Post-demographic dividend: Rural population growth (annual %)

Key figures

What the numbers say

In 2025, Post-demographic dividend's rural population growth (annual %) fell 0.22 percentage points on 2024 (from 0.13% to -0.09%).

Across the 30 yearly changes before that (1995 to 2024), the average change was +0.02 percentage points and a typical year strayed about 0.19 percentage points from that (the standard deviation). This year's change was 1.3 standard deviations below that average, so it was larger than a typical year, though not out of the range seen before.

On record, the biggest yearly rise was 0.46 percentage points in 2024 and the biggest yearly fall was 0.44 percentage points in 2021. 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 there is no clear straight-line trend: a straight line explains 7% of the movement over 10 observed years, so the value is moving around more than it is heading anywhere.

Worked out from the yearly values above. How the checks work: standard deviation, z-scores and straight-line trends.

How it compares

See how every economy compares in the full 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

Rural population growth (annual %) in nearby economies

• Afghanistan — 2.44% (2025)
• Algeria — -0.89% (2025)
• Djibouti — 1.04% (2025)
• Egypt, Arab Rep. — 1.37% (2025)
• Iran, Islamic Rep. — -0.64% (2025)
• Iraq — 1.93% (2025)
• Israel — 0.7% (2025)
• Jordan — -4.01% (2025)
• Lebanon — -2.05% (2025)
• Libya — 0.83% (2025)
• Malta

More environment data for Post-demographic dividend

• Population in the largest city (% of urban population) — 17.64% (2025)
• Population in urban agglomerations of more than 1 million (% of total population) — 37.74% (2025)
• Rural population — 212.43 million (2025)
• Rural population (% of total population) — 18.76% (2025)
• Urban population — 920.19 million (2025)
• Urban population (% of total population) — 81.24% (2025)
• Electric power transmission and distribution losses (% of output) — 5.38% (2024)
• Fossil fuel energy consumption (% of total) — 76.16% (2024)

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Questions people ask

What is Post-demographic dividend's rural population growth (annual %)?

-0.09% in 2025, according to the World Bank (World Development Indicators).

How has it changed since 1961?

It is up 0.24 percentage points from -0.33% in 1961. The highest value was 0.13% in 2024 and the lowest -1.38% in 2004.

Is the latest change in rural population growth (annual %) unusual for Post-demographic dividend?

In 2025, Post-demographic dividend's rural population growth (annual %) fell 0.22 percentage points on 2024 (from 0.13% to -0.09%). Across the 30 yearly changes before that (1995 to 2024), the average change was +0.02 percentage points and a typical year strayed about 0.19 percentage points from that (the standard deviation). This year's change was 1.3 standard deviations below that average, so it was larger than a typical year, though not out of the range seen before.

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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