Rural population in Zambia
Zambia: Rural population was 11.85 million in 2025. ▲ Rising
Rural population in Zambia, 1960–2025
Source: World Urbanization Prospects, United Nations (UN).
Analysis
The most recent figure for rural population in Zambia is 11.85 million, measured in 2025. That is the highest value across all 66 years on record.
The figure is up 2.0% on the previous year and up 24.5% over ten years.
Over the whole period, rural population in Zambia peaked at 11.85 million in 2025 and was at its lowest, 2.61 million, in 1960.
That places Zambia 45th out of 215 countries with data for 2025, putting it 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 | 2.81 million | 2.61 million | 2.96 million | 10 |
| 1970s | 3.16 million | 3.00 million | 3.40 million | 10 |
| 1980s | 4.03 million | 3.49 million | 4.60 million | 10 |
| 1990s | 5.39 million | 4.72 million | 6.22 million | 10 |
| 2000s | 7.27 million | 6.42 million | 8.16 million | 10 |
| 2010s | 9.41 million | 8.39 million | 10.46 million | 10 |
| 2020s | 11.28 million | 10.70 million | 11.85 million | 6 |
Countries ranked near Zambia
More agriculture & rural data for Zambia
- Agricultural raw materials exports 0.4% (2024)
- Agricultural raw materials imports 0.7% (2024)
- Rural population 54.1% (2025)
- Rural population growth 1.9% (2025)
- Agriculture, forestry, and fishing, value added 4.1% (2025)
- Agriculture, forestry, and fishing, value added 1.19 billion current US$ (2025)
- Land under cereal production 1.56 million hectares (2023)
- Cereal yield 2,344 kg per hectare (2023)
- Cereal production 3.66 million metric tons (2023)
- Fertilizer consumption 77.27 kilograms per hectare of arable land (2023)
Frequently asked questions
- What is rural population in Zambia?
- Rural population in Zambia was 11.85 million in 2025, according to World Urbanization Prospects, United Nations (UN).
- What is the highest rural population recorded in Zambia?
- The highest recorded value was 11.85 million in 2025.
- What is the lowest rural population recorded in Zambia?
- The lowest recorded value was 2.61 million in 1960.
- How does Zambia rank for rural population?
- Zambia ranks 45th out of 215 countries with data for 2025.
- Is rural population rising or falling in Zambia?
- Over the last ten years it is up 24.5%. The long-run trend across the full record is rising.
- Where does this Zambia 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.