Rural population in Belgium
Belgium: Rural population was 1.47 million in 2025. ▼ Falling
Rural population in Belgium, 1960–2025
Source: World Urbanization Prospects, United Nations (UN).
Analysis
In 2025, rural population in Belgium stood at 1.47 million.
That represents a change of up 0.2% on the previous year and down 5.2% over ten years.
Over the whole period, rural population in Belgium peaked at 3.12 million in 1960 and was at its lowest, 1.46 million, in 2021.
Belgium ranks 116th of 215 countries on this measure, 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 | 3.02 million | 2.88 million | 3.12 million | 10 |
| 1970s | 2.69 million | 2.53 million | 2.84 million | 10 |
| 1980s | 2.32 million | 2.17 million | 2.49 million | 10 |
| 1990s | 2.01 million | 1.87 million | 2.14 million | 10 |
| 2000s | 1.74 million | 1.65 million | 1.84 million | 10 |
| 2010s | 1.56 million | 1.48 million | 1.64 million | 10 |
| 2020s | 1.47 million | 1.46 million | 1.47 million | 6 |
Countries ranked near Belgium
More agriculture & rural data for Belgium
- Agricultural raw materials exports 1.2% (2024)
- Agricultural raw materials imports 1.0% (2024)
- Rural population 12.3% (2025)
- Rural population growth 0.2% (2025)
- Agriculture, forestry, and fishing, value added 0.7% (2025)
- Agriculture, forestry, and fishing, value added 5.30 billion current US$ (2025)
- Land under cereal production 324,650 hectares (2023)
- Cereal yield 8,486 kg per hectare (2023)
- Cereal production 2.75 million metric tons (2023)
- Fertilizer consumption 191.66 kilograms per hectare of arable land (2023)
Frequently asked questions
- What is rural population in Belgium?
- Rural population in Belgium was 1.47 million in 2025, according to World Urbanization Prospects, United Nations (UN).
- What is the highest rural population recorded in Belgium?
- The highest recorded value was 3.12 million in 1960.
- What is the lowest rural population recorded in Belgium?
- The lowest recorded value was 1.46 million in 2021.
- How does Belgium rank for rural population?
- Belgium ranks 116th out of 215 countries with data for 2025.
- Is rural population rising or falling in Belgium?
- Over the last ten years it is down 5.2%. The long-run trend across the full record is falling.
- Where does this Belgium data come from?
- The figures come from World Urbanization Prospects, United Nations (UN), published as part of Rural 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. Aggregation of urban and rural population may not add up to total population because of different country coverages.