Upper middle income Countries Ranked by Rural population share (2025)
Rural population share: each country's latest value (2020–2025), ranked from highest to lowest. Source: The World Bank (CC BY 4.0).
Summary
Samoa ranks #1 with 82.5% of population. Sri Lanka is second with 79.6% of population, 3.7% behind. The top five are Samoa, Sri Lanka, Tonga, Micronesia, Fed. Sts. and St. Lucia. The median across all 59 is 34.6% of population; Jordan is last at 6.79% of population. Samoa's figure has risen 6% since 2001 (78% of population to 82.5% of population in 2025).
- #1
- Samoa · 82.5% of population
- Median
- 34.6% of population
- Coverage
- 59 Upper middle income countries
- Data year
- 2025
- Last updated
- 2026-11-14
Full ranking
| Rank | Country | Rural population share (% of population) |
|---|---|---|
| 1 | Samoa | 82.5 |
| 2 | Sri Lanka | 79.6 |
| 3 | Tonga | 78.8 |
| 4 | Micronesia, Fed. Sts. | 77.5 |
| 5 | St. Lucia | 70.9 |
| 6 | Grenada | 63.3 |
| 7 | Viet Nam | 61.2 |
| 8 | Mauritius | 61 |
| 9 | Belize | 58.4 |
| 10 | Maldives | 57.5 |
| 11 | Moldova | 56.3 |
| 12 | Turkmenistan | 52.9 |
| 13 | St. Vincent and the Grenadines | 52 |
| 14 | Kosovo | 49.1 |
| 15 | Bosnia and Herzegovina | 47.3 |
| 16 | Philippines | 44.2 |
| 17 | Guatemala | 43.7 |
| 18 | Azerbaijan | 41.4 |
| 19 | Albania | 41.1 |
| 20 | Indonesia | 40.6 |
| 21 | Jamaica | 40.6 |
| 22 | Fiji | 40.5 |
| 23 | Georgia | 38.8 |
| 24 | Kazakhstan | 37.6 |
| 25 | Serbia | 37.4 |
| 26 | Thailand | 37.2 |
| 27 | North Macedonia | 37.1 |
| 28 | Ecuador | 36.6 |
| 29 | South Africa | 36.2 |
| 30 | Tuvalu | 34.6 |
| 31 | Montenegro | 34.4 |
| 32 | Suriname | 34.2 |
| 33 | Armenia | 34.1 |
| 34 | China | 33.7 |
| 35 | Botswana | 32 |
| 36 | Ukraine | 30.4 |
| 37 | Iraq | 30.1 |
| 38 | Paraguay | 29.6 |
| 39 | Mongolia | 28.9 |
| 40 | Equatorial Guinea | 28.4 |
| 41 | Dominican Republic | 27.5 |
| 42 | Dominica | 26 |
| 43 | El Salvador | 24.5 |
| 44 | Algeria | 24.2 |
| 45 | Cuba | 22.8 |
| 46 | Iran, Islamic Rep. | 22.6 |
| 47 | Malaysia | 22.6 |
| 48 | Cabo Verde | 22.4 |
| 49 | Colombia | 21.2 |
| 50 | Marshall Islands | 20.9 |
| 51 | Belarus | 20.5 |
| 52 | Mexico | 20 |
| 53 | Peru | 14.4 |
| 54 | Libya | 12.1 |
| 55 | Brazil | 11.8 |
| 56 | Türkiye | 10.5 |
| 57 | Gabon | 7.91 |
| 58 | Argentina | 7.65 |
| 59 | Jordan | 6.79 |
About the top 10
#1 Samoa
Samoa ranks #1 on this list with 82.5% of population.
- Capital
- Apia
- Continent
- Oceania
- Income group
- Upper middle income
- Population
- 219,310 people (2025)
- GDP
- US$1.29 billion (2025)
- GDP per person
- US$5,873 (2025)
- Life expectancy
- 71.8 years (2024)
- Urban population
- 17.5% of population (2025)
Also ranks #3 in rural population share · #4 in diabetes prevalence · #16 in age dependency ratio.
#2 Sri Lanka
Sri Lanka ranks #2 on this list with 79.6% of population.
- Capital
- Colombo, Sri Jayawardenepura Kotte
- Continent
- Asia
- Income group
- Upper middle income
- Population
- 21.76 million people (2025)
- GDP
- US$108.83 billion (2025)
- GDP per person
- US$5,002 (2025)
- Life expectancy
- 77.7 years (2024)
- Urban population
- 20.5% of population (2025)
Also ranks #6 in rural population share · #9 in immunisation (measles) rate · #13 in prevalence of wasting (under-5).
#3 Tonga
Tonga ranks #3 on this list with 78.8% of population.
- Capital
- Nukuʻalofa
- Continent
- Oceania
- Income group
- Upper middle income
- Population
- 103,740 people (2025)
- GDP
- US$679.22 million (2025)
- GDP per person
- US$6,547 (2025)
- Life expectancy
- 73.1 years (2024)
- Urban population
- 21.2% of population (2025)
Also ranks #7 in rural population share · #10 in completion rate (primary) · #11 in income share of poorest 10%.
#4 Micronesia, Fed. Sts.
Micronesia, Fed. Sts. ranks #4 on this list with 77.5% of population.
- Capital
- Palikir
- Continent
- Oceania
- Income group
- Upper middle income
- Population
- 113,680 people (2025)
- GDP
- US$501.8 million (2025)
- GDP per person
- US$4,414 (2025)
- Life expectancy
- 67.4 years (2024)
- Urban population
- 22.5% of population (2025)
Also ranks #1 in forest area share · #3 in education expenditure share of gdp · #7 in health expenditure share of gdp.
#5 St. Lucia
St. Lucia ranks #5 on this list with 70.9% of population.
- Capital
- Castries
- Continent
- North America
- Income group
- Upper middle income
- Population
- 180,150 people (2025)
- GDP
- US$2.66 billion (2025)
- GDP per person
- US$14,746 (2025)
- Life expectancy
- 72.8 years (2024)
- Urban population
- 29.1% of population (2025)
Also ranks #9 in homicide rate · #9 in immunisation (dpt) rate · #13 in population ages 15-64 share.
#6 Grenada
Grenada ranks #6 on this list with 63.3% of population.
- Capital
- St. George's
- Continent
- North America
- Income group
- Upper middle income
- Population
- 117,300 people (2025)
- GDP
- US$1.42 billion (2025)
- GDP per person
- US$12,107 (2025)
- Life expectancy
- 75.4 years (2024)
- Urban population
- 36.7% of population (2025)
Also ranks #15 in gini index · #16 in income share of richest 10% · #23 in homicide rate.
#7 Viet Nam
Viet Nam ranks #7 on this list with 61.2% of population.
- Capital
- Hanoi
- Continent
- Asia
- Income group
- Upper middle income
- Population
- 101.6 million people (2025)
- GDP
- US$514.7 billion (2025)
- GDP per person
- US$5,066 (2025)
- Life expectancy
- 74.7 years (2024)
- Urban population
- 38.8% of population (2025)
Largest cities: Ho Chi Minh City, Hanoi, Đồng Nai.
Also ranks #3 in official exchange rate · #4 in fish production · #6 in container port traffic.
#8 Mauritius
Mauritius ranks #8 on this list with 61% of population.
- Capital
- Port Louis
- Continent
- Africa
- Income group
- Upper middle income
- Population
- 1.24 million people (2025)
- GDP
- US$16.16 billion (2025)
- GDP per person
- US$12,991 (2025)
- Life expectancy
- 73.8 years (2024)
- Urban population
- 39% of population (2025)
Also ranks #6 in cereal yield · #11 in low-birthweight babies share · #15 in population density.
#9 Belize
Belize ranks #9 on this list with 58.4% of population.
- Capital
- Belmopan
- Continent
- North America
- Income group
- Upper middle income
- Population
- 422,920 people (2025)
- GDP
- US$3.33 billion (2025)
- GDP per person
- US$7,866 (2025)
- Life expectancy
- 73.7 years (2024)
- Urban population
- 41.6% of population (2025)
Also ranks #2 in secure internet servers per million · #12 in homicide rate · #14 in time to start a business (days).
#10 Maldives
Maldives ranks #10 on this list with 57.5% of population.
- Capital
- Malé
- Continent
- Asia
- Income group
- Upper middle income
- Population
- 529,680 people (2025)
- GDP
- US$7.74 billion (2025)
- GDP per person
- US$14,615 (2025)
- Life expectancy
- 81.3 years (2024)
- Urban population
- 42.5% of population (2025)
Also ranks #5 in male population share · #5 in population ages 15-64 share · #8 in population density.
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.