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Upper middle income Countries Ranked by Rural population (2025)

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

Summary

China ranks #1 with 473.41 million people. That is 4.1 times Indonesia in second place (116.02 million people). The top five are China, Indonesia, Viet Nam, Philippines and Thailand. Together the top 10 account for 86.2% of the total across the 59 Upper middle income countries listed. The median across all 59 is 1.53 million people; Tuvalu is last at 3,280 people. China's figure has fallen 40% since 2001 (792.87 million people to 473.41 million people in 2025).

#1
China · 473.41 million people
Median
1.53 million people
Coverage
59 Upper middle income countries
Data year
2025
Last updated
2026-11-14
Top 10: Rural populationBar chart of the top 10: 1. China 473.41 million; 2. Indonesia 116.02 million; 3. Viet Nam 62.15 million; 4. Philippines 51.65 million; 5. Thailand 26.64 million; 6. Mexico 26.34 million; 7. Brazil 25.16 million; 8. South Africa 23.43 million; 9. Iran, Islamic Rep. 20.91 million; 10. Sri Lanka 17.31 million.China473.41 millionIndonesia116.02 millionViet Nam62.15 millionPhilippines51.65 millionThailand26.64 millionMexico26.34 millionBrazil25.16 millionSouth Africa23.43 millionIran, Islamic Rep.20.91 millionSri Lanka17.31 million
Top 10: Rural population (people). Bar chart of the top 10: 1. China 473.41 million; 2. Indonesia 116.02 million; 3. Viet Nam 62.15 million; 4. Philippines 51.65 million; 5. Thailand 26.64 million; 6. Mexico 26.34 million; 7. Brazil 25.16 million; 8. South Africa 23.43 million; 9. Iran, Islamic Rep. 20.91 million; 10. Sri Lanka 17.31 million.
Rural population over time, top 5China: 792.87 million in 2001 to 473.41 million in 2025; Indonesia: 125.1 million in 2001 to 116.02 million in 2025; Viet Nam: 58.52 million in 2001 to 62.15 million in 2025; Philippines: 49.22 million in 2001 to 51.65 million in 2025; Thailand: 42.81 million in 2001 to 26.64 million in 2025.0198.22 million396.44 million594.65 million792.87 million200120132025ChinaIndonesiaViet NamPhilippinesThailand
Rural population over time, top 5 (people). China: 792.87 million in 2001 to 473.41 million in 2025; Indonesia: 125.1 million in 2001 to 116.02 million in 2025; Viet Nam: 58.52 million in 2001 to 62.15 million in 2025; Philippines: 49.22 million in 2001 to 51.65 million in 2025; Thailand: 42.81 million in 2001 to 26.64 million in 2025.
Share of the total: Rural populationChina 48.4%; Indonesia 11.9%; Viet Nam 6.4%; Philippines 5.3%; Thailand 2.7%; All others 25.4%48%12%25%

China 48.4%Indonesia 11.9%Viet Nam 6.4%Philippines 5.3%Thailand 2.7%All others 25.4%

Share of the total: Rural population, as a share of 59 Upper middle income countries. China 48.4%; Indonesia 11.9%; Viet Nam 6.4%; Philippines 5.3%; Thailand 2.7%; All others 25.4%.

Full ranking

Upper middle income Countries Ranked by Rural population, 2025
RankCountryRural population (people)
1China473,410,000
2Indonesia116,020,000
3Viet Nam62,148,000
4Philippines51,651,000
5Thailand26,643,000
6Mexico26,335,000
7Brazil25,160,000
8South Africa23,429,000
9Iran, Islamic Rep.20,908,000
10Sri Lanka17,307,000
11Iraq14,135,000
12Ukraine11,852,000
13Algeria11,470,000
14Colombia11,335,000
15Türkiye9,022,400
16Guatemala8,167,100
17Malaysia8,132,800
18Kazakhstan7,840,300
19Ecuador6,695,600
20Peru4,980,300
21Azerbaijan4,238,500
22Turkmenistan4,030,000
23Argentina3,506,700
24Dominican Republic3,166,100
25Cuba2,490,700
26Serbia2,446,900
27Paraguay2,076,600
28Belarus1,863,100
29El Salvador1,558,000
30Georgia1,527,900
31Bosnia and Herzegovina1,485,500
32Moldova1,328,200
33Jamaica1,151,100
34Armenia1,051,700
35Mongolia1,029,800
36Albania966,350
37Libya901,650
38Botswana821,010
39Jordan782,430
40Kosovo773,840
41Mauritius758,220
42North Macedonia675,720
43Equatorial Guinea550,980
44Fiji377,510
45Maldives304,530
46Belize247,150
47Suriname218,900
48Montenegro214,300
49Gabon205,180
50Samoa180,910
51St. Lucia127,730
52Cabo Verde117,960
53Micronesia, Fed. Sts.88,126
54Tonga81,794
55Grenada74,287
56St. Vincent and the Grenadines51,979
57Dominica17,136
58Marshall Islands7,581
59Tuvalu3,280

About the top 10

#8 South Africa

South Africa ranks #8 on this list with 23.43 million people.

Capital
Pretoria, Cape Town
Continent
Africa
Income group
Upper middle income
Population
64.75 million people (2025)
GDP
US$427.18 billion (2025)
GDP per person
US$6,598 (2025)
Life expectancy
66.3 years (2024)
Urban population
63.8% of population (2025)

Largest cities: City of Johannesburg Metropolitan Municipality, Johannesburg, Cape Town.

Also ranks #2 in unemployment rate · #2 in youth unemployment rate · #2 in income share of richest 10%.

Full country profile

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: each country's latest value (2020–2025), 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.