Demographics · Africa ranking
Rural Population by African country
Malawi has the highest share of the population living in rural areas of any African country, at 82.4%, ahead of Niger and South Sudan.
Share of the population living in rural areas. 54 of 54 countries, ranked · World Bank — World Development Indicators, 2025.
Malawi
Niger
South SudanBy region
Full ranking
| # | Country | Rural Population | |
|---|---|---|---|
| 1 | Malawi | 82.4% | |
| 2 | Niger | 81.6% | |
| 3 | South Sudan | 78.3% | |
| 4 | Ethiopia | 75.9% | |
| 5 | Burundi | 74.3% | |
| 6 | Eswatini | 73.3% | |
| 7 | Chad | 72.4% | |
| 8 | Burkina Faso | 71.1% | |
| 9 | Rwanda | 69.1% | |
| 10 | Uganda | 68.1% | |
| 11 | Kenya | 67.8% | |
| 12 | Mali | 67.8% | |
| 13 | Madagascar | 67.1% | |
| 14 | Comoros | 66.1% | |
| 15 | Eritrea | 65.5% | |
| 16 | Sudan | 65.1% | |
| 17 | Tanzania | 63.1% | |
| 18 | Mozambique | 62.8% | |
| 19 | Guinea | 61.5% | |
| 20 | Mauritius | 61% | |
| 21 | Zimbabwe | 59.5% | |
| 22 | Egypt | 57.1% | |
| 23 | Togo | 55.6% | |
| 24 | Central African Republic | 55.4% | |
| 25 | Lesotho | 55.3% | |
| 26 | Democratic Republic of the Congo | 54.9% | |
| 27 | Seychelles | 54.5% | |
| 28 | Zambia | 54.1% | |
| 29 | Sierra Leone | 54.1% | |
| 30 | Guinea-Bissau | 53.3% | |
| 31 | Namibia | 49.1% | |
| 32 | Benin | 46.6% | |
| 33 | Cote d'Ivoire | 45.5% | |
| 34 | Somalia | 44.9% | |
| 35 | Cameroon | 44.3% | |
| 36 | Senegal | 44.2% | |
| 37 | Liberia | 43.9% | |
| 38 | Ghana | 41.1% | |
| 39 | Mauritania | 38.5% | |
| 40 | Morocco | 36.9% | |
| 41 | Nigeria | 36.2% | |
| 42 | South Africa | 36.2% | |
| 43 | Republic of the Congo | 35.9% | |
| 44 | Gambia | 35% | |
| 45 | Botswana | 32% | |
| 46 | Sao Tome and Principe | 30.8% | |
| 47 | Tunisia | 29.3% | |
| 48 | Angola | 28.5% | |
| 49 | Equatorial Guinea | 28.4% | |
| 50 | Djibouti | 27% | |
| 51 | Algeria | 24.2% | |
| 52 | Cabo Verde | 22.4% | |
| 53 | Libya | 12.1% | |
| 54 | Gabon | 7.9% |
Ethiopia
Burundi
Eswatini
Chad
Burkina Faso
Rwanda
Uganda
Kenya
Mali
Madagascar
Comoros
Eritrea
Sudan
Tanzania
Mozambique
Guinea
Mauritius
Zimbabwe
Egypt
Togo
Central African Republic
Lesotho
Democratic Republic of the Congo
Seychelles
Zambia
Sierra Leone
Guinea-Bissau
Namibia
Benin
Cote d'Ivoire
Somalia
Cameroon
Senegal
Liberia
Ghana
Mauritania
Morocco
Nigeria
South Africa
Republic of the Congo
Gambia
Botswana
Sao Tome and Principe
Tunisia
Angola
Equatorial Guinea
Djibouti
Algeria
Cabo Verde
Libya
GabonGet this ranking via API
One call to /v1/data returns the latest Rural Population figure for every country you pass — JSON, with source metadata on each observation.
curl "https://api.africa-api.com/v1/data?metric_key=rural_population_pct&latest=true&country_codes=NG,KE,ZA,EG" \
-H "Authorization: Bearer $AFRICA_API_KEY"Cite or republish this ranking
Data: Africa API — World Bank — World Development Indicators, 2025. Free to republish with a link to this page. Pull the live figures via the API above so your version never goes stale.
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Frequently asked questions
Which African country has the highest share of the population living in rural areas?
Malawi has the highest share of the population living in rural areas in Africa at 82.4% (2025), followed by Niger and South Sudan.
Which African country has the lowest share of the population living in rural areas?
Gabon has the lowest share of the population living in rural areas of the 54 African countries with data, at 7.9% (2025).
How many African countries report Rural Population data?
54 of 54 African countries have a Rural Population figure in the Africa API, each from the latest year available for that country (which can differ between countries). Every value links to its full series with source and history.
How do I get this ranking via API?
Call GET /v1/data?metric_key=rural_population_pct&latest=true with the country codes you need and a free Africa API key — the response returns the latest value per country as JSON.
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