Rural population growth in India
India: Rural population growth was 0.4% in 2025. ▼ Falling
Rural population growth in India, 1961–2025
Source: World Urbanization Prospects, United Nations (UN). Measured in annual %.
Analysis
In 2025, rural population growth in India stood at 0.4%.
Compared with earlier readings it is down 1.1% on the previous year and down 43.8% over ten years.
Over the whole period, rural population growth in India peaked at 2.3% in 1961 and was at its lowest, 0.3%, in 2022.
India ranks 90th of 207 countries on this measure, in the middle of the range.
The long-run direction has been consistently falling across the 65 years of available data.
Averages by decade
| Decade | Average | Lowest | Highest | Years |
|---|---|---|---|---|
| 1960s | 2.0% | 1.8% | 2.3% | 9 |
| 1970s | 1.8% | 1.8% | 1.9% | 10 |
| 1980s | 2.0% | 1.9% | 2.1% | 10 |
| 1990s | 1.8% | 1.6% | 2.0% | 10 |
| 2000s | 1.2% | 0.9% | 1.5% | 10 |
| 2010s | 0.8% | 0.6% | 0.9% | 10 |
| 2020s | 0.4% | 0.3% | 0.5% | 6 |
Countries ranked near India
- 87 Ecuador 0.4% compare
- 88 Eswatini 0.4% compare
- 89 Dominican Republic 0.4% compare
- 91 Bahamas 0.4% compare
- 92 Kazakhstan 0.4% compare
- 93 Bangladesh 0.4% compare
More agriculture & rural data for India
- Agricultural raw materials exports 0.9% (2024)
- Agricultural raw materials imports 1.5% (2024)
- Rural population 64.3% (2025)
- Rural population 941.42 million (2025)
- Agriculture, forestry, and fishing, value added 16.2% (2025)
- Agriculture, forestry, and fishing, value added 642.24 billion current US$ (2025)
- Land under cereal production 107.67 million hectares (2024)
- Cereal yield 3,632 kg per hectare (2024)
- Cereal production 391.12 million metric tons (2024)
- Fertilizer consumption 199.14 kilograms per hectare of arable land (2023)
Frequently asked questions
- What is rural population growth in India?
- Rural population growth in India was 0.4% in 2025, according to World Urbanization Prospects, United Nations (UN).
- What is the highest rural population growth recorded in India?
- The highest recorded value was 2.3% in 1961.
- What is the lowest rural population growth recorded in India?
- The lowest recorded value was 0.3% in 2022.
- How does India rank for rural population growth?
- India ranks 90th out of 207 countries with data for 2025.
- Is rural population growth rising or falling in India?
- Over the last ten years it is down 43.8%. The long-run trend across the full record is falling.
- Where does this India 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.
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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.