Chile's rural population growth (annual %) was -1.19% in 2025, the latest year in the World Bank's World Development Indicators. That is down 1.01 percentage points from -0.18% in 2015.
Key figures
| Value | Year | |
|---|---|---|
| Latest | -1.19% | 2025 |
| Five years earlier | -0.53% | 2020 |
| Ten years earlier | -0.18% | 2015 |
| Highest | 1.09% | 1988 |
| Lowest | -1.73% | 1975 |
| Average since 2016 | -0.51% | 2016–2025 |
| First recorded | -0.53% | 1961 |
What the numbers say
In 2025, Chile's rural population growth (annual %) fell 0.11 percentage points on 2024 (from -1.08% to -1.19%).
Across the 30 yearly changes before that (1995 to 2024), the average change was −0.02 percentage points and a typical year strayed about 0.29 percentage points from that (the standard deviation). This year's change was 0.3 standard deviations below that average, so it was an ordinary year: it sits within the range of normal year-to-year movement.
On record, the biggest yearly rise was 0.66 percentage points in 2002 and the biggest yearly fall was 0.74 percentage points in 2020. The numbers show how large and when, not why; for the cause, look at what happened in that country in those years.
From 2016 to 2025 the straight-line trend is downward, about 0.18 percentage points a year. A straight line explains 75% of the movement over 10 observed years.
Worked out from the yearly values above. How the checks work: standard deviation, z-scores and straight-line trends.
How it compares
In 2025, Chile had the 175th highest value of the 205 economies reporting that year. Higher is not always better: for some indicators the lowest value is the one to aim for. See the full ranking.
| Value | Year | |
|---|---|---|
| Chile | -1.19% | 2025 |
| World | 0.3% | 2025 |
| Latin America & Caribbean | -0.6% | 2025 |
| High income | -0.18% | 2025 |
Closest to Chile in the 2025 ranking
What this measures
Annual rural population growth rate for year t is the exponential rate of growth of midyear rural population from year t-1 to t, expressed as a percentage. Rural population refers to people living in rural areas as defined by national statistical offices. It is calculated as the difference between total population and urban population.
Limitations: Aggregation of urban and rural population may not add up to total population because of different country coverage. Estimates of the world's urban population would change significantly if China, India, and a few other populous nations were to change their definition of urban centers. Because the estimates of city and metropolitan area are based on national definitions of what constitutes a city or metropolitan area, cross-country comparisons should be made with caution. To estimate urban populations, UN ratios of urban to total population were applied to the World Bank's estimates of total population.
Regional and income-group figures are computed by the World Bank as a weighted average.
All 65 values
| Year | Rural population growth (annual %) |
|---|---|
| 2025 | -1.19 |
| 2024 | -1.08 |
| 2023 | -1.02 |
| 2022 | -1.02 |
| 2021 | -1.03 |
| 2020 | -0.5284 |
| 2019 | 0.2163 |
| 2018 | 0.4485 |
| 2017 | 0.205 |
| 2016 | -0.1181 |
| 2015 |
Rural population growth (annual %) in nearby economies
- Antigua and Barbuda — 0.54% (2025)
- Argentina — -0.67% (2025)
- Aruba — 0.84% (2025)
- Bahamas, The — 0.4% (2025)
- Barbados — -0.34% (2025)
- Belize — 1.72% (2025)
- Bolivia — 0.21% (2025)
- Brazil — -1.97% (2025)
- British Virgin Islands — -1.4% (2025)
- Colombia — -0.21% (2025)
- Costa Rica
More environment data for Chile
- Population in largest city — 7 million (2025)
- Population in the largest city (% of urban population) — 39.52% (2025)
- Population in urban agglomerations of more than 1 million — 7 million (2025)
- Population in urban agglomerations of more than 1 million (% of total population) — 35.24% (2025)
- Rural population — 2.15 million (2025)
- Rural population (% of total population) — 10.82% (2025)
- Urban population — 17.71 million (2025)
- Urban population (% of total population) — 89.18% (2025)
- Aquaculture production (metric tons) — 1.42 million (2024)
- Capture fisheries production (metric tons)
Reading data like this
Questions people ask
- What is Chile's rural population growth (annual %)?
- -1.19% in 2025, according to the World Bank (World Development Indicators).
- How has it changed since 1961?
- It is down 0.65 percentage points from -0.53% in 1961. The highest value was 1.09% in 1988 and the lowest -1.73% in 1975.
- How does Chile rank?
- 175th highest of 205 economies with data for 2025.
- Is the latest change in rural population growth (annual %) unusual for Chile?
- In 2025, Chile's rural population growth (annual %) fell 0.11 percentage points on 2024 (from -1.08% to -1.19%). Across the 30 yearly changes before that (1995 to 2024), the average change was −0.02 percentage points and a typical year strayed about 0.29 percentage points from that (the standard deviation). This year's change was 0.3 standard deviations below that average, so it was an ordinary year: it sits within the range of normal year-to-year movement.
Source
World Bank, World Development Indicators, indicator SP.RUR.TOTL.ZG, licensed CC BY 4.0. Original source: World Urbanization Prospects, United Nations (UN), uri: https://population.un.org/wup/, note: World Bank staff estimates based on the United Nations Population Division's World Urbanization Prospects, National definitions, publisher: UN Population Division; Staff estimates, World Bank (WB), note: Wo… Figures are fetched from the World Bank API and refreshed monthly; see the series on data.worldbank.org. The full definition and method are in the World Bank's metadata glossary. Comparisons use the same World Bank release.
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