Rural population in World
World: Rural population was 3.46 billion in 2025. ▲ Rising
Rural population in World, 1960–2025
Source: World Urbanization Prospects, United Nations (UN).
Analysis
The most recent figure for rural population in World is 3.46 billion, measured in 2025. That is the highest value across all 66 years on record.
That represents a change of up 0.3% on the previous year and up 2.2% over ten years.
Over the whole period, rural population in World peaked at 3.46 billion in 2025 and was at its lowest, 1.99 billion, in 1960.
That places World 1st out of 49 groups 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.
Averages by decade
| Decade | Average | Lowest | Highest | Years |
|---|---|---|---|---|
| 1960s | 2.13 billion | 1.99 billion | 2.30 billion | 10 |
| 1970s | 2.51 billion | 2.34 billion | 2.65 billion | 10 |
| 1980s | 2.83 billion | 2.69 billion | 2.99 billion | 10 |
| 1990s | 3.16 billion | 3.03 billion | 3.26 billion | 10 |
| 2000s | 3.32 billion | 3.28 billion | 3.36 billion | 10 |
| 2010s | 3.39 billion | 3.37 billion | 3.41 billion | 10 |
| 2020s | 3.44 billion | 3.42 billion | 3.46 billion | 6 |
Countries ranked near World
More agriculture & rural data for World
- Agriculture, forestry, and fishing, value added 4.75 trillion current US$ (2025)
- Agriculture, forestry, and fishing, value added 4.0% (2025)
- Rural population growth 0.3% (2025)
- Rural population 42.2% (2025)
- Agricultural raw materials imports 1.2% (2024)
- Agricultural raw materials exports 1.2% (2024)
- Land under cereal production 415.70 million hectares (2024)
- Cereal production 1.64 billion metric tons (2024)
- Cereal yield 3,955 kg per hectare (2024)
- Fertilizer consumption 137.65 kilograms per hectare of arable land (2023)
Frequently asked questions
- What is rural population in World?
- Rural population in World was 3.46 billion in 2025, according to World Urbanization Prospects, United Nations (UN).
- What is the highest rural population recorded in World?
- The highest recorded value was 3.46 billion in 2025.
- What is the lowest rural population recorded in World?
- The lowest recorded value was 1.99 billion in 1960.
- How does World rank for rural population?
- World ranks 1st out of 49 groups with data for 2025.
- Is rural population rising or falling in World?
- Over the last ten years it is up 2.2%. The long-run trend across the full record is rising.
- Where does this World 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.