Bosnia and Herzegovina - Rural population

The value for Rural population in Bosnia and Herzegovina was 1,672,559 as of 2020. As the graph below shows, over the past 60 years this indicator reached a maximum value of 2,769,576 in 1988 and a minimum value of 1,672,559 in 2020.

Definition: 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. Aggregation of urban and rural population may not add up to total population because of different country coverages.

Source: World Bank staff estimates based on the United Nations Population Division's World Urbanization Prospects: 2018 Revision.

See also:

Year Value
1960 2,611,498
1961 2,641,209
1962 2,667,929
1963 2,692,740
1964 2,713,480
1965 2,728,907
1966 2,738,320
1967 2,742,345
1968 2,742,362
1969 2,740,412
1970 2,737,633
1971 2,736,229
1972 2,739,133
1973 2,741,098
1974 2,740,987
1975 2,738,247
1976 2,732,434
1977 2,724,083
1978 2,714,107
1979 2,703,888
1980 2,694,206
1981 2,690,479
1982 2,703,827
1983 2,716,868
1984 2,729,502
1985 2,741,175
1986 2,753,867
1987 2,766,101
1988 2,769,576
1989 2,753,601
1990 2,711,573
1991 2,640,031
1992 2,544,988
1993 2,439,369
1994 2,341,997
1995 2,266,146
1996 2,216,113
1997 2,187,768
1998 2,175,065
1999 2,168,562
2000 2,161,278
2001 2,151,985
2002 2,142,325
2003 2,132,027
2004 2,121,199
2005 2,109,904
2006 2,098,018
2007 2,084,549
2008 2,067,847
2009 2,045,841
2010 2,017,336
2011 1,981,500
2012 1,939,511
2013 1,894,617
2014 1,851,088
2015 1,811,629
2016 1,777,179
2017 1,746,954
2018 1,720,299
2019 1,695,855
2020 1,672,559

Development Relevance: The rural population is calculated using the urban share reported by the United Nations Population Division. There is no universal standard for distinguishing rural from urban areas, and any urban-rural dichotomy is an oversimplification. The two distinct images - isolated farm, thriving metropolis - represent poles on a continuum. Life changes along a variety of dimensions, moving from the most remote forest outpost through fields and pastures, past tiny hamlets, through small towns with weekly farm markets, into intensively cultivated areas near large towns and small cities, eventually reaching the center of a megacity. Along the way access to infrastructure, social services, and nonfarm employment increase, and with them population density and income. A 2005 World Bank Policy Research Paper proposes an operational definition of rurality based on population density and distance to large cities (Chomitz, Buys, and Thomas 2005). The report argues that these criteria are important gradients along which economic behavior and appropriate development interventions vary substantially. Where population densities are low, markets of all kinds are thin, and the unit cost of delivering most social services and many types of infrastructure is high. Where large urban areas are distant, farm-gate or factory-gate prices of outputs will be low and input prices will be high, and it will be difficult to recruit skilled people to public service or private enterprises. Thus, low population density and remoteness together define a set of rural areas that face special development challenges. Countries differ in the way they classify population as "urban" or "rural." Most countries use an urban classification related to the size or characteristics of settlements. Some define urban areas based on the presence of certain infrastructure and services. And other countries designate urban areas based on administrative arrangements. Because of national differences in the characteristics that distinguish urban from rural areas, the distinction between urban and rural population is not amenable to a single definition that would be applicable to all countries. Rural population methodology is defined by various national statistical offices. In the United States, for example, the US Census Bureau's urban-rural classification is fundamentally a delineation of geographical areas, identifying both individual urban areas and the rural areas of the nation. "Rural" encompasses all population, housing, and territory not included within an urban area.

Limitations and Exceptions: Aggregation of urban and rural population may not add up to total population because of different country coverage. There is no consistent and universally accepted standard for distinguishing urban from rural areas, in part because of the wide variety of situations across countries. 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.

Statistical Concept and Methodology: Rural population is calculated as the difference between the total population and the urban population. Rural population is approximated as the midyear nonurban population. While a practical means of identifying the rural population, it is not a precise measure. The United Nations Population Division and other agencies provide current population estimates for developing countries that lack recent census data and pre- and post-census estimates for countries with census data.

Aggregation method: Sum

Periodicity: Annual

Classification

Topic: Environment Indicators

Sub-Topic: Density & urbanization