Rural population — all countries

Rural population — Eastern Europe

Rural population in Eastern Europe in 2025 — 84,138,616 people. Since 1960, the indicator has fallen by 34.4%.

2025 84.14M people −0.2% vs 2024
World rank
Period maximum 128M people1960
Period minimum 84.14M people2025

Trend over time

1960–2025 · people

Rural population — Eastern Europe, 1960–202580M100M120M140M19601967197419811988199520022009201620231960: 128,283,254 people1962: 127,133,301 people1964: 125,933,634 people1966: 124,041,458 people1968: 121,923,367 people1970: 119,113,190 people1972: 116,142,500 people1974: 112,815,216 people1976: 110,020,014 people1978: 107,956,858 people1980: 105,524,063 people1982: 103,622,115 people1984: 102,007,924 people1986: 100,609,330 people1988: 99,112,087 people1990: 98,003,756 people1992: 98,143,915 people1994: 98,542,679 people1996: 98,064,199 people1998: 97,523,023 people2000: 96,737,773 people2002: 95,242,840 people2004: 94,169,475 people2006: 93,066,715 people2008: 91,826,581 people2010: 90,956,641 people2012: 90,283,940 people2014: 89,811,868 people2016: 89,441,088 people2018: 89,002,080 people2020: 88,338,701 people2022: 86,203,423 people2024: 84,304,340 people2025: 84,138,616 people
Change over the period: −44.14M (−34.41%) Average annual rate: -0.65 %

Comparison, 2025

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

Eastern Europe 84.14M people
World 3.46B people
Rural population — Eastern Europe, by year Eastern Europe All countries CSV XLSX
Year people Change Change, %
2025 84.14M −165,724 −0.2%
2024 84.3M −423,356 −0.5%
2023 84.73M −1.48M −1.71%
2022 86.2M −1.46M −1.67%
2021 87.67M −672,579 −0.76%
2020 88.34M −430,453 −0.48%
2019 88.77M −232,926 −0.26%
2018 89M −245,626 −0.28%
2017 89.25M −193,382 −0.22%
2016 89.44M −164,596 −0.18%
2015 89.61M −206,184 −0.23%
2014 89.81M −234,380 −0.26%
2013 90.05M −237,692 −0.26%
2012 90.28M −230,468 −0.25%
2011 90.51M −442,233 −0.49%
2010 90.96M −519,034 −0.57%
2009 91.48M −350,906 −0.38%
2008 91.83M −610,144 −0.66%
2007 92.44M −629,990 −0.68%
2006 93.07M −696,474 −0.74%
2005 93.76M −406,286 −0.43%
2004 94.17M −371,997 −0.39%
2003 94.54M −701,368 −0.74%
2002 95.24M −795,545 −0.83%
2001 96.04M −699,388 −0.72%
2000 96.74M −808,795 −0.83%
1999 97.55M +23,545 +0.02%
1998 97.52M −237,411 −0.24%
1997 97.76M −303,765 −0.31%
1996 98.06M −352,932 −0.36%
1995 98.42M −125,548 −0.13%
1994 98.54M +9,503 +0.01%
1993 98.53M +389,261 +0.4%
1992 98.14M +342,728 +0.35%
1991 97.8M −202,569 −0.21%
1990 98M −433,584 −0.44%
1989 98.44M −674,747 −0.68%
1988 99.11M −722,897 −0.72%
1987 99.83M −774,346 −0.77%
1986 101M −763,284 −0.75%
1985 101M −635,310 −0.62%
1984 102M −731,456 −0.71%
1983 103M −882,735 −0.85%
1982 104M −947,198 −0.91%
1981 105M −954,750 −0.9%
1980 106M −1.36M −1.27%
1979 107M −1.07M −0.99%
1978 108M −967,011 −0.89%
1977 109M −1.1M −1%
1976 110M −1.38M −1.24%
1975 111M −1.41M −1.25%
1974 113M −1.67M −1.46%
1973 114M −1.66M −1.43%
1972 116M −1.64M −1.39%
1971 118M −1.33M −1.12%
1970 119M −1.43M −1.19%
1969 121M −1.38M −1.13%
1968 122M −1.12M −0.91%
1967 123M −1M −0.81%
1966 124M −1.14M −0.91%
1965 125M −753,777 −0.6%
1964 126M −683,772 −0.54%
1963 127M −515,895 −0.41%
1962 127M −386,870 −0.3%
1961 128M −763,083 −0.59%
1960 128M

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.