Rural population in Europe & Central Asia (IDA & IBRD countries)
Europe & Central Asia (IDA & IBRD countries): Rural population was 142.68 million in 2025. ▼ Falling
Rural population in Europe & Central Asia (IDA & IBRD countries), 1960–2025
Source: World Urbanization Prospects, United Nations (UN).
Analysis
Europe & Central Asia (IDA & IBRD countries) recorded 142.68 million for rural population in 2025.
The figure is up 0.3% on the previous year and down 1.5% over ten years.
Over the whole period, rural population in Europe & Central Asia (IDA & IBRD countries) peaked at 173.37 million in 1965 and was at its lowest, 142.28 million, in 2024.
The long-run direction has been consistently falling across the 66 years of available data.
Averages by decade
| Decade | Average | Lowest | Highest | Years |
|---|---|---|---|---|
| 1960s | 172.58 million | 171.55 million | 173.37 million | 10 |
| 1970s | 167.94 million | 165.42 million | 171.29 million | 10 |
| 1980s | 164.43 million | 164.10 million | 165.19 million | 10 |
| 1990s | 165.26 million | 164.45 million | 165.93 million | 10 |
| 2000s | 160.18 million | 156.95 million | 163.67 million | 10 |
| 2010s | 148.72 million | 144.53 million | 156.24 million | 10 |
| 2020s | 143.23 million | 142.28 million | 144.62 million | 6 |
More agriculture & rural data for Europe & Central Asia (IDA & IBRD countries)
- Agricultural raw materials exports 1.6% (2021)
- Agricultural raw materials imports 1.4% (2024)
- Rural population 30.8% (2025)
- Rural population growth 0.3% (2025)
- Agriculture, forestry, and fishing, value added 4.2% (2025)
- Agriculture, forestry, and fishing, value added 298.09 billion current US$ (2025)
- Land under cereal production 42.13 million hectares (2024)
- Cereal yield 3,147 kg per hectare (2024)
- Cereal production 132.57 million metric tons (2024)
- Fertilizer consumption 58.52 kilograms per hectare of arable land (2023)
Frequently asked questions
- What is rural population in Europe & Central Asia (IDA & IBRD countries)?
- Rural population in Europe & Central Asia (IDA & IBRD countries) was 142.68 million in 2025, according to World Urbanization Prospects, United Nations (UN).
- What is the highest rural population recorded in Europe & Central Asia (IDA & IBRD countries)?
- The highest recorded value was 173.37 million in 1965.
- What is the lowest rural population recorded in Europe & Central Asia (IDA & IBRD countries)?
- The lowest recorded value was 142.28 million in 2024.
- Is rural population rising or falling in Europe & Central Asia (IDA & IBRD countries)?
- Over the last ten years it is down 1.5%. The long-run trend across the full record is falling.
- Where does this Europe & Central Asia (IDA & IBRD countries) 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.