Rural population in Bhutan
Bhutan: Rural population was 450,682 in 2025. ▲ Rising
Rural population in Bhutan, 1960–2025
Source: World Urbanization Prospects, United Nations (UN).
Analysis
The most recent figure for rural population in Bhutan is 450,682, measured in 2025.
Compared with earlier readings it is down 0.9% on the previous year and down 3.9% over ten years.
Over the whole period, rural population in Bhutan peaked at 473,983 in 1991 and was at its lowest, 218,521, in 1960.
Bhutan ranks 153rd of 215 countries on this measure, in the middle of the range.
The long-run direction has been consistently rising across the 66 years of available data.
Averages by decade
| Decade | Average | Lowest | Highest | Years |
|---|---|---|---|---|
| 1960s | 251,644 | 218,521 | 289,246 | 10 |
| 1970s | 336,458 | 298,765 | 372,364 | 10 |
| 1980s | 421,243 | 380,669 | 462,167 | 10 |
| 1990s | 434,412 | 413,058 | 473,983 | 10 |
| 2000s | 451,651 | 432,179 | 462,615 | 10 |
| 2010s | 467,035 | 463,742 | 469,103 | 10 |
| 2020s | 458,666 | 450,682 | 464,399 | 6 |
Countries ranked near Bhutan
More agriculture & rural data for Bhutan
- Agricultural raw materials exports 2.0% (2025)
- Agricultural raw materials imports 1.8% (2025)
- Rural population 56.6% (2025)
- Rural population growth -0.9% (2025)
- Agriculture, forestry, and fishing, value added 13.7% (2025)
- Agriculture, forestry, and fishing, value added 489.68 million current US$ (2025)
- Land under cereal production 20,654 hectares (2024)
- Cereal yield 3,552 kg per hectare (2024)
- Cereal production 73,368 metric tons (2024)
- Fertilizer consumption 9.81 kilograms per hectare of arable land (2023)
Frequently asked questions
- What is rural population in Bhutan?
- Rural population in Bhutan was 450,682 in 2025, according to World Urbanization Prospects, United Nations (UN).
- What is the highest rural population recorded in Bhutan?
- The highest recorded value was 473,983 in 1991.
- What is the lowest rural population recorded in Bhutan?
- The lowest recorded value was 218,521 in 1960.
- How does Bhutan rank for rural population?
- Bhutan ranks 153rd out of 215 countries with data for 2025.
- Is rural population rising or falling in Bhutan?
- Over the last ten years it is down 3.9%. The long-run trend across the full record is rising.
- Where does this Bhutan 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.