Rural population in Nepal
Nepal: Rural population was 33.0% in 2025. ▼ Falling
Rural population in Nepal, 1960–2025
Source: World Urbanization Prospects, United Nations (UN). Measured in % of total population.
Analysis
Nepal recorded 33.0% for rural population in 2025. That is the lowest value across all 66 years on record.
That represents a change of down 0.7% on the previous year and down 5.8% over ten years.
Over the whole period, rural population in Nepal peaked at 96.5% in 1960 and was at its lowest, 33.0%, in 2025.
That places Nepal 117th 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 | 96.3% | 96.1% | 96.5% | 10 |
| 1970s | 92.4% | 86.6% | 96.1% | 10 |
| 1980s | 82.8% | 80.8% | 85.4% | 10 |
| 1990s | 76.0% | 70.5% | 80.2% | 10 |
| 2000s | 55.6% | 40.1% | 68.9% | 10 |
| 2010s | 35.5% | 34.0% | 38.0% | 10 |
| 2020s | 33.5% | 33.0% | 33.9% | 6 |
Countries ranked near Nepal
More agriculture & rural data for Nepal
- Agricultural raw materials exports 1.6% (2022)
- Agricultural raw materials imports 1.3% (2022)
- Rural population growth -0.8% (2025)
- Rural population 9.77 million (2025)
- Agriculture, forestry, and fishing, value added 21.6% (2025)
- Agriculture, forestry, and fishing, value added 9.81 billion current US$ (2025)
- Land under cereal production 3.33 million hectares (2023)
- Cereal yield 3,344 kg per hectare (2023)
- Cereal production 11.15 million metric tons (2023)
- Fertilizer consumption 67.84 kilograms per hectare of arable land (2023)
Frequently asked questions
- What is rural population in Nepal?
- Rural population in Nepal was 33.0% in 2025, according to World Urbanization Prospects, United Nations (UN).
- What is the highest rural population recorded in Nepal?
- The highest recorded value was 96.5% in 1960.
- What is the lowest rural population recorded in Nepal?
- The lowest recorded value was 33.0% in 2025.
- How does Nepal rank for rural population?
- Nepal ranks 117th out of 215 countries with data for 2025.
- Is rural population rising or falling in Nepal?
- Over the last ten years it is down 5.8%. The long-run trend across the full record is falling.
- Where does this Nepal 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.
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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.