Japan - Rural population

The value for Rural population in Japan was 10,341,200 as of 2020. As the graph below shows, over the past 60 years this indicator reached a maximum value of 34,236,370 in 1960 and a minimum value of 10,341,200 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 34,236,370
1961 33,659,460
1962 33,089,850
1963 32,544,620
1964 32,005,120
1965 31,475,900
1966 30,936,410
1967 30,447,110
1968 29,984,100
1969 29,539,250
1970 29,080,030
1971 28,891,220
1972 28,456,270
1973 28,024,660
1974 27,568,040
1975 27,094,390
1976 27,129,150
1977 27,327,000
1978 27,510,170
1979 27,676,850
1980 27,829,270
1981 27,917,420
1982 27,981,420
1983 28,045,500
1984 28,095,820
1985 28,140,520
1986 28,141,300
1987 28,122,260
1988 28,085,070
1989 28,043,730
1990 27,981,350
1991 27,925,370
1992 27,858,760
1993 27,779,450
1994 27,688,120
1995 27,583,760
1996 27,484,190
1997 27,389,660
1998 27,304,930
1999 27,196,540
2000 27,082,250
2001 25,442,520
2002 23,389,980
2003 21,461,730
2004 19,624,090
2005 17,916,330
2006 16,470,150
2007 15,173,240
2008 13,955,030
2009 12,818,790
2010 11,767,070
2011 11,416,770
2012 11,297,720
2013 11,182,020
2014 11,067,920
2015 10,958,280
2016 10,849,140
2017 10,732,420
2018 10,608,200
2019 10,482,520
2020 10,341,200

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