South Asia - Rural population

The value for Rural population in South Asia was 1,209,159,000 as of 2020. As the graph below shows, over the past 60 years this indicator reached a maximum value of 1,209,159,000 in 2020 and a minimum value of 476,925,500 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 476,925,500
1961 486,226,800
1962 495,538,800
1963 505,164,300
1964 515,094,400
1965 525,330,700
1966 535,866,600
1967 546,697,500
1968 557,800,100
1969 569,140,300
1970 580,691,800
1971 592,259,700
1972 603,445,600
1973 614,823,500
1974 626,361,300
1975 638,003,800
1976 649,918,300
1977 662,072,500
1978 674,425,700
1979 686,928,700
1980 699,517,300
1981 712,792,100
1982 727,448,000
1983 742,296,400
1984 757,288,800
1985 772,401,200
1986 787,588,000
1987 802,846,000
1988 818,183,600
1989 833,710,500
1990 849,386,700
1991 865,355,200
1992 881,760,800
1993 898,216,300
1994 914,623,800
1995 930,920,900
1996 947,036,100
1997 962,976,700
1998 978,775,200
1999 994,492,200
2000 1,010,087,000
2001 1,025,021,000
2002 1,038,823,000
2003 1,052,316,000
2004 1,065,388,000
2005 1,077,999,000
2006 1,090,131,000
2007 1,101,779,000
2008 1,112,927,000
2009 1,123,593,000
2010 1,133,760,000
2011 1,143,402,000
2012 1,152,340,000
2013 1,160,865,000
2014 1,168,970,000
2015 1,176,701,000
2016 1,184,104,000
2017 1,191,118,000
2018 1,197,679,000
2019 1,203,684,000
2020 1,209,159,000

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