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Countries Ranked by Rural population in 1990

Rural population for each country in 1990, ranked from highest to lowest. Source: The World Bank (CC BY 4.0).

Summary

In 1990, China ranks #1 with 837.82 million people. India is second with 643.73 million people, 30.2% behind. The top five are China, India, Indonesia, Bangladesh and Pakistan. Together the top 10 account for 67.5% of the total across the 217 countries listed. The median across all 217 is 2.01 million people; Sint Maarten (Dutch part) is last at 0 people.

#1
China · 837.82 million people
Median
2.01 million people
Coverage
217 countries
Data year
1990
Last updated
2026-11-14
Top 10: Rural populationBar chart of the top 10: 1. China 837.82 million; 2. India 643.73 million; 3. Indonesia 127.36 million; 4. Bangladesh 89.46 million; 5. Pakistan 80.43 million; 6. Nigeria 62.95 million; 7. United States 61.74 million; 8. Viet Nam 52.95 million; 9. Thailand 44.44 million; 10. Ethiopia 41.53 million.China837.82 millionIndia643.73 millionIndonesia127.36 millionBangladesh89.46 millionPakistan80.43 millionNigeria62.95 millionUnited States61.74 millionViet Nam52.95 millionThailand44.44 millionEthiopia41.53 million
Top 10: Rural population (people). Bar chart of the top 10: 1. China 837.82 million; 2. India 643.73 million; 3. Indonesia 127.36 million; 4. Bangladesh 89.46 million; 5. Pakistan 80.43 million; 6. Nigeria 62.95 million; 7. United States 61.74 million; 8. Viet Nam 52.95 million; 9. Thailand 44.44 million; 10. Ethiopia 41.53 million.
Share of the total: Rural populationChina 27.7%; India 21.3%; Indonesia 4.2%; Bangladesh 3.0%; Pakistan 2.7%; All others 41.2%28%21%41%

China 27.7%India 21.3%Indonesia 4.2%Bangladesh 3.0%Pakistan 2.7%All others 41.2%

Share of the total: Rural population, as a share of 217 countries. China 27.7%; India 21.3%; Indonesia 4.2%; Bangladesh 3.0%; Pakistan 2.7%; All others 41.2%.

Full ranking

Countries Ranked by Rural population in 1990, 1990
RankCountryRural population (people)
1China837,820,000
2India643,730,000
3Indonesia127,360,000
4Bangladesh89,459,000
5Pakistan80,434,000
6Nigeria62,947,000
7United States61,735,000
8Viet Nam52,945,000
9Thailand44,444,000
10Ethiopia41,533,000
11Philippines40,226,000
12Russian Federation38,899,000
13Brazil37,480,000
14Egypt, Arab Rep.32,954,000
15Myanmar29,543,000
16Japan27,980,000
17Türkiye27,430,000
18Congo, Dem. Rep.25,578,000
19Iran, Islamic Rep.25,418,000
20Mexico23,638,000
21Tanzania21,168,000
22South Africa19,571,000
23Italy18,882,000
24Kenya18,727,000
25Ukraine16,964,000
26Germany15,876,000
27Uganda15,855,000
28Nepal15,666,000
29Sudan15,426,000
30France15,108,000
31Poland14,749,000
32Sri Lanka13,394,000
33Morocco12,570,000
34United Kingdom12,532,000
35Algeria12,144,000
36Uzbekistan12,121,000
37Korea, Rep.11,152,000
38Yemen, Rep.11,085,000
39Romania10,623,000
40Mozambique10,058,000
41Afghanistan9,966,100
42Colombia9,897,200
43Ghana9,892,100
44Spain9,780,000
45Madagascar9,415,600
46Malaysia9,089,000
47Korea, Dem. People's Rep.8,775,100
48Malawi8,436,200
49Burkina Faso7,947,200
50Mali7,652,300
51Côte d'Ivoire7,352,300
52Kazakhstan7,340,600
53Angola7,222,500
54Zimbabwe7,137,500
55Niger7,006,000
56Rwanda6,986,300
57Peru6,839,800
58Cameroon6,789,000
59Canada6,491,800
60Syrian Arab Republic6,435,100
61Cambodia6,215,800
62Guatemala5,965,300
63Iraq5,323,600
64Burundi5,236,900
65Portugal5,217,400
66Haiti5,179,000
67Somalia, Fed. Rep.5,000,100
68Zambia4,721,200
69Chad4,714,400
70Senegal4,713,600
71Ecuador4,703,800
72Netherlands4,636,900
73Guinea4,618,900
74Argentina4,284,600
75South Sudan4,139,200
76Hungary4,045,800
77Serbia3,920,000
78Tajikistan3,677,500
79Lao PDR3,654,700
80Tunisia3,491,600
81Benin3,442,600
82Belarus3,420,900
83Azerbaijan3,322,400
84Papua New Guinea3,297,400
85Dominican Republic3,220,800
86Venezuela, RB3,177,500
87Bolivia3,142,300
88Honduras2,964,000
89Greece2,906,500
90Bulgaria2,873,700
91Cuba2,793,200
92Sierra Leone2,792,700
93Austria2,755,500
94El Salvador2,754,800
95Kyrgyz Republic2,723,800
96Bosnia and Herzegovina2,700,200
97Togo2,649,100
98Czechia2,560,700
99Australia2,492,300
100Saudi Arabia2,446,400

Showing the top 100 of 217. Premium downloads the full list as CSV or JSON.

About the top 10

#7 United States

United States ranks #7 on this list with 61.74 million people.

Capital
Washington, D.C.
Continent
North America
Income group
High income
Population
341.78 million people (2025)
GDP
US$30.77 trillion (2025)
GDP per person
US$90,027 (2025)
Life expectancy
78.9 years (2024)
Urban population
80.2% of population (2025)

Largest cities: New York metropolitan area, New York City, Chicago.

Also ranks #1 in gdp (current us$) · #1 in health expenditure per capita · #1 in imports of goods and services.

Full country profile Weather in New York (Purr Weather)

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

Related rankings

Source and method

Rural population for each country in 1990, ranked from highest to lowest.

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

The World Bank: Rural 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.