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Countries Ranked by Rural population in 2020

Rural population for each country in 2020, ranked from highest to lowest. Source: The World Bank (CC BY 4.0).

Summary

In 2020, India ranks #1 with 923.92 million people. That is 1.8 times China in second place (514.72 million people). The top five are India, China, Pakistan, Indonesia and Bangladesh. Together the top 10 account for 64.2% of the total across the 217 countries listed. The median across all 217 is 1.7 million people; Sint Maarten (Dutch part) is last at 0 people.

#1
India · 923.92 million people
Median
1.7 million people
Coverage
217 countries
Data year
2020
Last updated
2026-11-14
Top 10: Rural populationBar chart of the top 10: 1. India 923.92 million; 2. China 514.72 million; 3. Pakistan 146.86 million; 4. Indonesia 120.15 million; 5. Bangladesh 114.55 million; 6. Ethiopia 93.2 million; 7. Nigeria 86.1 million; 8. United States 66.32 million; 9. Viet Nam 63.19 million; 10. Egypt, Arab Rep. 62.84 million.India923.92 millionChina514.72 millionPakistan146.86 millionIndonesia120.15 millionBangladesh114.55 millionEthiopia93.2 millionNigeria86.1 millionUnited States66.32 millionViet Nam63.19 millionEgypt, Arab Rep.62.84 million
Top 10: Rural population (people). Bar chart of the top 10: 1. India 923.92 million; 2. China 514.72 million; 3. Pakistan 146.86 million; 4. Indonesia 120.15 million; 5. Bangladesh 114.55 million; 6. Ethiopia 93.2 million; 7. Nigeria 86.1 million; 8. United States 66.32 million; 9. Viet Nam 63.19 million; 10. Egypt, Arab Rep. 62.84 million.
Rural population over time, top 5India: 717.47 million in 1996 to 923.92 million in 2020; China: 846.44 million in 1996 to 514.72 million in 2020; Pakistan: 94.03 million in 1996 to 146.86 million in 2020; Indonesia: 126.93 million in 1996 to 120.15 million in 2020; Bangladesh: 97.42 million in 1996 to 114.55 million in 2020.0230.98 million461.96 million692.94 million923.92 million199620082020IndiaChinaPakistanIndonesiaBangladesh
Rural population over time, top 5 (people). India: 717.47 million in 1996 to 923.92 million in 2020; China: 846.44 million in 1996 to 514.72 million in 2020; Pakistan: 94.03 million in 1996 to 146.86 million in 2020; Indonesia: 126.93 million in 1996 to 120.15 million in 2020; Bangladesh: 97.42 million in 1996 to 114.55 million in 2020.
Share of the total: Rural populationIndia 27.0%; China 15.1%; Pakistan 4.3%; Indonesia 3.5%; Bangladesh 3.4%; All others 46.7%27%15%47%

India 27.0%China 15.1%Pakistan 4.3%Indonesia 3.5%Bangladesh 3.4%All others 46.7%

Share of the total: Rural population, as a share of 217 countries. India 27.0%; China 15.1%; Pakistan 4.3%; Indonesia 3.5%; Bangladesh 3.4%; All others 46.7%.

Full ranking

Countries Ranked by Rural population in 2020, 2020
RankCountryRural population (people)
1India923,920,000
2China514,720,000
3Pakistan146,860,000
4Indonesia120,150,000
5Bangladesh114,550,000
6Ethiopia93,201,000
7Nigeria86,099,000
8United States66,324,000
9Viet Nam63,192,000
10Egypt, Arab Rep.62,836,000
11Congo, Dem. Rep.54,472,000
12Philippines51,437,000
13Tanzania40,331,000
14Myanmar37,027,000
15Russian Federation36,757,000
16Kenya35,922,000
17Uganda31,769,000
18Thailand30,637,000
19Sudan30,619,000
20Afghanistan29,199,000
21Brazil27,311,000
22Mexico27,036,000
23Yemen, Rep.23,234,000
24South Africa22,143,000
25Iran, Islamic Rep.21,406,000
26Mozambique20,347,000
27Madagascar20,064,000
28Niger19,684,000
29Italy18,118,000
30Sri Lanka17,609,000
31Uzbekistan16,536,000
32Malawi16,351,000
33Burkina Faso15,817,000
34Mali15,412,000
35Germany15,410,000
36Poland15,054,000
37France14,391,000
38Ghana13,961,000
39Côte d'Ivoire13,927,000
40Morocco13,868,000
41Ukraine13,679,000
42Chad12,964,000
43Iraq12,690,000
44Cameroon11,990,000
45Algeria11,868,000
46United Kingdom11,413,000
47Colombia11,322,000
48Angola10,886,000
49Zambia10,699,000
50Japan10,377,000
51Burundi10,102,000
52Cambodia10,063,000
53Rwanda9,864,300
54Nepal9,818,200
55Zimbabwe9,780,400
56Korea, Dem. People's Rep.9,765,700
57Korea, Rep.9,757,700
58Spain9,616,100
59Türkiye9,230,400
60Romania9,129,400
61South Sudan8,538,300
62Guinea8,493,300
63Malaysia8,455,000
64Papua New Guinea8,424,800
65Senegal8,217,300
66Somalia, Fed. Rep.7,944,900
67Guatemala7,889,200
68Kazakhstan7,795,400
69Tajikistan7,195,700
70Canada6,863,800
71Benin6,607,500
72Ecuador6,478,500
73Syrian Arab Republic5,596,500
74Peru5,409,600
75Haiti5,326,100
76Saudi Arabia5,109,500
77Lao PDR4,656,300
78Togo4,526,600
79Sierra Leone4,493,300
80Kyrgyz Republic4,384,600
81Honduras4,364,700
82Azerbaijan4,209,500
83Portugal4,005,100
84Tunisia3,699,500
85Turkmenistan3,679,700
86Argentina3,640,700
87Bolivia3,539,700
88Australia3,264,800
89Venezuela, RB3,089,100
90Dominican Republic2,943,100
91Czechia2,917,800
92Central African Republic2,900,100
93Hungary2,872,900
94Austria2,805,200
95Nicaragua2,711,200
96Serbia2,675,300
97Cuba2,558,500
98Slovak Republic2,552,100
99Liberia2,400,300
100Greece2,320,900

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

About the top 10

#8 United States

United States ranks #8 on this list with 66.32 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 2020, 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.