Rural population in Europe & Central Asia
Europe & Central Asia: Rural population was 241.78 million in 2025. ▼ Falling
Rural population in Europe & Central Asia, 1960–2025
Source: World Urbanization Prospects, United Nations (UN).
Analysis
In 2025, rural population in Europe & Central Asia stood at 241.78 million.
The figure is down 2.5% over ten years.
Over the whole period, rural population in Europe & Central Asia peaked at 300.78 million in 1960 and was at its lowest, 241.71 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 | 297.69 million | 292.36 million | 300.78 million | 10 |
| 1970s | 285.08 million | 280.42 million | 290.86 million | 10 |
| 1980s | 277.16 million | 275.76 million | 279.47 million | 10 |
| 1990s | 275.56 million | 272.77 million | 277.08 million | 10 |
| 2000s | 266.80 million | 263.19 million | 271.24 million | 10 |
| 2010s | 252.03 million | 245.58 million | 262.10 million | 10 |
| 2020s | 242.81 million | 241.71 million | 244.81 million | 6 |
More agriculture & rural data for Europe & Central Asia
- Agricultural raw materials exports 1.2% (2024)
- Agricultural raw materials imports 1.2% (2024)
- Rural population 25.9% (2025)
- Rural population growth 0.0% (2025)
- Agriculture, forestry, and fishing, value added 2.0% (2025)
- Agriculture, forestry, and fishing, value added 643.81 billion current US$ (2025)
- Land under cereal production 62.75 million hectares (2024)
- Cereal yield 3,895 kg per hectare (2024)
- Cereal production 244.46 million metric tons (2024)
- Fertilizer consumption 76.17 kilograms per hectare of arable land (2023)
Frequently asked questions
- What is rural population in Europe & Central Asia?
- Rural population in Europe & Central Asia was 241.78 million in 2025, according to World Urbanization Prospects, United Nations (UN).
- What is the highest rural population recorded in Europe & Central Asia?
- The highest recorded value was 300.78 million in 1960.
- What is the lowest rural population recorded in Europe & Central Asia?
- The lowest recorded value was 241.71 million in 2024.
- Is rural population rising or falling in Europe & Central Asia?
- Over the last ten years it is down 2.5%. The long-run trend across the full record is falling.
- Where does this Europe & Central Asia 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.