Rural population in Zimbabwe
Zimbabwe: Rural population was 10.09 million in 2025. ▲ Rising
Rural population in Zimbabwe, 1960–2025
Source: World Urbanization Prospects, United Nations (UN).
Analysis
In 2025, rural population in Zimbabwe stood at 10.09 million. That is the highest value across all 66 years on record.
The figure is up 0.9% on the previous year and up 5.4% over ten years.
Over the whole period, rural population in Zimbabwe peaked at 10.09 million in 2025 and was at its lowest, 3.33 million, in 1960.
That places Zimbabwe 52nd out of 215 countries with data for 2025, putting it in the top quarter.
The long-run direction has been consistently rising across the 66 years of available data.
Averages by decade
| Decade | Average | Lowest | Highest | Years |
|---|---|---|---|---|
| 1960s | 3.76 million | 3.33 million | 4.20 million | 10 |
| 1970s | 4.80 million | 4.31 million | 5.20 million | 10 |
| 1980s | 6.34 million | 5.47 million | 7.01 million | 10 |
| 1990s | 7.56 million | 7.14 million | 7.98 million | 10 |
| 2000s | 8.40 million | 8.04 million | 8.84 million | 10 |
| 2010s | 9.46 million | 8.99 million | 9.75 million | 10 |
| 2020s | 9.91 million | 9.78 million | 10.09 million | 6 |
Countries ranked near Zimbabwe
More agriculture & rural data for Zimbabwe
- Agriculture, forestry, and fishing, value added 4.85 billion current US$ (2025)
- Agriculture, forestry, and fishing, value added 9.5% (2025)
- Rural population growth 0.9% (2025)
- Rural population 59.5% (2025)
- Agricultural raw materials imports 0.3% (2024)
- Agricultural raw materials exports 0.9% (2024)
- Agriculture as a share of GDP vs. GDP per capita 9.5% (2025)
- Share of GDP from agriculture 9.5% (2025)
- Land under cereal production 1.57 million hectares (2023)
- Cereal production 1.17 million metric tons (2023)
Frequently asked questions
- What is rural population in Zimbabwe?
- Rural population in Zimbabwe was 10.09 million in 2025, according to World Urbanization Prospects, United Nations (UN).
- What is the highest rural population recorded in Zimbabwe?
- The highest recorded value was 10.09 million in 2025.
- What is the lowest rural population recorded in Zimbabwe?
- The lowest recorded value was 3.33 million in 1960.
- How does Zimbabwe rank for rural population?
- Zimbabwe ranks 52nd out of 215 countries with data for 2025.
- Is rural population rising or falling in Zimbabwe?
- Over the last ten years it is up 5.4%. The long-run trend across the full record is rising.
- Where does this Zimbabwe 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.