Rural population in Malta

Malta: Rural population was 4.3% in 2025. ▼ Falling

Latest (2025)
4.3%
Change on year
down 0.6%
World rank
200th
of 215 countries
All-time high
10.6%
in 1968
All-time low
4.3%
in 2025
Years of data
66
1960–2025

Rural population in Malta, 1960–2025

02.557.510196019922025

Source: World Urbanization Prospects, United Nations (UN). Measured in % of total population.

Analysis

In 2025, rural population in Malta stood at 4.3%. That is the lowest value across all 66 years on record.

Compared with earlier readings it is down 0.6% on the previous year and down 22.3% over ten years.

Over the whole period, rural population in Malta peaked at 10.6% in 1968 and was at its lowest, 4.3%, in 2025.

That places Malta 200th out of 215 countries with data for 2025, putting it in the bottom quarter.

The long-run direction has been consistently falling across the 66 years of available data.

Averages by decade

DecadeAverage LowestHighest Years
1960s 10.4% 9.9% 10.6% 10
1970s 10.6% 10.4% 10.6% 10
1980s 10.1% 9.3% 10.4% 10
1990s 7.6% 6.8% 9.0% 10
2000s 6.3% 5.9% 6.7% 10
2010s 5.5% 5.1% 5.8% 10
2020s 4.5% 4.3% 4.8% 6

Countries ranked near Malta

  1. 197 Luxembourg 5.1% compare
  2. 198 United States Virgin Islands 4.6% compare
  3. 199 Uruguay 4.3% compare
  4. 201 Netherlands 4.1% compare
  5. 202 San Marino 2.8% compare
  6. 203 Qatar 0.6% compare

See the full ranking of 264 places →

More agriculture & rural data for Malta

All data for Malta →

Frequently asked questions

What is rural population in Malta?
Rural population in Malta was 4.3% in 2025, according to World Urbanization Prospects, United Nations (UN).
What is the highest rural population recorded in Malta?
The highest recorded value was 10.6% in 1968.
What is the lowest rural population recorded in Malta?
The lowest recorded value was 4.3% in 2025.
How does Malta rank for rural population?
Malta ranks 200th out of 215 countries with data for 2025.
Is rural population rising or falling in Malta?
Over the last ten years it is down 22.3%. The long-run trend across the full record is falling.
Where does this Malta 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

Indicator
Rural population (% of total population)
Unit
% of total population
Source
World Urbanization Prospects, United Nations (UN)
Licence
CC BY 4.0 (World Bank Open Data)
Coverage
264 places, 17,424 data points, 1960–2025
Last refreshed

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.