Rural population growth in Vanuatu

Vanuatu: Rural population growth was 2.2% in 2025. ▼ Falling

Latest (2025)
2.2%
Change on year
down 2.7%
World rank
14th
of 207 countries
All-time high
3.7%
in 2020
All-time low
1.7%
in 1999
Years of data
65
1961–2025

Rural population growth in Vanuatu, 1961–2025

01234196119932025

Source: World Urbanization Prospects, United Nations (UN). Measured in annual %.

Analysis

Vanuatu recorded 2.2% for rural population growth in 2025.

That represents a change of down 2.7% on the previous year and down 1.4% over ten years.

Over the whole period, rural population growth in Vanuatu peaked at 3.7% in 2020 and was at its lowest, 1.7%, in 1999.

Vanuatu ranks 14th of 207 countries on this measure, in the top 10%.

The long-run direction has been consistently falling across the 65 years of available data.

Averages by decade

DecadeAverage LowestHighest Years
1960s 2.6% 2.5% 2.7% 9
1970s 2.6% 2.3% 2.6% 10
1980s 2.0% 1.7% 2.1% 10
1990s 2.0% 1.7% 2.1% 10
2000s 2.1% 1.9% 2.2% 10
2010s 2.4% 1.7% 3.3% 10
2020s 2.6% 2.2% 3.7% 6

Countries ranked near Vanuatu

  1. 11 Yemen 2.5% compare
  2. 12 Afghanistan 2.4% compare
  3. 13 Sudan 2.3% compare
  4. 15 Somalia 2.2% compare
  5. 16 Malawi 2.2% compare
  6. 17 Mali 2.0% compare

See the full ranking of 256 places →

More agriculture & rural data for Vanuatu

All data for Vanuatu →

Frequently asked questions

What is rural population growth in Vanuatu?
Rural population growth in Vanuatu was 2.2% in 2025, according to World Urbanization Prospects, United Nations (UN).
What is the highest rural population growth recorded in Vanuatu?
The highest recorded value was 3.7% in 2020.
What is the lowest rural population growth recorded in Vanuatu?
The lowest recorded value was 1.7% in 1999.
How does Vanuatu rank for rural population growth?
Vanuatu ranks 14th out of 207 countries with data for 2025.
Is rural population growth rising or falling in Vanuatu?
Over the last ten years it is down 1.4%. The long-run trend across the full record is falling.
Where does this Vanuatu 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

Indicator
Rural population growth (annual %)
Unit
annual %
Source
World Urbanization Prospects, United Nations (UN)
Licence
CC BY 4.0 (World Bank Open Data)
Coverage
256 places, 16,517 data points, 1961–2025
Last refreshed

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.