Rural population in Switzerland
Switzerland: Rural population was 1.30 million in 2025. ▼ Falling
Rural population in Switzerland, 1960–2025
Source: World Urbanization Prospects, United Nations (UN).
Analysis
In 2025, rural population in Switzerland stood at 1.30 million. That is the lowest value across all 66 years on record.
The figure is down 0.9% on the previous year and down 35.8% over ten years.
Over the whole period, rural population in Switzerland peaked at 2.68 million in 1964 and was at its lowest, 1.30 million, in 2025.
That places Switzerland 120th 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 | 2.65 million | 2.61 million | 2.68 million | 10 |
| 1970s | 2.56 million | 2.47 million | 2.63 million | 10 |
| 1980s | 2.30 million | 2.13 million | 2.45 million | 10 |
| 1990s | 2.01 million | 1.92 million | 2.10 million | 10 |
| 2000s | 1.97 million | 1.92 million | 2.05 million | 10 |
| 2010s | 1.97 million | 1.65 million | 2.10 million | 10 |
| 2020s | 1.36 million | 1.30 million | 1.53 million | 6 |
Countries ranked near Switzerland
More agriculture & rural data for Switzerland
- Agricultural raw materials exports 0.1% (2024)
- Agricultural raw materials imports 0.5% (2024)
- Rural population 14.3% (2025)
- Rural population growth -0.9% (2025)
- Agriculture, forestry, and fishing, value added 0.6% (2025)
- Agriculture, forestry, and fishing, value added 6.73 billion current US$ (2025)
- Land under cereal production 141,863 hectares (2023)
- Cereal yield 5,706 kg per hectare (2023)
- Cereal production 809,466 metric tons (2023)
- Fertilizer consumption 142.7 kilograms per hectare of arable land (2023)
Frequently asked questions
- What is rural population in Switzerland?
- Rural population in Switzerland was 1.30 million in 2025, according to World Urbanization Prospects, United Nations (UN).
- What is the highest rural population recorded in Switzerland?
- The highest recorded value was 2.68 million in 1964.
- What is the lowest rural population recorded in Switzerland?
- The lowest recorded value was 1.30 million in 2025.
- How does Switzerland rank for rural population?
- Switzerland ranks 120th out of 215 countries with data for 2025.
- Is rural population rising or falling in Switzerland?
- Over the last ten years it is down 35.8%. The long-run trend across the full record is falling.
- Where does this Switzerland 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.