Rural population — all countries

Rural population — Sub-Saharan Africa

Rural population in Sub-Saharan Africa in 2025 — 731,422,742 people. Since 1960, the indicator has risen by 275%.

2025 731M people +1.53% vs 2024
World rank
Period maximum 731M people2025
Period minimum 195M people1960

Trend over time

1960–2025 · people

Rural population — Sub-Saharan Africa, 1960–20250200M400M600M800M19601967197419811988199520022009201620231960: 195,047,008 people1962: 203,007,470 people1964: 211,448,812 people1966: 220,319,188 people1968: 229,678,537 people1970: 239,644,540 people1972: 249,865,484 people1974: 260,859,511 people1976: 272,527,133 people1978: 284,950,368 people1980: 298,790,186 people1982: 313,802,542 people1984: 328,430,342 people1986: 343,155,816 people1988: 357,877,222 people1990: 372,881,009 people1992: 388,445,456 people1994: 405,108,307 people1996: 422,543,602 people1998: 440,287,850 people2000: 458,427,232 people2002: 476,913,489 people2004: 495,803,086 people2006: 515,395,835 people2008: 536,308,149 people2010: 558,620,258 people2012: 581,641,977 people2014: 604,871,942 people2016: 628,106,482 people2018: 651,579,221 people2020: 675,566,145 people2022: 698,152,988 people2024: 720,435,736 people2025: 731,422,742 people
Change over the period: +536M (+275%) Average annual rate: 2.05 %

Comparison, 2025

How the value compares with the world and the groups this territory belongs to: Sub-Saharan Africa

Sub-Saharan Africa 731M people
World 3.46B people
Rural population — Sub-Saharan Africa, by year Sub-Saharan Africa All countries CSV XLSX
Year people Change Change, %
2025 731M +10.99M +1.53%
2024 720M +10.97M +1.55%
2023 709M +11.32M +1.62%
2022 698M +11.05M +1.61%
2021 687M +11.54M +1.71%
2020 676M +11.92M +1.8%
2019 664M +12.07M +1.85%
2018 652M +11.82M +1.85%
2017 640M +11.65M +1.85%
2016 628M +11.65M +1.89%
2015 616M +11.58M +1.91%
2014 605M +11.53M +1.94%
2013 593M +11.7M +2.01%
2012 582M +11.57M +2.03%
2011 570M +11.45M +2.05%
2010 559M +11.34M +2.07%
2009 547M +10.97M +2.05%
2008 536M +10.34M +1.97%
2007 526M +10.57M +2.05%
2006 515M +9.87M +1.95%
2005 506M +9.72M +1.96%
2004 496M +9.5M +1.95%
2003 486M +9.39M +1.97%
2002 477M +9.31M +1.99%
2001 468M +9.18M +2%
2000 458M +9.09M +2.02%
1999 449M +9.05M +2.05%
1998 440M +8.9M +2.06%
1997 431M +8.84M +2.09%
1996 423M +8.99M +2.17%
1995 414M +8.44M +2.08%
1994 405M +8.17M +2.06%
1993 397M +8.49M +2.19%
1992 388M +8.09M +2.13%
1991 380M +7.48M +2%
1990 373M +7.61M +2.08%
1989 365M +7.39M +2.07%
1988 358M +7.37M +2.1%
1987 351M +7.35M +2.14%
1986 343M +7.41M +2.21%
1985 336M +7.31M +2.23%
1984 328M +7.17M +2.23%
1983 321M +7.46M +2.38%
1982 314M +7.75M +2.53%
1981 306M +7.26M +2.43%
1980 299M +6.86M +2.35%
1979 292M +6.98M +2.45%
1978 285M +6.49M +2.33%
1977 278M +5.94M +2.18%
1976 273M +5.9M +2.21%
1975 267M +5.76M +2.21%
1974 261M +5.64M +2.21%
1973 255M +5.36M +2.14%
1972 250M +5.11M +2.09%
1971 245M +5.11M +2.13%
1970 240M +5.05M +2.15%
1969 235M +4.91M +2.14%
1968 230M +4.76M +2.12%
1967 225M +4.59M +2.09%
1966 220M +4.47M +2.07%
1965 216M +4.4M +2.08%
1964 211M +4.28M +2.07%
1963 207M +4.16M +2.05%
1962 203M +4.05M +2.03%
1961 199M +3.91M +2.01%
1960 195M

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.