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South Africa
Rural population (% of total population)

Rural population refers to people living in rural areas as defined by national statistical offices. It is calculated as the difference between total population and urban population.

Global rank#107out of 217 countries
Go to rankingOpenglobal ranking and map

Historical trend

53.349.044.740.536.2196019932025South Africa · 2025: 36South Africa

Analytical takeaways

  • South Africa records 36 for Rural population (% of total population) in 2025, ranking #107 globally out of 217 countries.
  • Rural population (% of total population) declined from 53 in 1960 to 36 in 2025, a decrease of 17.
  • The country sits in the middle of the global distribution for this metric, making the page a balanced entry point for comparative analysis beyond the extremes.

Comparison

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