Rural population in Rwanda
Rwanda: Rural population was 10.07 million in 2025. ▲ Rising
Rural population in Rwanda, 1960–2025
Source: World Urbanization Prospects, United Nations (UN).
Analysis
The most recent figure for rural population in Rwanda is 10.07 million, measured in 2025. That is the highest value across all 66 years on record.
The figure is up 0.7% on the previous year and up 5.7% over ten years.
Over the whole period, rural population in Rwanda peaked at 10.07 million in 2025 and was at its lowest, 2.94 million, in 1960.
Rwanda ranks 53rd of 215 countries on this measure, 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 | 3.31 million | 2.94 million | 3.74 million | 10 |
| 1970s | 4.37 million | 3.85 million | 4.94 million | 10 |
| 1980s | 5.92 million | 5.10 million | 6.81 million | 10 |
| 1990s | 6.71 million | 5.17 million | 7.47 million | 10 |
| 2000s | 7.50 million | 6.92 million | 8.36 million | 10 |
| 2010s | 9.35 million | 8.57 million | 9.84 million | 10 |
| 2020s | 9.93 million | 9.86 million | 10.07 million | 6 |
Countries ranked near Rwanda
More agriculture & rural data for Rwanda
- Agricultural raw materials exports 0.8% (2022)
- Agricultural raw materials imports 0.9% (2022)
- Rural population 69.1% (2025)
- Rural population growth 0.7% (2025)
- Agriculture, forestry, and fishing, value added 20.3% (2025)
- Agriculture, forestry, and fishing, value added 3.32 billion current US$ (2025)
- Land under cereal production 546,634 hectares (2024)
- Cereal yield 1,784 kg per hectare (2024)
- Cereal production 975,199 metric tons (2024)
- Fertilizer consumption 31.84 kilograms per hectare of arable land (2023)
Frequently asked questions
- What is rural population in Rwanda?
- Rural population in Rwanda was 10.07 million in 2025, according to World Urbanization Prospects, United Nations (UN).
- What is the highest rural population recorded in Rwanda?
- The highest recorded value was 10.07 million in 2025.
- What is the lowest rural population recorded in Rwanda?
- The lowest recorded value was 2.94 million in 1960.
- How does Rwanda rank for rural population?
- Rwanda ranks 53rd out of 215 countries with data for 2025.
- Is rural population rising or falling in Rwanda?
- Over the last ten years it is up 5.7%. The long-run trend across the full record is rising.
- Where does this Rwanda 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.