Rural population in United Kingdom
United Kingdom: Rural population was 11.59 million in 2025. ▼ Falling
Rural population in United Kingdom, 1960–2025
Source: World Urbanization Prospects, United Nations (UN).
Analysis
In 2025, rural population in United Kingdom stood at 11.59 million.
That represents a change of down 0.2% on the previous year and down 2.0% over ten years.
Over the whole period, rural population in United Kingdom peaked at 12.92 million in 1972 and was at its lowest, 11.24 million, in 1960.
That places United Kingdom 46th out of 215 countries with data for 2025, putting it in the top quarter.
The long-run direction has been consistently falling across the 66 years of available data.
Averages by decade
| Decade | Average | Lowest | Highest | Years |
|---|---|---|---|---|
| 1960s | 12.05 million | 11.24 million | 12.76 million | 10 |
| 1970s | 12.61 million | 12.12 million | 12.92 million | 10 |
| 1980s | 12.21 million | 12.06 million | 12.48 million | 10 |
| 1990s | 12.35 million | 11.96 million | 12.58 million | 10 |
| 2000s | 11.84 million | 11.79 million | 11.91 million | 10 |
| 2010s | 11.81 million | 11.55 million | 11.93 million | 10 |
| 2020s | 11.50 million | 11.39 million | 11.61 million | 6 |
Countries ranked near United Kingdom
More agriculture & rural data for United Kingdom
- Agricultural raw materials exports 0.4% (2025)
- Agricultural raw materials imports 1.1% (2025)
- Rural population 16.7% (2025)
- Rural population growth -0.2% (2025)
- Agriculture, forestry, and fishing, value added 0.6% (2025)
- Agriculture, forestry, and fishing, value added 25.62 billion current US$ (2025)
- Land under cereal production 3.09 million hectares (2023)
- Cereal yield 7,138 kg per hectare (2023)
- Cereal production 22.05 million metric tons (2023)
- Fertilizer consumption 191.44 kilograms per hectare of arable land (2023)
Frequently asked questions
- What is rural population in United Kingdom?
- Rural population in United Kingdom was 11.59 million in 2025, according to World Urbanization Prospects, United Nations (UN).
- What is the highest rural population recorded in United Kingdom?
- The highest recorded value was 12.92 million in 1972.
- What is the lowest rural population recorded in United Kingdom?
- The lowest recorded value was 11.24 million in 1960.
- How does United Kingdom rank for rural population?
- United Kingdom ranks 46th out of 215 countries with data for 2025.
- Is rural population rising or falling in United Kingdom?
- Over the last ten years it is down 2.0%. The long-run trend across the full record is falling.
- Where does this United Kingdom 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.