Zambia - Rural population (% of total population)

Rural population (% of total population) in Zambia was 55.37 as of 2020. Its highest value over the past 60 years was 81.86 in 1960, while its lowest value was 55.37 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.

Source: World Bank staff estimates based on the United Nations Population Division's World Urbanization Prospects: 2018 Revision.

See also:

Year Value
1960 81.86
1961 81.05
1962 80.22
1963 79.29
1964 77.99
1965 76.63
1966 75.21
1967 73.74
1968 72.21
1969 70.63
1970 69.65
1971 68.76
1972 67.85
1973 66.94
1974 66.01
1975 65.07
1976 64.11
1977 63.15
1978 62.17
1979 61.18
1980 60.19
1981 60.15
1982 60.20
1983 60.25
1984 60.30
1985 60.35
1986 60.39
1987 60.44
1988 60.49
1989 60.54
1990 60.59
1991 61.01
1992 61.49
1993 61.96
1994 62.43
1995 62.90
1996 63.36
1997 63.82
1998 64.28
1999 64.74
2000 65.20
2001 65.00
2002 64.53
2003 64.05
2004 63.57
2005 63.09
2006 62.61
2007 62.12
2008 61.63
2009 61.14
2010 60.65
2011 60.15
2012 59.65
2013 59.14
2014 58.62
2015 58.09
2016 57.56
2017 57.02
2018 56.48
2019 55.93
2020 55.37

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: Weighted average

Periodicity: Annual

Classification

Topic: Environment Indicators

Sub-Topic: Density & urbanization