Italy - Rural population

The value for Rural population in Italy was 17,217,180 as of 2020. As the graph below shows, over the past 60 years this indicator reached a maximum value of 20,400,660 in 1960 and a minimum value of 17,217,180 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 20,400,660
1961 20,287,310
1962 20,171,160
1963 20,063,620
1964 19,972,520
1965 19,884,510
1966 19,781,810
1967 19,667,350
1968 19,532,730
1969 19,385,020
1970 19,229,470
1971 19,060,900
1972 19,012,260
1973 19,031,040
1974 19,045,210
1975 19,047,860
1976 19,031,130
1977 19,000,220
1978 18,956,290
1979 18,899,110
1980 18,826,340
1981 18,737,650
1982 18,723,830
1983 18,741,940
1984 18,757,440
1985 18,774,180
1986 18,786,530
1987 18,799,760
1988 18,820,180
1989 18,845,630
1990 18,872,760
1991 18,897,180
1992 18,889,580
1993 18,867,030
1994 18,836,770
1995 18,802,960
1996 18,774,130
1997 18,749,930
1998 18,721,180
1999 18,690,180
2000 18,664,480
2001 18,640,790
2002 18,611,510
2003 18,626,220
2004 18,678,510
2005 18,702,120
2006 18,689,800
2007 18,715,450
2008 18,770,430
2009 18,787,010
2010 18,774,940
2011 18,737,780
2012 18,645,460
2013 18,685,170
2014 18,679,290
2015 18,483,350
2016 18,276,160
2017 18,073,840
2018 17,861,880
2019 17,479,120
2020 17,217,180

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