Rural population in Madagascar
Madagascar: Rural population was 21.97 million in 2025. ▲ Rising
Rural population in Madagascar, 1960–2025
Source: World Urbanization Prospects, United Nations (UN).
Analysis
In 2025, rural population in Madagascar stood at 21.97 million. That is the highest value across all 66 years on record.
Compared with earlier readings it is up 1.7% on the previous year and up 22.0% over ten years.
Over the whole period, rural population in Madagascar peaked at 21.97 million in 2025 and was at its lowest, 4.56 million, in 1960.
That places Madagascar 27th out of 215 countries with data for 2025, putting it in the top quarter.
The long-run direction has been consistently rising across the 66 years of available data.
Averages by decade
| Decade | Average | Lowest | Highest | Years |
|---|---|---|---|---|
| 1960s | 5.05 million | 4.56 million | 5.60 million | 10 |
| 1970s | 6.41 million | 5.73 million | 7.16 million | 10 |
| 1980s | 8.23 million | 7.34 million | 9.18 million | 10 |
| 1990s | 10.66 million | 9.42 million | 12.05 million | 10 |
| 2000s | 13.95 million | 12.39 million | 15.60 million | 10 |
| 2010s | 17.82 million | 16.00 million | 19.67 million | 10 |
| 2020s | 21.02 million | 20.06 million | 21.97 million | 6 |
Countries ranked near Madagascar
- 24 South Africa 23.43 million compare
- 25 Niger 22.79 million compare
- 26 Mozambique 22.37 million compare
- 28 Iran 20.91 million compare
- 29 Malawi 18.31 million compare
- 30 Uzbekistan 18.15 million compare
More agriculture & rural data for Madagascar
- Agricultural raw materials exports 1.6% (2024)
- Agricultural raw materials imports 2.3% (2024)
- Rural population 67.1% (2025)
- Rural population growth 1.7% (2025)
- Agriculture, forestry, and fishing, value added 21.7% (2025)
- Agriculture, forestry, and fishing, value added 4.26 billion current US$ (2025)
- Land under cereal production 2.22 million hectares (2023)
- Cereal yield 2,426 kg per hectare (2023)
- Cereal production 5.39 million metric tons (2023)
- Fertilizer consumption 7.28 kilograms per hectare of arable land (2023)
Frequently asked questions
- What is rural population in Madagascar?
- Rural population in Madagascar was 21.97 million in 2025, according to World Urbanization Prospects, United Nations (UN).
- What is the highest rural population recorded in Madagascar?
- The highest recorded value was 21.97 million in 2025.
- What is the lowest rural population recorded in Madagascar?
- The lowest recorded value was 4.56 million in 1960.
- How does Madagascar rank for rural population?
- Madagascar ranks 27th out of 215 countries with data for 2025.
- Is rural population rising or falling in Madagascar?
- Over the last ten years it is up 22.0%. The long-run trend across the full record is rising.
- Where does this Madagascar 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.