% |
| 1990 | 16.96 million | -0.7% |
| 1991 | 16.86 million | -0.6% |
| 1992 | 16.82 million | -0.2% |
| 1993 | 16.80 million | -0.1% |
| 1994 | 16.71 million | -0.5% |
| 1995 | 16.62 million | -0.6% |
| 1996 | 16.54 million | -0.5% |
| 1997 | 16.44 million | -0.6% |
| 1998 | 16.35 million | -0.6% |
| 1999 | 16.25 million | -0.6% |
| 2000 | 16.15 million | -0.6% |
| 2001 | 16.07 million | -0.5% |
| 2002 | 15.93 million | -0.9% |
| 2003 | 15.74 million | -1.2% |
| 2004 | 15.55 million | -1.2% |
| 2005 | 15.32 million | -1.5% |
| 2006 | 15.12 million | -1.3% |
| 2007 | 14.96 million | -1.0% |
| 2008 | 14.81 million | -1.0% |
| 2009 | 14.67 million | -0.9% |
| 2010 | 14.57 million | -0.7% |
| 2011 | 14.48 million | -0.6% |
| 2012 | 14.41 million | -0.5% |
| 2013 | 14.33 million | -0.5% |
| 2014 | 14.23 million | -0.7% |
| 2015 | 14.12 million | -0.7% |
| 2016 | 14.05 million | -0.5% |
| 2017 | 13.97 million | -0.6% |
| 2018 | 13.87 million | -0.7% |
| 2019 | 13.78 million | -0.7% |
| 2020 | 13.68 million | -0.7% |
| 2021 | 13.55 million | -0.9% |
| 2022 | 12.55 million | -7.4% |
| 2023 | 11.52 million | -8.2% |
| 2024 | 11.54 million | +0.2% |
| 2025 | 11.85 million | +2.7% |
Ukraine compared with similar countries
- Ukraine's 11.85 million is above the median for upper middle income countries, which is 1.53 million, 7.8× the median. (59 countries reporting)
- Ukraine's 11.85 million is above the median for Europe & Central Asia, which is 1.49 million, 8.0× the median. (57 countries reporting)
Averages by decade
| Decade | Average | Lowest | Highest | Years |
|---|---|---|---|---|
| 1960s | 22.22 million | 21.56 million | 22.54 million | 10 |
| 1970s | 20.21 million | 19.08 million | 21.34 million | 10 |
| 1980s | 17.99 million | 17.09 million | 18.89 million | 10 |
| 1990s | 16.63 million | 16.25 million | 16.96 million | 10 |
| 2000s | 15.43 million | 14.67 million | 16.15 million | 10 |
| 2010s | 14.18 million | 13.78 million | 14.57 million | 10 |
| 2020s | 12.45 million | 11.52 million | 13.68 million | 6 |
Countries ranked near Ukraine
More agriculture & rural data for Ukraine
- Agriculture, forestry, and fishing, value added (current US$), annual 16.54 % change on previous year (2025)
- Agriculture, forestry, and fishing, value added (current US$), per 0.0757 current US$ per US$ of GDP (2025)
- Agriculture, forestry, and fishing, value added (current US$), per 416.19 current US$ per person (2025)
- Rural population, annual growth rate 2.74 % change on previous year (2025)
- Rural population, per unit of GDP 0.0001 units per US$ of GDP (2025)
- Rural population, per capita 0.304 units per person (2025)
- Share of GDP from agriculture 7.6% (2025)
- Agriculture as a share of GDP vs. GDP per capita 7.6% (2025)
- Agricultural raw materials exports 1.8% (2024)
- Agricultural raw materials imports 0.9% (2024)
Frequently asked questions
- What is rural population in Ukraine?
- Rural population in Ukraine was 11.85 million in 2025, according to World Urbanization Prospects, United Nations (UN).
- What is the highest rural population recorded in Ukraine?
- The highest recorded value was 22.54 million in 1960.
- What is the lowest rural population recorded in Ukraine?
- The lowest recorded value was 11.52 million in 2023.
- How does Ukraine rank for rural population?
- Ukraine ranks 44th out of 218 countries with data for 2025.
- Is rural population rising or falling in Ukraine?
- Over the last ten years it is down 16.1%. The long-run trend across the full record is falling.
- Where does this Ukraine 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.