Rural population in Central Europe and the Baltics
Central Europe and the Baltics: Rural population was 38.02 million in 2025. ▼ Falling
Rural population in Central Europe and the Baltics, 1960–2025
Source: World Urbanization Prospects, United Nations (UN).
Analysis
In 2025, rural population in Central Europe and the Baltics stood at 38.02 million. That is the lowest value across all 66 years on record.
That represents a change of down 0.5% on the previous year and down 2.9% over ten years.
Over the whole period, rural population in Central Europe and the Baltics peaked at 50.79 million in 1960 and was at its lowest, 38.02 million, in 2025.
The long-run direction has been consistently falling across the 66 years of available data.
Averages by decade
| Decade | Average | Lowest | Highest | Years |
|---|---|---|---|---|
| 1960s | 50.15 million | 49.31 million | 50.79 million | 10 |
| 1970s | 47.13 million | 45.61 million | 48.88 million | 10 |
| 1980s | 43.71 million | 42.86 million | 44.87 million | 10 |
| 1990s | 42.30 million | 42.05 million | 42.75 million | 10 |
| 2000s | 40.75 million | 39.92 million | 41.82 million | 10 |
| 2010s | 39.27 million | 38.97 million | 39.70 million | 10 |
| 2020s | 38.40 million | 38.02 million | 38.83 million | 6 |
More agriculture & rural data for Central Europe and the Baltics
- Agricultural raw materials exports 1.2% (2024)
- Agricultural raw materials imports 1.2% (2024)
- Rural population 38.1% (2025)
- Rural population growth -0.5% (2025)
- Agriculture, forestry, and fishing, value added 2.4% (2025)
- Agriculture, forestry, and fishing, value added 67.30 billion current US$ (2025)
- Land under cereal production 3.02 million hectares (2024)
- Cereal yield 5,647 kg per hectare (2024)
- Cereal production 17.05 million metric tons (2024)
- Fertilizer consumption 118.94 kilograms per hectare of arable land (2023)
Frequently asked questions
- What is rural population in Central Europe and the Baltics?
- Rural population in Central Europe and the Baltics was 38.02 million in 2025, according to World Urbanization Prospects, United Nations (UN).
- What is the highest rural population recorded in Central Europe and the Baltics?
- The highest recorded value was 50.79 million in 1960.
- What is the lowest rural population recorded in Central Europe and the Baltics?
- The lowest recorded value was 38.02 million in 2025.
- Is rural population rising or falling in Central Europe and the Baltics?
- Over the last ten years it is down 2.9%. The long-run trend across the full record is falling.
- Where does this Central Europe and the Baltics 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.