Venezuela - Rural population

The value for Rural population in Venezuela was 3,332,977 as of 2020. As the graph below shows, over the past 60 years this indicator reached a maximum value of 3,563,493 in 2015 and a minimum value of 2,994,546 in 2001.

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 3,125,408
1961 3,133,076
1962 3,153,258
1963 3,170,503
1964 3,184,651
1965 3,196,320
1966 3,205,024
1967 3,211,002
1968 3,213,574
1969 3,212,833
1970 3,207,858
1971 3,199,127
1972 3,196,816
1973 3,197,490
1974 3,196,164
1975 3,193,708
1976 3,190,012
1977 3,185,414
1978 3,179,201
1979 3,170,949
1980 3,160,262
1981 3,147,652
1982 3,142,327
1983 3,139,486
1984 3,135,354
1985 3,130,502
1986 3,124,673
1987 3,117,797
1988 3,109,245
1989 3,098,644
1990 3,085,470
1991 3,081,971
1992 3,081,187
1993 3,078,556
1994 3,073,868
1995 3,067,282
1996 3,058,775
1997 3,048,839
1998 3,037,062
1999 3,023,980
2000 3,009,783
2001 2,994,546
2002 3,043,173
2003 3,091,235
2004 3,138,309
2005 3,184,052
2006 3,227,393
2007 3,268,077
2008 3,307,732
2009 3,347,744
2010 3,389,188
2011 3,435,346
2012 3,487,185
2013 3,534,117
2014 3,561,895
2015 3,563,493
2016 3,532,895
2017 3,474,491
2018 3,406,369
2019 3,353,461
2020 3,332,977

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