Rural population in France
France: Rural population was 14.54 million in 2025. ▼ Falling
Rural population in France, 1960–2025
Source: World Urbanization Prospects, United Nations (UN).
Analysis
The most recent figure for rural population in France is 14.54 million, measured in 2025.
Compared with earlier readings it is down 1.8% over ten years.
Over the whole period, rural population in France peaked at 18.17 million in 1960 and was at its lowest, 14.03 million, in 2003.
That places France 39th out of 215 countries with data for 2025, putting it in the top quarter.
The long-run direction has been consistently falling across the 66 years of available data.
Averages by decade
| Decade | Average | Lowest | Highest | Years |
|---|---|---|---|---|
| 1960s | 16.60 million | 15.06 million | 18.17 million | 10 |
| 1970s | 14.67 million | 14.57 million | 14.89 million | 10 |
| 1980s | 14.96 million | 14.79 million | 15.10 million | 10 |
| 1990s | 14.83 million | 14.42 million | 15.11 million | 10 |
| 2000s | 14.34 million | 14.03 million | 14.82 million | 10 |
| 2010s | 14.69 million | 14.28 million | 15.02 million | 10 |
| 2020s | 14.48 million | 14.39 million | 14.54 million | 6 |
Countries ranked near France
More agriculture & rural data for France
- Agricultural raw materials exports 1.0% (2024)
- Agricultural raw materials imports 1.1% (2024)
- Rural population 21.2% (2025)
- Rural population growth 0.0% (2025)
- Agriculture, forestry, and fishing, value added 1.4% (2025)
- Agriculture, forestry, and fishing, value added 47.24 billion current US$ (2025)
- Land under cereal production 8.53 million hectares (2024)
- Cereal yield 6,281 kg per hectare (2024)
- Cereal production 53.55 million metric tons (2024)
- Fertilizer consumption 131.32 kilograms per hectare of arable land (2023)
Frequently asked questions
- What is rural population in France?
- Rural population in France was 14.54 million in 2025, according to World Urbanization Prospects, United Nations (UN).
- What is the highest rural population recorded in France?
- The highest recorded value was 18.17 million in 1960.
- What is the lowest rural population recorded in France?
- The lowest recorded value was 14.03 million in 2003.
- How does France rank for rural population?
- France ranks 39th out of 215 countries with data for 2025.
- Is rural population rising or falling in France?
- Over the last ten years it is down 1.8%. The long-run trend across the full record is falling.
- Where does this France 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.