IDA total - Rural population

The value for Rural population in IDA total was 1,058,416,000 as of 2020. As the graph below shows, over the past 60 years this indicator reached a maximum value of 1,058,416,000 in 2020 and a minimum value of 326,999,500 in 1960.

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 326,999,500
1961 333,762,500
1962 340,782,200
1963 348,016,300
1964 355,489,700
1965 363,225,900
1966 371,286,100
1967 379,536,000
1968 387,942,900
1969 396,376,800
1970 404,807,500
1971 413,013,600
1972 421,193,300
1973 429,438,300
1974 437,919,100
1975 448,676,100
1976 457,858,400
1977 467,379,100
1978 477,154,100
1979 487,386,600
1980 497,687,800
1981 508,321,400
1982 519,893,400
1983 531,621,900
1984 543,447,700
1985 555,422,600
1986 567,656,000
1987 580,125,900
1988 592,822,700
1989 605,836,500
1990 618,988,500
1991 632,754,400
1992 646,875,800
1993 661,226,200
1994 675,896,600
1995 690,623,500
1996 705,374,900
1997 720,083,800
1998 734,878,600
1999 749,770,900
2000 764,794,000
2001 779,240,000
2002 793,580,200
2003 807,979,000
2004 822,462,600
2005 836,919,400
2006 851,417,500
2007 866,364,100
2008 880,686,000
2009 894,989,000
2010 909,397,100
2011 924,122,900
2012 938,884,500
2013 953,715,500
2014 968,643,600
2015 983,399,700
2016 998,304,300
2017 1,013,307,000
2018 1,028,354,000
2019 1,043,416,000
2020 1,058,416,000

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