Rural population in Mexico

Mexico: Rural population was 26.34 million in 2025. ▲ Rising

Latest (2025)
26.34 million
Change on year
down 0.6%
World rank
21st
of 215 countries
All-time high
27.62 million
in 2015
All-time low
18.09 million
in 1960
Years of data
66
1960–2025

Rural population in Mexico, 1960–2025

010.0M20.0M30.0M196019922025

Source: World Urbanization Prospects, United Nations (UN).

Analysis

The most recent figure for rural population in Mexico is 26.34 million, measured in 2025.

That represents a change of down 0.6% on the previous year and down 4.6% over ten years.

Over the whole period, rural population in Mexico peaked at 27.62 million in 2015 and was at its lowest, 18.09 million, in 1960.

That places Mexico 21st out of 215 countries with data for 2025, putting it in the top 10%.

The long-run direction has been consistently rising across the 66 years of available data.

Averages by decade

DecadeAverage LowestHighest Years
1960s 19.31 million 18.09 million 20.56 million 10
1970s 21.74 million 20.82 million 22.52 million 10
1980s 23.12 million 22.67 million 23.53 million 10
1990s 24.18 million 23.64 million 24.68 million 10
2000s 25.14 million 24.67 million 26.30 million 10
2010s 27.33 million 26.67 million 27.62 million 10
2020s 26.69 million 26.34 million 27.04 million 6

Countries ranked near Mexico

  1. 18 Sudan 33.61 million compare
  2. 19 Afghanistan 32.47 million compare
  3. 20 Thailand 26.64 million compare
  4. 22 Yemen 26.30 million compare
  5. 23 Brazil 25.16 million compare
  6. 24 South Africa 23.43 million compare

See the full ranking of 264 places →

More agriculture & rural data for Mexico

All data for Mexico →

Frequently asked questions

What is rural population in Mexico?
Rural population in Mexico was 26.34 million in 2025, according to World Urbanization Prospects, United Nations (UN).
What is the highest rural population recorded in Mexico?
The highest recorded value was 27.62 million in 2015.
What is the lowest rural population recorded in Mexico?
The lowest recorded value was 18.09 million in 1960.
How does Mexico rank for rural population?
Mexico ranks 21st out of 215 countries with data for 2025.
Is rural population rising or falling in Mexico?
Over the last ten years it is down 4.6%. The long-run trend across the full record is rising.
Where does this Mexico 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

Indicator
Rural population
Source
World Urbanization Prospects, United Nations (UN)
Licence
CC BY 4.0 (World Bank Open Data)
Coverage
264 places, 17,394 data points, 1960–2025
Last refreshed

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.