Rural population — all countries

Rural population — Eastern Asia

Rural population in Eastern Asia in 2025 — 503,188,593 people. Since 1960, the indicator has fallen by 15.5%.

2025 503M people −1.44% vs 2024
World rank
Period maximum 903M people1995
Period minimum 503M people2025

Trend over time

1960–2025 · people

Rural population — Eastern Asia, 1960–2025500M600M700M800M900M1B19601967197419811988199520022009201620231960: 595,736,342 people1962: 610,208,284 people1964: 629,920,297 people1966: 662,775,455 people1968: 695,690,656 people1970: 732,460,681 people1972: 769,712,564 people1974: 799,945,832 people1976: 822,270,765 people1978: 838,587,022 people1980: 844,426,722 people1982: 854,278,986 people1984: 850,717,383 people1986: 856,754,381 people1988: 867,416,583 people1990: 886,665,076 people1992: 893,258,939 people1994: 899,746,931 people1996: 893,939,741 people1998: 875,275,173 people2000: 850,002,403 people2002: 824,796,114 people2004: 794,651,523 people2006: 765,816,255 people2008: 735,614,132 people2010: 710,842,819 people2012: 666,469,197 people2014: 638,295,997 people2016: 602,387,295 people2018: 571,131,275 people2020: 545,683,481 people2022: 521,678,969 people2024: 510,563,734 people2025: 503,188,593 people
Change over the period: −92.55M (−15.54%) Average annual rate: -0.26 %

Comparison, 2025

How the value compares with the world and the groups this territory belongs to: Eastern Asia

Eastern Asia 503M people
World 3.46B people
Rural population — Eastern Asia, by year Eastern Asia All countries CSV XLSX
Year people Change Change, %
2025 503M −7.38M −1.44%
2024 511M −5.97M −1.16%
2023 517M −5.15M −0.99%
2022 522M −7.32M −1.38%
2021 529M −16.69M −3.06%
2020 546M −10.29M −1.85%
2019 556M −15.15M −2.65%
2018 571M −15.11M −2.58%
2017 586M −16.14M −2.68%
2016 602M −17.62M −2.84%
2015 620M −18.29M −2.86%
2014 638M −13.39M −2.05%
2013 652M −14.78M −2.22%
2012 666M −12.93M −1.9%
2011 679M −31.44M −4.42%
2010 711M −9.23M −1.28%
2009 720M −15.54M −2.11%
2008 736M −12.2M −1.63%
2007 748M −18M −2.35%
2006 766M −15.12M −1.94%
2005 781M −13.72M −1.73%
2004 795M −13.99M −1.73%
2003 809M −16.16M −1.96%
2002 825M −14.79M −1.76%
2001 840M −10.41M −1.22%
2000 850M −14.52M −1.68%
1999 865M −10.75M −1.23%
1998 875M −9.79M −1.11%
1997 885M −8.87M −0.99%
1996 894M −8.58M −0.95%
1995 903M +2.77M +0.31%
1994 900M +3.24M +0.36%
1993 897M +3.25M +0.36%
1992 893M +4.01M +0.45%
1991 889M +2.59M +0.29%
1990 887M +11.76M +1.34%
1989 875M +7.48M +0.86%
1988 867M +6.93M +0.81%
1987 860M +3.74M +0.44%
1986 857M +2.78M +0.33%
1985 854M +3.26M +0.38%
1984 851M −4.15M −0.49%
1983 855M +591,510 +0.07%
1982 854M +7.44M +0.88%
1981 847M +2.41M +0.29%
1980 844M +5.54M +0.66%
1979 839M +295,726 +0.04%
1978 839M +6.91M +0.83%
1977 832M +9.41M +1.14%
1976 822M +10.94M +1.35%
1975 811M +11.39M +1.42%
1974 800M +15.02M +1.91%
1973 785M +15.21M +1.98%
1972 770M +17.75M +2.36%
1971 752M +19.5M +2.66%
1970 732M +18.75M +2.63%
1969 714M +18.02M +2.59%
1968 696M +16.75M +2.47%
1967 679M +16.17M +2.44%
1966 663M +17.1M +2.65%
1965 646M +15.75M +2.5%
1964 630M +2.88M +0.46%
1963 627M +16.83M +2.76%
1962 610M +17.23M +2.91%
1961 593M −2.76M −0.46%
1960 596M

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.