Rural population in Norway
Norway: Rural population was 921,833 in 2025. ▼ Falling
Rural population in Norway, 1960–2025
Source: World Urbanization Prospects, United Nations (UN).
Analysis
The most recent figure for rural population in Norway is 921,833, measured in 2025. That is the lowest value across all 66 years on record.
The figure is down 0.8% on the previous year and down 5.3% over ten years.
Over the whole period, rural population in Norway peaked at 1.84 million in 1961 and was at its lowest, 921,833, in 2025.
That places Norway 132nd out of 215 countries with data for 2025, putting it in the middle of the range.
The long-run direction has been consistently falling across the 66 years of available data.
Averages by decade
| Decade | Average | Lowest | Highest | Years |
|---|---|---|---|---|
| 1960s | 1.65 million | 1.37 million | 1.84 million | 10 |
| 1970s | 1.26 million | 1.21 million | 1.33 million | 10 |
| 1980s | 1.19 million | 1.19 million | 1.20 million | 10 |
| 1990s | 1.14 million | 1.08 million | 1.19 million | 10 |
| 2000s | 1.03 million | 1.01 million | 1.07 million | 10 |
| 2010s | 984,534 | 936,225 | 1.03 million | 10 |
| 2020s | 928,772 | 921,833 | 934,366 | 6 |
Countries ranked near Norway
More agriculture & rural data for Norway
- Agricultural raw materials exports 0.8% (2025)
- Agricultural raw materials imports 1.0% (2025)
- Rural population 16.4% (2025)
- Rural population growth -0.8% (2025)
- Agriculture, forestry, and fishing, value added 1.6% (2025)
- Agriculture, forestry, and fishing, value added 8.72 billion current US$ (2025)
- Land under cereal production 279,979 hectares (2024)
- Cereal yield 4,220 kg per hectare (2024)
- Cereal production 1.18 million metric tons (2024)
- Fertilizer consumption 205.14 kilograms per hectare of arable land (2023)
Frequently asked questions
- What is rural population in Norway?
- Rural population in Norway was 921,833 in 2025, according to World Urbanization Prospects, United Nations (UN).
- What is the highest rural population recorded in Norway?
- The highest recorded value was 1.84 million in 1961.
- What is the lowest rural population recorded in Norway?
- The lowest recorded value was 921,833 in 2025.
- How does Norway rank for rural population?
- Norway ranks 132nd out of 215 countries with data for 2025.
- Is rural population rising or falling in Norway?
- Over the last ten years it is down 5.3%. The long-run trend across the full record is falling.
- Where does this Norway 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.