Countries With the Fastest Decline in Rural population share (5-Year Change)

Name: Countries With the Fastest Decline in Rural population share (5-Year Change)
Creator: The World Bank
License: https://creativecommons.org/licenses/by/4.0/

Change in Rural population share over the five years to each country's latest year, in points (a share or rate is not shown as a % of itself). Only countries that fell are listed. Source: The World Bank (CC BY 4.0).

Summary

Rwanda fell the most: by 6.41 pts, from 75.5% of population to 69.1% of population in the five years to 2025. Burundi is second (−5.76 pts), followed by Kosovo (−5.7 pts). 179 countries fell over that period; the median change among them was −1.31 pts.

#1: Rwanda · −6.41 pts
Median: −1.31 pts
Coverage: 179 countries
Data year: 2025
Last updated: 2026-11-14

Top 10: 5-year change (points). Bar chart of the top 10: 1. Rwanda -6.41; 2. Burundi -5.76; 3. Kosovo -5.7; 4. Thailand -5.56; 5. Lesotho -5.04; 6. Kiribati -4.97; 7. Cabo Verde -4.75; 8. Senegal -4.71; 9. Mauritania -4.5; 10. Paraguay -4.27.

Full ranking

Countries With the Fastest Decline in Rural population share (5-Year Change), 2025
Rank	Country	From	To	5-year change (points)
1	Rwanda	75.5	69.1	−6.41 pts
2	Burundi	80.1	74.3	−5.76 pts
3	Kosovo	54.8	49.1	−5.7 pts
4	Thailand	42.8	37.2	−5.56 pts
5	Lesotho	60.4	55.3	−5.04 pts
6	Kiribati	41.6	36.6	−4.97 pts
7	Cabo Verde	27.1	22.4	−4.75 pts
8	Senegal	48.9	44.2	−4.71 pts
9	Mauritania	43	38.5	−4.5 pts
10	Paraguay	33.9	29.6	−4.27 pts
11	British Virgin Islands	46.8	42.6	−4.22 pts
12	Nigeria	40.2	36.2	−4.01 pts
13	Angola	32.5	28.5	−4 pts
14	Benin	50.6	46.6	−3.92 pts
15	Bhutan	60.3	56.6	−3.74 pts
16	Lao PDR	63.4	59.7	−3.69 pts
17	Tuvalu	38.1	34.6	−3.53 pts
18	Zimbabwe	63	59.5	−3.48 pts
19	Uganda	71.5	68.1	−3.4 pts
20	Switzerland	17.7	14.3	−3.39 pts
21	St. Lucia	74.2	70.9	−3.34 pts
22	Mozambique	66.1	62.8	−3.3 pts
23	Solomon Islands	72	68.7	−3.28 pts
24	Viet Nam	64.4	61.2	−3.26 pts
25	Mali	71	67.8	−3.19 pts
26	Indonesia	43.7	40.6	−3.11 pts
27	Mongolia	31.9	28.9	−3.06 pts
28	Tanzania	66.1	63.1	−3.03 pts
29	Haiti	47.4	44.4	−2.98 pts
30	Somalia, Fed. Rep.	47.7	44.9	−2.85 pts
31	Chad	75.3	72.4	−2.83 pts
32	China	36.5	33.7	−2.82 pts
33	Gambia, The	37.8	35	−2.78 pts
34	Algeria	26.9	24.2	−2.77 pts
35	Bosnia and Herzegovina	50	47.3	−2.72 pts
36	Sierra Leone	56.8	54.1	−2.71 pts
37	Côte d'Ivoire	48.2	45.5	−2.71 pts
38	Ghana	43.8	41.1	−2.71 pts
39	Liberia	46.6	43.9	−2.69 pts
40	Burkina Faso	73.6	71.1	−2.56 pts
41	Togo	58.1	55.6	−2.52 pts
42	Ethiopia	78.4	75.9	−2.48 pts
43	El Salvador	26.9	24.5	−2.47 pts
44	Kazakhstan	40	37.6	−2.4 pts
45	Moldova	58.7	56.3	−2.4 pts
46	Honduras	43.1	40.7	−2.38 pts
47	Fiji	42.8	40.5	−2.36 pts
48	Guinea-Bissau	55.7	53.3	−2.35 pts
49	Malaysia	24.9	22.6	−2.34 pts
50	Namibia	51.5	49.1	−2.32 pts
51	Jamaica	42.9	40.6	−2.31 pts
52	Central African Republic	57.7	55.4	−2.25 pts
53	Costa Rica	22.5	20.3	−2.21 pts
54	Madagascar	69.3	67.1	−2.2 pts
55	Georgia	41	38.8	−2.18 pts
56	Dominica	28.2	26	−2.14 pts
57	Bangladesh	68.9	66.8	−2.12 pts
58	Maldives	59.6	57.5	−2.11 pts
59	Peru	16.5	14.4	−2.07 pts
60	Eswatini	75.3	73.3	−2.06 pts
61	Zambia	56.1	54.1	−2.05 pts
62	Guinea	63.5	61.5	−2.04 pts
63	Pakistan	62.5	60.5	−2.02 pts
64	Comoros	67.9	66.1	−1.88 pts
65	Congo, Dem. Rep.	56.7	54.9	−1.86 pts
66	Marshall Islands	22.7	20.9	−1.82 pts
67	Iran, Islamic Rep.	24.4	22.6	−1.78 pts
68	Guatemala	45.5	43.7	−1.75 pts
69	Gabon	9.65	7.91	−1.74 pts
70	North Macedonia	38.8	37.1	−1.73 pts
71	Albania	42.9	41.1	−1.73 pts
72	Belarus	22.2	20.5	−1.71 pts
73	Netherlands	5.75	4.06	−1.69 pts
74	Philippines	45.9	44.2	−1.67 pts
75	Lithuania	32.6	30.9	−1.66 pts
76	Papua New Guinea	85.8	84.2	−1.61 pts
77	Tunisia	30.9	29.3	−1.6 pts
78	India	65.9	64.3	−1.56 pts
79	Korea, Dem. People's Rep.	37.4	35.8	−1.55 pts
80	Bolivia	30	28.4	−1.52 pts
81	Botswana	33.6	32	−1.51 pts
82	South Sudan	79.8	78.3	−1.49 pts
83	Finland	26.9	25.5	−1.44 pts
84	Serbia	38.8	37.4	−1.41 pts
85	Cameroon	45.7	44.3	−1.41 pts
86	Jordan	8.18	6.79	−1.39 pts
87	Niger	83	81.6	−1.37 pts
88	Mexico	21.3	20	−1.36 pts
89	Yemen, Rep.	64.3	63	−1.33 pts
90	West Bank and Gaza	13.9	12.6	−1.31 pts
91	Malawi	83.7	82.4	−1.3 pts
92	Greenland	12.7	11.4	−1.29 pts
93	Croatia	43.5	42.2	−1.29 pts
94	Cambodia	60.2	58.9	−1.27 pts
95	Brazil	13.1	11.8	−1.27 pts
96	Lebanon	10.3	9.04	−1.23 pts
97	Turks and Caicos Islands	6.8	5.6	−1.2 pts
98	Equatorial Guinea	29.6	28.4	−1.19 pts
99	Seychelles	55.7	54.5	−1.19 pts
100	Austria	31.5	30.3	−1.17 pts

Showing the top 100 of 179. Premium downloads the full list as CSV or JSON.

About the top 10

#1 Rwanda

Rwanda ranks #1 on this list with −6.41 pts.

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

#2 Burundi

Burundi ranks #2 on this list with −5.76 pts.

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

#3 Kosovo

Kosovo ranks #3 on this list with −5.7 pts.

Continent: Europe
Income group: Upper middle income
Population: 1.58 million people (2025)
GDP: US$12.46 billion (2025)
GDP per person: US$7,899 (2025)
Life expectancy: 78.2 years (2024)
Urban population: 50.9% of population (2025)

Also ranks #2 in firms using banks to finance investment share · #13 in gross capital formation rate · #32 in population ages 15-64 share.

Full country profile

#4 Thailand

Thailand ranks #4 on this list with −5.56 pts.

Capital: Bangkok
Continent: Asia
Income group: Upper middle income
Population: 71.62 million people (2025)
GDP: US$577.01 billion (2025)
GDP per person: US$8,057 (2025)
Life expectancy: 76.6 years (2024)
Urban population: 62.8% of population (2025)

Largest cities: Bangkok, Chiang Mai.

Also ranks #5 in tourism arrivals · #10 in tourism receipts · #11 in manufacturing value added share of gdp.

Full country profile

#5 Lesotho

Lesotho ranks #5 on this list with −5.04 pts.

Capital: Maseru
Continent: Africa
Income group: Lower middle income
Population: 2.36 million people (2025)
GDP: US$2.57 billion (2025)
GDP per person: US$1,089 (2025)
Life expectancy: 57.8 years (2024)
Urban population: 44.7% of population (2025)

Also ranks #1 in tax revenue share of gdp · #1 in suicide mortality rate · #2 in agricultural land share.

Full country profile

#6 Kiribati

Kiribati ranks #6 on this list with −4.97 pts.

Capital: South Tarawa
Continent: Oceania
Income group: Lower middle income
Population: 136,490 people (2025)
GDP: US$349.23 million (2025)
GDP per person: US$2,559 (2025)
Life expectancy: 66.6 years (2024)
Urban population: 63.4% of population (2025)

Also ranks #1 in education expenditure share of gdp · #2 in government revenue share of gdp · #3 in income share of poorest 10%.

Full country profile

#7 Cabo Verde

Cabo Verde ranks #7 on this list with −4.75 pts.

Capital: Praia
Continent: Africa
Income group: Upper middle income
Population: 527,330 people (2025)
GDP: US$3.06 billion (2025)
GDP per person: US$5,797 (2025)
Life expectancy: 76.2 years (2024)
Urban population: 77.6% of population (2025)

Also ranks #10 in bank branches per 100,000 adults · #17 in women in parliament share · #23 in youth unemployment rate.

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#8 Senegal

Senegal ranks #8 on this list with −4.71 pts.

Capital: Dakar
Continent: Africa
Income group: Lower middle income
Population: 18.93 million people (2025)
GDP: US$37.01 billion (2025)
GDP per person: US$1,955 (2025)
Life expectancy: 68.9 years (2024)
Urban population: 55.8% of population (2025)

Largest cities: Dakar.

Also ranks #1 in gender parity index (school enrolment) · #3 in crop production index · #8 in debt service share of exports.

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#9 Mauritania

Mauritania ranks #9 on this list with −4.5 pts.

Capital: Nouakchott
Continent: Africa
Income group: Lower middle income
Population: 5.32 million people (2025)
GDP: US$11.68 billion (2025)
GDP per person: US$2,198 (2025)
Life expectancy: 68.7 years (2024)
Urban population: 61.5% of population (2025)

Largest cities: Nouakchott.

Also ranks #2 in gross capital formation rate · #3 in prevalence of wasting (under-5) · #8 in gender parity index (school enrolment).

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#10 Paraguay

Paraguay ranks #10 on this list with −4.27 pts.

Capital: Asunción
Continent: South America
Income group: Upper middle income
Population: 7.01 million people (2025)
GDP: US$49.28 billion (2025)
GDP per person: US$7,027 (2025)
Life expectancy: 74 years (2024)
Urban population: 70.4% of population (2025)

Also ranks #8 in official exchange rate · #11 in income share of richest 10% · #14 in gini index.

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

Change in Rural population share over the five years to each country's latest year, in points (a share or rate is not shown as a % of itself). Only countries that fell are listed.

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 (changes are computed from the published values). Provider terms: The World Bank. All licences: Sources & licences.

Summary

Full ranking

About the top 10

#1 Rwanda

#2 Burundi

#3 Kosovo

#4 Thailand

#5 Lesotho

#6 Kiribati

#7 Cabo Verde

#8 Senegal

#9 Mauritania

#10 Paraguay

Related rankings

Source and method