Rural population in Botswana
Botswana: Rural population was 32.0% in 2025. ▼ Falling
Rural population in Botswana, 1960–2025
Source: World Urbanization Prospects, United Nations (UN). Measured in % of total population.
Analysis
The most recent figure for rural population in Botswana is 32.0%, measured in 2025. That is the lowest value across all 66 years on record.
Compared with earlier readings it is down 1.5% on the previous year and down 7.4% over ten years.
Over the whole period, rural population in Botswana peaked at 97.0% in 1960 and was at its lowest, 32.0%, in 2025.
That places Botswana 118th out of 215 countries with data for 2025, putting it in the middle of the range.
The long-run direction has been consistently falling across the 66 years of available data.
Averages by decade
| Decade | Average | Lowest | Highest | Years |
|---|---|---|---|---|
| 1960s | 95.5% | 92.1% | 97.0% | 10 |
| 1970s | 88.2% | 85.8% | 91.0% | 10 |
| 1980s | 74.1% | 59.1% | 85.1% | 10 |
| 1990s | 51.2% | 47.6% | 56.4% | 10 |
| 2000s | 42.1% | 37.2% | 46.8% | 10 |
| 2010s | 34.9% | 33.7% | 36.5% | 10 |
| 2020s | 33.0% | 32.0% | 33.6% | 6 |
Countries ranked near Botswana
More agriculture & rural data for Botswana
- Agricultural raw materials exports 0.0% (2023)
- Agricultural raw materials imports 0.8% (2023)
- Rural population growth 0.1% (2025)
- Rural population 821,007 (2025)
- Agriculture, forestry, and fishing, value added 1.8% (2025)
- Agriculture, forestry, and fishing, value added 354.96 million current US$ (2025)
- Land under cereal production 60,588 hectares (2024)
- Cereal yield 900.4 kg per hectare (2024)
- Cereal production 54,554 metric tons (2024)
- Fertilizer consumption 93.08 kilograms per hectare of arable land (2023)
Frequently asked questions
- What is rural population in Botswana?
- Rural population in Botswana was 32.0% in 2025, according to World Urbanization Prospects, United Nations (UN).
- What is the highest rural population recorded in Botswana?
- The highest recorded value was 97.0% in 1960.
- What is the lowest rural population recorded in Botswana?
- The lowest recorded value was 32.0% in 2025.
- How does Botswana rank for rural population?
- Botswana ranks 118th out of 215 countries with data for 2025.
- Is rural population rising or falling in Botswana?
- Over the last ten years it is down 7.4%. The long-run trend across the full record is falling.
- Where does this Botswana data come from?
- The figures come from World Urbanization Prospects, United Nations (UN), published as part of Rural population (% of total 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.