Rural population — all countries

Rural population — World

Rural population in the world in 2025 — 3,464,845,933 people. Since 1960, the indicator has risen by 74.4%.

2025 3.46B people +0.3% vs 2024
World rank
Period maximum 3.46B people2025
Period minimum 1.99B people1960

Trend over time

1960–2025 · people

Rural population — World, 1960–20251.5B2B2.5B3B3.5B19601967197419811988199520022009201620231960: 1,987,140,930 people1962: 2,044,996,810 people1964: 2,108,512,595 people1966: 2,183,202,981 people1968: 2,258,264,446 people1970: 2,339,082,339 people1972: 2,420,179,648 people1974: 2,495,662,793 people1976: 2,564,343,977 people1978: 2,628,234,469 people1980: 2,685,574,582 people1982: 2,752,595,325 people1984: 2,809,072,296 people1986: 2,875,956,381 people1988: 2,947,264,976 people1990: 3,029,303,859 people1992: 3,097,179,977 people1994: 3,163,377,399 people1996: 3,213,684,390 people1998: 3,248,500,338 people2000: 3,275,477,468 people2002: 3,301,122,643 people2004: 3,319,807,546 people2006: 3,338,274,707 people2008: 3,354,925,931 people2010: 3,377,228,021 people2012: 3,378,840,855 people2014: 3,389,311,321 people2016: 3,395,609,878 people2018: 3,405,390,776 people2020: 3,420,814,813 people2022: 3,429,304,537 people2024: 3,454,540,999 people2025: 3,464,845,933 people
Change over the period: +1.48B (+74.36%) Average annual rate: 0.86 %

Comparison, 2025

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

World 3.46B people
World 3.46B people
Rural population — World, by year World All countries CSV XLSX
Year people Change Change, %
2025 3.46B +10.3M +0.3%
2024 3.45B +12.62M +0.37%
2023 3.44B +12.62M +0.37%
2022 3.43B +8.78M +0.26%
2021 3.42B −291,837 −0.01%
2020 3.42B +9.83M +0.29%
2019 3.41B +5.6M +0.16%
2018 3.41B +3.54M +0.1%
2017 3.4B +6.24M +0.18%
2016 3.4B +4.4M +0.13%
2015 3.39B +1.9M +0.06%
2014 3.39B +6.06M +0.18%
2013 3.38B +4.41M +0.13%
2012 3.38B +9.7M +0.29%
2011 3.37B −8.09M −0.24%
2010 3.38B +14.15M +0.42%
2009 3.36B +8.15M +0.24%
2008 3.35B +10.92M +0.33%
2007 3.34B +5.73M +0.17%
2006 3.34B +8.4M +0.25%
2005 3.33B +10.06M +0.3%
2004 3.32B +10.27M +0.31%
2003 3.31B +8.42M +0.26%
2002 3.3B +10.46M +0.32%
2001 3.29B +15.19M +0.46%
2000 3.28B +11.11M +0.34%
1999 3.26B +15.86M +0.49%
1998 3.25B +16.89M +0.52%
1997 3.23B +17.92M +0.56%
1996 3.21B +19.35M +0.61%
1995 3.19B +30.95M +0.98%
1994 3.16B +32.09M +1.02%
1993 3.13B +34.11M +1.1%
1992 3.1B +34.88M +1.14%
1991 3.06B +33M +1.09%
1990 3.03B +43.7M +1.46%
1989 2.99B +38.34M +1.3%
1988 2.95B +37.35M +1.28%
1987 2.91B +33.96M +1.18%
1986 2.88B +33.13M +1.17%
1985 2.84B +33.76M +1.2%
1984 2.81B +26.03M +0.94%
1983 2.78B +30.45M +1.11%
1982 2.75B +36.58M +1.35%
1981 2.72B +30.44M +1.13%
1980 2.69B +31.86M +1.2%
1979 2.65B +25.48M +0.97%
1978 2.63B +31.14M +1.2%
1977 2.6B +32.76M +1.28%
1976 2.56B +33.65M +1.33%
1975 2.53B +35.04M +1.4%
1974 2.5B +38.12M +1.55%
1973 2.46B +37.36M +1.54%
1972 2.42B +39.29M +1.65%
1971 2.38B +41.81M +1.79%
1970 2.34B +41.2M +1.79%
1969 2.3B +39.61M +1.75%
1968 2.26B +38.09M +1.72%
1967 2.22B +36.97M +1.69%
1966 2.18B +37.62M +1.75%
1965 2.15B +37.07M +1.76%
1964 2.11B +24.76M +1.19%
1963 2.08B +38.75M +1.9%
1962 2.04B +39.22M +1.96%
1961 2.01B +18.64M +0.94%
1960 1.99B

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.