Rural population — all countries

Rural population — Lower-middle-income countries

Rural population in lower-middle-income countries in 2025 — 1,860,854,681 people. Since 1960, the indicator has risen by 163.7%.

2025 1.86B people +0.54% vs 2024
World rank
Period maximum 1.86B people2025
Period minimum 706M people1960

Trend over time

1960–2025 · people

Rural population — Lower-middle-income countries, 1960–2025500M1B1.5B2B19601967197419811988199520022009201620231960: 705,713,234 people1962: 736,197,895 people1964: 767,581,458 people1966: 798,381,164 people1968: 829,051,347 people1970: 860,470,388 people1972: 891,150,171 people1974: 925,156,641 people1976: 959,521,802 people1978: 994,189,569 people1980: 1,032,843,717 people1982: 1,077,442,731 people1984: 1,123,203,314 people1986: 1,170,667,585 people1988: 1,218,701,382 people1990: 1,268,078,243 people1992: 1,315,981,590 people1994: 1,362,230,477 people1996: 1,408,480,818 people1998: 1,453,868,121 people2000: 1,497,788,372 people2002: 1,538,500,795 people2004: 1,574,638,970 people2006: 1,607,919,575 people2008: 1,640,221,936 people2010: 1,671,537,419 people2012: 1,703,808,060 people2014: 1,734,098,804 people2016: 1,762,611,953 people2018: 1,789,596,457 people2020: 1,813,449,449 people2022: 1,831,694,714 people2024: 1,850,823,215 people2025: 1,860,854,681 people
Change over the period: +1.16B (+163.68%) Average annual rate: 1.5 %

Comparison, 2025

How the value compares with the world and the groups this territory belongs to: Lower-middle-income countries

Lower-middle-income countries 1.86B people
World 3.46B people
Rural population — Lower-middle-income countries, by year Lower-middle-income countries All countries CSV XLSX
Year people Change Change, %
2025 1.86B +10.03M +0.54%
2024 1.85B +10.25M +0.56%
2023 1.84B +8.88M +0.48%
2022 1.83B +8.45M +0.46%
2021 1.82B +9.8M +0.54%
2020 1.81B +11.54M +0.64%
2019 1.8B +12.31M +0.69%
2018 1.79B +13.09M +0.74%
2017 1.78B +13.9M +0.79%
2016 1.76B +14.22M +0.81%
2015 1.75B +14.29M +0.82%
2014 1.73B +15.12M +0.88%
2013 1.72B +15.17M +0.89%
2012 1.7B +16.28M +0.96%
2011 1.69B +15.99M +0.96%
2010 1.67B +15.85M +0.96%
2009 1.66B +15.47M +0.94%
2008 1.64B +15.76M +0.97%
2007 1.62B +16.54M +1.03%
2006 1.61B +16.42M +1.03%
2005 1.59B +16.86M +1.07%
2004 1.57B +17.89M +1.15%
2003 1.56B +18.24M +1.19%
2002 1.54B +19.5M +1.28%
2001 1.52B +21.21M +1.42%
2000 1.5B +21.76M +1.47%
1999 1.48B +22.16M +1.52%
1998 1.45B +22.73M +1.59%
1997 1.43B +22.66M +1.61%
1996 1.41B +23.09M +1.67%
1995 1.39B +23.16M +1.7%
1994 1.36B +22.97M +1.72%
1993 1.34B +23.28M +1.77%
1992 1.32B +23.55M +1.82%
1991 1.29B +24.36M +1.92%
1990 1.27B +25.19M +2.03%
1989 1.24B +24.19M +1.98%
1988 1.22B +24.05M +2.01%
1987 1.19B +23.98M +2.05%
1986 1.17B +23.93M +2.09%
1985 1.15B +23.54M +2.1%
1984 1.12B +23.06M +2.1%
1983 1.1B +22.7M +2.11%
1982 1.08B +22.56M +2.14%
1981 1.05B +22.03M +2.13%
1980 1.03B +20.35M +2.01%
1979 1.01B +18.3M +1.84%
1978 994M +17.38M +1.78%
1977 977M +17.29M +1.8%
1976 960M +16.69M +1.77%
1975 943M +17.67M +1.91%
1974 925M +17.7M +1.95%
1973 907M +16.31M +1.83%
1972 891M +15.27M +1.74%
1971 876M +15.41M +1.79%
1970 860M +15.98M +1.89%
1969 844M +15.44M +1.86%
1968 829M +15.43M +1.9%
1967 814M +15.24M +1.91%
1966 798M +15.23M +1.94%
1965 783M +15.57M +2.03%
1964 768M +15.76M +2.1%
1963 752M +15.62M +2.12%
1962 736M +15.42M +2.14%
1961 721M +15.07M +2.14%
1960 706M

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.