Rural population growth in Canada
Canada: Rural population growth was -0.1% in 2025. ◆ Volatile
Rural population growth in Canada, 1961–2025
Source: World Urbanization Prospects, United Nations (UN). Measured in annual %.
Analysis
Canada recorded -0.1% for rural population growth in 2025.
Compared with earlier readings it is down 104.1% on the previous year and down 114.0% over ten years.
Over the whole period, rural population growth in Canada peaked at 2.4% in 1971 and was at its lowest, -1.1%, in 1964.
Canada ranks 118th of 207 countries on this measure, in the middle of the range.
The series is highly variable year to year, so single readings are best treated with caution.
Averages by decade
| Decade | Average | Lowest | Highest | Years |
|---|---|---|---|---|
| 1960s | -0.8% | -1.1% | -0.1% | 9 |
| 1970s | 1.4% | -0.3% | 2.4% | 10 |
| 1980s | 0.8% | 0.1% | 1.7% | 10 |
| 1990s | 0.2% | -0.4% | 1.4% | 10 |
| 2000s | -0.2% | -0.5% | 0.1% | 10 |
| 2010s | 0.7% | 0.3% | 0.9% | 10 |
| 2020s | 0.6% | -0.7% | 2.0% | 6 |
Countries ranked near Canada
More agriculture & rural data for Canada
- Agricultural raw materials exports 2.9% (2024)
- Agricultural raw materials imports 0.7% (2024)
- Rural population 17.1% (2025)
- Rural population 7.13 million (2025)
- Agriculture, forestry, and fishing, value added 1.9% (2022)
- Agriculture, forestry, and fishing, value added 42.53 billion current US$ (2022)
- Land under cereal production 16.03 million hectares (2023)
- Cereal yield 3,695 kg per hectare (2023)
- Cereal production 59.24 million metric tons (2023)
- Fertilizer consumption 132.84 kilograms per hectare of arable land (2023)
Frequently asked questions
- What is rural population growth in Canada?
- Rural population growth in Canada was -0.1% in 2025, according to World Urbanization Prospects, United Nations (UN).
- What is the highest rural population growth recorded in Canada?
- The highest recorded value was 2.4% in 1971.
- What is the lowest rural population growth recorded in Canada?
- The lowest recorded value was -1.1% in 1964.
- How does Canada rank for rural population growth?
- Canada ranks 118th out of 207 countries with data for 2025.
- Is rural population growth rising or falling in Canada?
- Over the last ten years it is down 114.0%. The long-run trend across the full record is volatile.
- Where does this Canada data come from?
- The figures come from World Urbanization Prospects, United Nations (UN), published as part of Rural population growth (annual %). Statizoid updates them automatically from the source API.
Download this data
CSV · JSON — 65 observations, free to reuse under CC BY 4.0 (World Bank Open Data).
About this data
Annual rural population growth rate for year t is the exponential rate of growth of midyear rural population from year t-1 to t, expressed as a percentage. 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.