Mapped: Only 36 Countries Are Still Majority Rural

Mapped: Only 36 Countries Are Still Majority Rural

Today, most people live in cities, but that wasn’t always the case. Decades of industrialization and economic development have steadily shifted populations toward urban centers, making majority-rural countries increasingly uncommon.

The map above highlights the 36 countries where more than half of the population still lives in rural areas, using the latest available World Bank data. While most are concentrated in Sub-Saharan Africa, a handful remain across South Asia, Southeast Asia, Oceania, and the Caribbean.

The Most Rural Populations

Below, we show all countries sorted by rural population share:

Rank	Countries	Rural population (%, 2024)
1	Papua New Guinea	86.12
2	Liechtenstein	85.29
3	Burundi	84.84
4	Niger	82.77
5	Samoa	82.58
6	Rwanda	81.92
7	Malawi	81.40
8	Saint Lucia	80.69
9	Sri Lanka	80.58
10	Nepal	77.63
11	Tonga	76.79
12	Micronesia	76.44
13	Ethiopia	76.34
14	Chad	75.31
15	Swaziland	74.99
16	Cambodia	73.96
17	Vanuatu	73.85
18	Solomon Islands	73.51
19	Afghanistan	72.74
20	Guyana	72.68
21	Uganda	72.61
22	Tajikistan	71.48
23	Kenya	69.95
24	Comoros	69.58
25	Lesotho	69.10
26	Barbados	68.45
27	Burma	67.53
28	Zimbabwe	67.33
29	Burkina Faso	66.83
30	Sudan	63.25
31	India	63.13
32	Grenada	62.73
33	Tanzania	61.86
34	Kyrgyzstan	61.83
35	Pakistan	61.63
36	Guinea	61.48
37	Laos	61.09
38	Mozambique	60.67
39	Vietnam	59.81
40	Yemen	59.52
41	Mauritius	59.06
42	Bangladesh	58.77
43	Madagascar	58.77
44	Maldives	57.59
45	Faroe Isl.	56.79
46	Egypt	56.74
47	Moldova	56.40
48	Eritrea	56.09
49	Central African Republic	55.87
50	Aruba	55.53
51	Sierra Leone	55.22
52	Bhutan	55.00
53	Togo	54.94
54	Guinea-Bissau	54.11
55	Belize	53.16
56	Zambia	53.09
57	Mali	53.07
58	Democratic Republic of the Congo	51.94
59	Somalia	51.48
60	Philippines	51.39
61	Senegal	49.92
62	Uzbekistan	49.37
63	Benin	49.33
64	Bosnia & Herzegovina	49.29
65	Guatemala	46.46
66	Trinidad & Tobago	46.44
67	Ivory Coast	46.36
68	Liberia	45.92
69	Slovakia	45.83
70	Thailand	45.68
71	Turkmenistan	45.48
72	St. Vincent & the Grenadines	45.28
73	Romania	45.12
74	Nigeria	44.97
75	Namibia	44.21
76	Slovenia	43.56
77	Serbia	42.63
78	Jamaica	42.24
79	Azerbaijan	42.00
80	Syria	41.96
81	Kazakhstan	41.61
82	Kiribati	41.55
83	Mauritania	41.54
84	Croatia	41.06
85	Fiji	40.81
86	Indonesia	40.80
87	Seychelles	40.76
88	Austria	40.18
89	Ghana	40.15
90	North Macedonia	40.13
91	Cameroon	40.11
92	Nicaragua	39.85
93	Poland	39.67
94	Haiti	39.53
95	Honduras	39.18
96	Georgia	38.84
97	Paraguay	36.51
98	North Korea	36.50
99	Armenia	36.07
100	Ireland	35.24
101	Ecuador	34.97
102	Gambia	34.92
103	Albania	34.62
104	China	34.46
105	Morocco	34.36
106	Suriname	33.47
107	Tuvalu	33.07
108	Cyprus	32.92
109	Cape Verde	31.59
110	Portugal	31.58
111	Latvia	31.18
112	Montenegro	31.16
113	Lithuania	31.06
114	Mongolia	30.74
115	Angola	30.72
116	South Africa	30.70
117	Republic of Congo	30.36
118	Panama	30.11
119	Estonia	29.98
120	Ukraine	29.72
121	Tunisia	29.12
122	Bolivia	28.45
123	Iraq	28.15
124	Italy	27.71
125	Dominica	27.69
126	New Caledonia	26.89
127	Hungary	26.82
128	Botswana	26.51
129	Switzerland	25.67
130	Czechia	25.26
131	Equitorial Guinea	25.13
132	Russia	24.45
133	Algeria	24.25
134	El Salvador	24.00
135	Bulgaria	22.96
136	Iran	22.3
137	Palestine	22.12
138	Turkey	22.11
139	Germany	22.10
140	Djibouti	21.27
141	Peru	20.86
142	Malaysia	20.8
143	Brunei	20.56
144	Greece	19.02
145	Belarus	18.88
146	South Korea	18.50
147	Spain	18.20
148	Mexico	18.14
149	Libya	18.09
150	Canada	18.02
151	France	17.96
152	Colombia	17.35
153	Palau	17.16
154	Costa Rica	16.83
155	USA	16.49
156	Bahamas	16.24
157	Norway	15.68
158	United Kingdom	15.12
159	Dominican Republic	14.99
160	Saudi Arabia	14.83
161	Finland	14.13
162	Australia	13.25
163	New Zealand	12.91
164	Andorra	12.25
165	UA Emirates	11.99
166	Brazil	11.98
167	Chile	11.88
168	Venezuela	11.49
169	Denmark	11.37
170	Sweden	11.02
171	Oman	11.00
172	Lebanon	10.4
173	Bahrain	10.00
174	Gabon	8.69
175	Japan	7.87
176	Jordan	7.79
177	Luxembourg	7.73
178	Argentina	7.42
179	Israel	7.05
180	Netherlands	6.55
181	Iceland	5.91
182	Malta	4.99
183	Uruguay	4.15
184	San Marino	2.07
185	Belgium	1.78
186	Qatar	0.61
187	Bermuda	0
188	Gibraltar	0
189	Hong Kong	0
190	Kuwait	0
191	Macao	0
192	Monaco	0
193	Singapore	0

Africa dominates the ranking, with countries like Burundi, Malawi, Niger, and South Sudan among the world’s most rural. Outside Africa, Nepal, Timor-Leste, Papua New Guinea, and Cambodia also remain predominantly rural.

The World Has Become Increasingly Urban

Urbanization has been one of the defining demographic shifts of the past century. As countries develop, employment opportunities, education, healthcare, and infrastructure often become concentrated in cities, drawing millions of people away from rural communities.

According to Our World in Data, about two-thirds of the global population lived in rural areas in 1960. Today, that share has fallen to roughly 43%, with urban residents now accounting for the majority of humanity.

The transition has been particularly rapid across East Asia, Latin America, and the Middle East, where urban populations have grown dramatically over the past several decades.

Why Africa Still Has So Many Rural Countries

Sub-Saharan Africa accounts for the overwhelming majority of countries on this list. Although many African cities are among the fastest-growing in the world, agriculture remains a major employer across the continent, and a significant share of the population continues to live in villages and smaller communities.

Many of these nations also have relatively young populations and lower levels of industrialization compared to more urbanized regions, meaning rural livelihoods remain central to their economies.

Many majority-rural countries also feature prominently in our ranking of the countries with the most agricultural land, reflecting the continued importance of farming and rural industries.

Will Majority-Rural Countries Become Rarer?

Current demographic projections suggest the answer is yes. Global population growth over the coming decades is expected to be concentrated in urban areas, with cities continuing to absorb most new residents.

That said, the pace of urbanization differs widely across countries. In many lower-income nations, especially across Africa, rural populations are expected to remain substantial for years to come, even as cities continue to expand.

The result is a world that is steadily becoming more urban, while rural communities continue to play a vital role in feeding populations, supporting livelihoods, and shaping national economies.

• Source: https://www.visualcapitalist.com/which-countries-have-a-majority-rural-population/