Indicator

Rural Population by African country

2025

Share of the population living in rural areas.

Africa, 202554 of 54 countries
53.6%population-weighted average
Highest in 2025Malawi · 82.4%Lowest in 2025Gabon · 7.9%Reported in 202554 of 54 countries surveyed
Click a country to pin it — pinned countries are named on the map. Hatching means no record.
Western Sahara — no separate recordTanzania — 63.1%Democratic Republic of the Congo — 54.9%Somalia — 44.9%Kenya — 67.8%Sudan — 65.1%Chad — 72.4%South Africa — 36.2%Lesotho — 55.3%Zimbabwe — 59.5%Botswana — 32.0%Namibia — 49.1%Senegal — 44.2%Mali — 67.8%Mauritania — 38.5%Benin — 46.6%Niger — 81.6%Nigeria — 36.2%Cameroon — 44.3%Togo — 55.6%Ghana — 41.1%Cote d'Ivoire — 45.5%Guinea — 61.5%Guinea-Bissau — 53.3%Liberia — 43.9%Sierra Leone — 54.1%Burkina Faso — 71.1%Central African Republic — 55.4%Republic of the Congo — 35.9%Gabon — 7.9%Equatorial Guinea — 28.4%Zambia — 54.1%Malawi — 82.4%Mozambique — 62.8%Eswatini — 73.3%Angola — 28.5%Burundi — 74.3%Madagascar — 67.1%Gambia — 35.0%Tunisia — 29.3%Algeria — 24.2%Eritrea — 65.5%Morocco — 36.9%Egypt — 57.1%Libya — 12.1%Ethiopia — 75.9%Djibouti — 27.0%Uganda — 68.1%Rwanda — 69.1%South Sudan — 78.3%Nigeria 36.2%Nigeria 36.2%Ethiopia 75.9%Ethiopia 75.9%Kenya 67.8%Kenya 67.8%South Africa 36.2%South Africa 36.2%2025HIGHEST IN 2025Malawi82.4%Niger81.6%South Sudan78.3%Ethiopia75.9%Burundi74.3%LOWEST IN 2025Gabon7.9%Libya12.1%Cabo Verdenot drawn22.4%Algeria24.2%Djibouti27.0%PINNEDKenya67.8%11 of 54Nigeria36.2%41 of 54South Africa36.2%42 of 54OTHER ISLAND STATES · NOT DRAWNComorosnot drawn66.1%Mauritiusnot drawn61.0%Sao Tome and Principenot drawn30.8%Seychellesnot drawn54.5%% of population · quintiles of the observed range7.9%35%45.5%55.6%67.8%82.4%no record
20142025
World Bank · national statistics offices · the provider's own estimates where a country has not reportedCC BY 4.0
Countries

By region

Population-weighted, so a region’s figure is the share of its people, not the average of its countries.
Eastern Africa18 of 18 countries68.2%
Middle Africa9 of 9 countries49.1%
Northern Africa6 of 6 countries47.6%
Western Africa16 of 16 countries45.8%
Southern Africa5 of 5 countries37.8%
Africaall 54 countries · 54 with a 2025 figure53.6%

What to know before you quote this

Specific to this series. For how we treat data generally, see methods.
Certainty is judged year by yearA country can be Reported in one year and Modelled the next. The tag follows the year on the scrubber, so the 2025 assessment is not a verdict on the whole series.

About this data

Rural PopulationShare of the population living in rural areas.
SourceWorld Bank, with processing by Africa API
Unit% of population
Last updated15 Oct 2026
Next expected updateOct 2027
Date range1960–2025
Coverage54 of 54 countries · 54 reported, 0 modelled, 0 with no usable figure

How the figure is made

ReportedA national statistics office or the original provider published the figure for that year directly. 54 countries did so for 2025 — the certainty shown on this page is that 2025 assessment, not a per-series one.ModelledNo direct figure that year. The provider’s own estimate, interpolation or projection stands in, and is marked as such wherever it appears.No dataNo usable figure within the window. Drawn hatched on the map and left blank in the table — not zero, and not filled in.

These three states are used the same way across every indicator on the site — how we treat certainty explains the full set and what we never do to a number.

Reuse and cite

Everything on this page is open under CC BY 4.0 — use it anywhere, including commercially, as long as Africa API and the original provider are credited. The provider’s own licence still applies to their data.

How to cite this page
Africa API (2026) — "Rural Population". Data adapted from World Bank. Retrieved 18 Oct 2026 from africa-api.com/indicators/rural-population
The request behind this view
GET /v1/data?metric_key=rural_population_pct&year=2025&limit=100

Read next

The measures that explain this one.

Rural Population: most recent figure per country, highest to lowest

54 countries · each with its own period

The figures at the top of the page compare every country in the same year. This list takes each country’s newest figure instead, whatever its period, so the order can differ.

#CountryRural PopulationPeriod
1Malawi82.4%2025
2Niger81.6%2025
3South Sudan78.3%2025
4Ethiopia75.9%2025
5Burundi74.3%2025
6Eswatini73.3%2025
7Chad72.4%2025
8Burkina Faso71.1%2025
9Rwanda69.1%2025
10Uganda68.1%2025
11Kenya67.8%2025
12Mali67.8%2025
13Madagascar67.1%2025
14Comoros66.1%2025
15Eritrea65.5%2025
16Sudan65.1%2025
17Tanzania63.1%2025
18Mozambique62.8%2025
19Guinea61.5%2025
20Mauritius61%2025
21Zimbabwe59.5%2025
22Egypt57.1%2025
23Togo55.6%2025
24Central African Republic55.4%2025
25Lesotho55.3%2025
26Democratic Republic of the Congo54.9%2025
27Seychelles54.5%2025
28Zambia54.1%2025
29Sierra Leone54.1%2025
30Guinea-Bissau53.3%2025
31Namibia49.1%2025
32Benin46.6%2025
33Cote d'Ivoire45.5%2025
34Somalia44.9%2025
35Cameroon44.3%2025
36Senegal44.2%2025
37Liberia43.9%2025
38Ghana41.1%2025
39Mauritania38.5%2025
40Morocco36.9%2025
41Nigeria36.2%2025
42South Africa36.2%2025
43Republic of the Congo35.9%2025
44Gambia35%2025
45Botswana32%2025
46Sao Tome and Principe30.8%2025
47Tunisia29.3%2025
48Angola28.5%2025
49Equatorial Guinea28.4%2025
50Djibouti27%2025
51Algeria24.2%2025
52Cabo Verde22.4%2025
53Libya12.1%2025
54Gabon7.9%2025
Which observations are included?
The ranking includes 54 of 54 countries with available observations for 2023 or later and within 2 years of the freshest result. Each figure shows its reporting period. Countries without an eligible observation are omitted.
Does a higher value mean a better result?
The ranking is sorted by value, from highest to lowest. The order does not rate a country's performance. Interpretation depends on the indicator and its definition.

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