Rural population — all countries

Rural population — Euro area

Rural population in the Euro area in 2025 — 80,788,475 people. Since 1960, the indicator has fallen by 26.2%.

2025 80.79M people −0.3% vs 2024
World rank
Period maximum 109M people1960
Period minimum 80.79M people2025

Trend over time

1960–2025 · people

Rural population — Euro area, 1960–202580M90M100M110M19601967197419811988199520022009201620231960: 109,442,679 people1962: 107,965,253 people1964: 105,538,436 people1966: 102,710,067 people1968: 100,393,206 people1970: 98,622,772 people1972: 97,449,801 people1974: 96,452,027 people1976: 95,999,876 people1978: 95,331,678 people1980: 94,803,712 people1982: 94,074,278 people1984: 93,217,318 people1986: 92,598,973 people1988: 92,011,767 people1990: 91,751,784 people1992: 91,577,536 people1994: 91,211,539 people1996: 90,479,309 people1998: 89,310,312 people2000: 88,534,347 people2002: 87,583,384 people2004: 87,426,590 people2006: 87,170,707 people2008: 87,214,093 people2010: 86,691,880 people2012: 85,665,923 people2014: 84,484,471 people2016: 83,239,988 people2018: 82,501,364 people2020: 81,820,798 people2022: 81,262,963 people2024: 81,032,666 people2025: 80,788,475 people
Change over the period: −28.65M (−26.18%) Average annual rate: -0.47 %

Comparison, 2025

How the value compares with the world and the groups this territory belongs to: Euro area

Euro area 80.79M people
World 3.46B people
Rural population — Euro area, by year Euro area All countries CSV XLSX
Year people Change Change, %
2025 80.79M −244,191 −0.3%
2024 81.03M −140,930 −0.17%
2023 81.17M −89,367 −0.11%
2022 81.26M −213,579 −0.26%
2021 81.48M −344,256 −0.42%
2020 81.82M −278,761 −0.34%
2019 82.1M −401,805 −0.49%
2018 82.5M −429,946 −0.52%
2017 82.93M −308,678 −0.37%
2016 83.24M −719,219 −0.86%
2015 83.96M −525,264 −0.62%
2014 84.48M −526,583 −0.62%
2013 85.01M −654,869 −0.76%
2012 85.67M −394,387 −0.46%
2011 86.06M −631,570 −0.73%
2010 86.69M −348,115 −0.4%
2009 87.04M −174,098 −0.2%
2008 87.21M +52,408 +0.06%
2007 87.16M −9,022 −0.01%
2006 87.17M −146,644 −0.17%
2005 87.32M −109,239 −0.12%
2004 87.43M −51,386 −0.06%
2003 87.48M −105,408 −0.12%
2002 87.58M −277,610 −0.32%
2001 87.86M −673,353 −0.76%
2000 88.53M −480,511 −0.54%
1999 89.01M −295,454 −0.33%
1998 89.31M −455,050 −0.51%
1997 89.77M −713,947 −0.79%
1996 90.48M −481,434 −0.53%
1995 90.96M −250,796 −0.27%
1994 91.21M −237,875 −0.26%
1993 91.45M −128,122 −0.14%
1992 91.58M −83,512 −0.09%
1991 91.66M −90,736 −0.1%
1990 91.75M −68,649 −0.07%
1989 91.82M −191,334 −0.21%
1988 92.01M −269,199 −0.29%
1987 92.28M −318,007 −0.34%
1986 92.6M −338,132 −0.36%
1985 92.94M −280,213 −0.3%
1984 93.22M −453,045 −0.48%
1983 93.67M −403,915 −0.43%
1982 94.07M −413,781 −0.44%
1981 94.49M −315,653 −0.33%
1980 94.8M −219,540 −0.23%
1979 95.02M −308,426 −0.32%
1978 95.33M −330,882 −0.35%
1977 95.66M −337,316 −0.35%
1976 96M −253,575 −0.26%
1975 96.25M −198,576 −0.21%
1974 96.45M −534,466 −0.55%
1973 96.99M −463,308 −0.48%
1972 97.45M −483,448 −0.49%
1971 97.93M −689,523 −0.7%
1970 98.62M −850,250 −0.85%
1969 99.47M −920,184 −0.92%
1968 100M −1.05M −1.03%
1967 101M −1.27M −1.24%
1966 103M −1.36M −1.31%
1965 104M −1.47M −1.39%
1964 106M −1.4M −1.31%
1963 107M −1.03M −0.95%
1962 108M −806,143 −0.74%
1961 109M −671,283 −0.61%
1960 109M

About the indicator

The population living outside urban settlements. In the catalog this quantity was present only as a share, while the absolute number shows what the share does not: the world's rural population stopped growing only in the 2020s and still exceeds three billion people, even though the share has been falling for half a century. Each country defines a city itself, so cross-country comparisons of this series call for caution.

Important: It is computed as the difference between total and urban population, and the criterion for a city is national: in some places it is a settlement of two thousand residents, in others twenty thousand. Comparing the trend within a country is more reliable than comparing countries with each other.

Source: World Population Prospects (UN), license CC BY 3.0 IGO.