Rural population in World
World: Rural population was 3.46 billion in 2025. ▲ Rising
Rural population in World, 1960–2025
Source: World Urbanization Prospects, United Nations (UN).
Analysis
The most recent figure for rural population in World is 3.46 billion, measured in 2025. That is the highest value across all 66 years on record.
That represents a change of up 0.3% on the previous year and up 2.2% over ten years.
Over the whole period, rural population in World peaked at 3.46 billion in 2025 and was at its lowest, 1.99 billion, in 1960.
The long-run direction has been consistently rising across the 66 years of available data.
Averages by decade
| Decade | Average | Lowest | Highest | Years |
|---|---|---|---|---|
| 1960s | 2.13 billion | 1.99 billion | 2.30 billion | 10 |
| 1970s | 2.51 billion | 2.34 billion | 2.65 billion | 10 |
| 1980s | 2.83 billion | 2.69 billion | 2.99 billion | 10 |
| 1990s | 3.16 billion | 3.03 billion | 3.26 billion | 10 |
| 2000s | 3.32 billion | 3.28 billion | 3.36 billion | 10 |
| 2010s | 3.39 billion | 3.37 billion | 3.41 billion | 10 |
| 2020s | 3.44 billion | 3.42 billion | 3.46 billion | 6 |
More agriculture & rural data for World
- Agricultural raw materials exports 1.2% (2024)
- Agricultural raw materials imports 1.2% (2024)
- Rural population 42.2% (2025)
- Rural population growth 0.3% (2025)
- Agriculture, forestry, and fishing, value added 4.0% (2025)
- Agriculture, forestry, and fishing, value added 4.75 trillion current US$ (2025)
- Land under cereal production 415.70 million hectares (2024)
- Cereal yield 3,955 kg per hectare (2024)
- Cereal production 1.64 billion metric tons (2024)
- Fertilizer consumption 137.65 kilograms per hectare of arable land (2023)
Frequently asked questions
- What is rural population in World?
- Rural population in World was 3.46 billion in 2025, according to World Urbanization Prospects, United Nations (UN).
- What is the highest rural population recorded in World?
- The highest recorded value was 3.46 billion in 2025.
- What is the lowest rural population recorded in World?
- The lowest recorded value was 1.99 billion in 1960.
- Is rural population rising or falling in World?
- Over the last ten years it is up 2.2%. The long-run trend across the full record is rising.
- Where does this World 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.