Countries in Africa Ranked by Rural population share (2025)

Name: Countries in Africa Ranked by Rural population share
Creator: The World Bank
License: https://creativecommons.org/licenses/by/4.0/

Rural population share: each country's latest value (2020–2025), ranked from highest to lowest. Source: The World Bank (CC BY 4.0).

Summary

Malawi ranks #1 with 82.4% of population. Niger is second with 81.6% of population, 0.95% behind. The top five are Malawi, Niger, South Sudan, Ethiopia and Burundi. The median across all 54 is 54.3% of population; Gabon is last at 7.91% of population. Malawi's figure has fallen 3% since 2001 (85.2% of population to 82.4% of population in 2025).

#1: Malawi · 82.4% of population
Median: 54.3% of population
Coverage: 54 countries in Africa
Data year: 2025
Last updated: 2026-11-14

Top 10: Rural population share (% of population). Bar chart of the top 10: 1. Malawi 82.4; 2. Niger 81.6; 3. South Sudan 78.3; 4. Ethiopia 75.9; 5. Burundi 74.3; 6. Eswatini 73.3; 7. Chad 72.4; 8. Burkina Faso 71.1; 9. Rwanda 69.1; 10. Uganda 68.1.

Rural population share over time, top 5 (% of population). Malawi: 85.2 in 2001 to 82.4 in 2025; Niger: 83.7 in 2001 to 81.6 in 2025; South Sudan: 83.7 in 2001 to 78.3 in 2025; Ethiopia: 84.9 in 2001 to 75.9 in 2025; Burundi: 91.8 in 2001 to 74.3 in 2025.

Full ranking

Countries in Africa Ranked by Rural population share, 2025
Rank	Country	Rural population share (% of population)
1	Malawi	82.4
2	Niger	81.6
3	South Sudan	78.3
4	Ethiopia	75.9
5	Burundi	74.3
6	Eswatini	73.3
7	Chad	72.4
8	Burkina Faso	71.1
9	Rwanda	69.1
10	Uganda	68.1
11	Kenya	67.8
12	Mali	67.8
13	Madagascar	67.1
14	Comoros	66.1
15	Eritrea	65.5
16	Sudan	65.1
17	Tanzania	63.1
18	Mozambique	62.8
19	Guinea	61.5
20	Mauritius	61
21	Zimbabwe	59.5
22	Egypt, Arab Rep.	57.1
23	Togo	55.6
24	Central African Republic	55.4
25	Lesotho	55.3
26	Congo, Dem. Rep.	54.9
27	Seychelles	54.5
28	Zambia	54.1
29	Sierra Leone	54.1
30	Guinea-Bissau	53.3
31	Namibia	49.1
32	Benin	46.6
33	Côte d'Ivoire	45.5
34	Somalia, Fed. Rep.	44.9
35	Cameroon	44.3
36	Senegal	44.2
37	Liberia	43.9
38	Ghana	41.1
39	Mauritania	38.5
40	Morocco	36.9
41	Nigeria	36.2
42	South Africa	36.2
43	Congo, Rep.	35.9
44	Gambia, The	35
45	Botswana	32
46	São Tomé and Principe	30.8
47	Tunisia	29.3
48	Angola	28.5
49	Equatorial Guinea	28.4
50	Djibouti	27
51	Algeria	24.2
52	Cabo Verde	22.4
53	Libya	12.1
54	Gabon	7.91

About the top 10

#1 Malawi

Malawi ranks #1 on this list with 82.4% of population.

Capital: Lilongwe
Continent: Africa
Income group: Low income
Population: 22.22 million people (2025)
GDP: US$14.92 billion (2025)
GDP per person: US$671.5 (2025)
Life expectancy: 67.6 years (2024)
Urban population: 17.6% of population (2025)

Also ranks #3 in school enrolment (primary) · #3 in pupil-teacher ratio (primary) · #3 in poverty headcount ratio.

Full country profile

#2 Niger

Niger ranks #2 on this list with 81.6% of population.

Capital: Niamey
Continent: Africa
Income group: Low income
Population: 27.92 million people (2025)
GDP: US$21.65 billion (2025)
GDP per person: US$775.4 (2025)
Life expectancy: 61.4 years (2024)
Urban population: 18.4% of population (2025)

Largest cities: Niamey.

Also ranks #1 in agriculture value added share of gdp · #2 in under-5 mortality rate · #3 in population ages 0-14 share.

Full country profile

#3 South Sudan

South Sudan ranks #3 on this list with 78.3% of population.

Capital: Juba
Continent: Africa
Income group: Low income
Population: 12.19 million people (2025)
Life expectancy: 57.7 years (2024)
Urban population: 21.7% of population (2025)
Currency: South Sudanese pound
Official languages: English

Also ranks #1 in infant mortality rate · #4 in inflation rate · #4 in maternal mortality ratio.

Full country profile

#4 Ethiopia

Ethiopia ranks #4 on this list with 75.9% of population.

Capital: Addis Ababa
Continent: Africa
Income group: Low income
Population: 135.47 million people (2025)
GDP: US$126.36 billion (2025)
GDP per person: US$932.7 (2025)
Life expectancy: 67.6 years (2024)
Urban population: 24.1% of population (2025)

Largest cities: Addis Ababa.

Also ranks #3 in children out of school (primary) · #6 in rural population · #6 in gdp growth rate.

Full country profile

#5 Burundi

Burundi ranks #5 on this list with 74.3% of population.

Capital: Gitega
Continent: Africa
Income group: Low income
Population: 14.39 million people (2025)
GDP: US$3.36 billion (2025)
GDP per person: US$233.8 (2025)
Life expectancy: 63.8 years (2024)
Urban population: 25.7% of population (2025)

Also ranks #1 in prevalence of stunting (under-5) · #3 in forest rents share of gdp · #3 in real effective exchange rate index.

Full country profile

#6 Eswatini

Eswatini ranks #6 on this list with 73.3% of population.

Capital: Mbabane, Lobamba
Continent: Africa
Income group: Lower middle income
Population: 1.26 million people (2025)
GDP: US$5.16 billion (2025)
GDP per person: US$4,108 (2025)
Life expectancy: 64.3 years (2024)
Urban population: 26.7% of population (2025)

Also ranks #1 in unemployment rate · #1 in hiv prevalence · #3 in youth unemployment rate.

Full country profile

#7 Chad

Chad ranks #7 on this list with 72.4% of population.

Capital: N'Djamena
Continent: Africa
Income group: Low income
Population: 21 million people (2025)
GDP: US$21.47 billion (2025)
GDP per person: US$1,022 (2025)
Life expectancy: 55.2 years (2024)
Urban population: 27.6% of population (2025)

Largest cities: N'Djamena.

Also ranks #1 in fertility rate · #2 in birth rate · #2 in maternal mortality ratio.

Full country profile

#8 Burkina Faso

Burkina Faso ranks #8 on this list with 71.1% of population.

Capital: Ouagadougou
Continent: Africa
Income group: Low income
Population: 24.08 million people (2025)
GDP: US$27.63 billion (2025)
GDP per person: US$1,148 (2025)
Life expectancy: 61.3 years (2024)
Urban population: 28.9% of population (2025)

Largest cities: Ouagadougou.

Also ranks #7 in mineral rents share of gdp · #9 in children out of school (primary) · #11 in under-5 mortality rate.

Full country profile

#9 Rwanda

Rwanda ranks #9 on this list with 69.1% of population.

Capital: Kigali
Continent: Africa
Income group: Low income
Population: 14.57 million people (2025)
GDP: US$16.37 billion (2025)
GDP per person: US$1,124 (2025)
Life expectancy: 68 years (2024)
Urban population: 30.9% of population (2025)

Largest cities: Kigali.

Also ranks #1 in women in parliament share · #2 in school enrolment (primary) · #2 in pupil-teacher ratio (primary).

Full country profile

#10 Uganda

Uganda ranks #10 on this list with 68.1% of population.

Capital: Kampala
Continent: Africa
Income group: Low income
Population: 51.39 million people (2025)
GDP: US$61.99 billion (2025)
GDP per person: US$1,206 (2025)
Life expectancy: 68.5 years (2024)
Urban population: 31.9% of population (2025)

Largest cities: Kampala.

Also ranks #6 in renewable energy share · #6 in refugee population by asylum · #7 in agricultural land share.

Full country profile

Profile facts: World Bank (CC BY 4.0) and Wikidata (CC0); weather links go to Purr Weather, another ChowChow Labs site.

Source and method

Rural population share: each country's latest value (2020–2025), ranked from highest to lowest.

Source: The World Bank, indicator SP.RUR.TOTL.ZS. Licence: CC BY 4.0. Retrieved: 2026-11-14.

The World Bank: Rural population (% of total population): World Urbanization Prospects, United Nations (UN) (via World Development Indicators)

Original data provider, as recorded by the World Bank: World Urbanization Prospects, United Nations (UN); Staff estimates, World Bank (WB), note: World Bank staff estimates based on the United Nations Population Division's World Urbanization Prospe.

Values are shown as published. Provider terms: The World Bank. All licences: Sources & licences.

Summary

Full ranking

About the top 10

#1 Malawi

#2 Niger

#3 South Sudan

#4 Ethiopia

#5 Burundi

#6 Eswatini

#7 Chad

#8 Burkina Faso

#9 Rwanda

#10 Uganda

Related rankings

Source and method