Rural population, female in Sub-Saharan Africa (excluding high income)
Sub-Saharan Africa (excluding high income): Rural population, female was 31.3% in 2015. ▼ Falling
Rural population, female in Sub-Saharan Africa (excluding high income), 1980–2015
Source: The United Nations Population Division's World Urbanization Prospects. Measured in % of total.
Analysis
The most recent figure for rural population, female in Sub-Saharan Africa (excluding high income) is 31.3%, measured in 2015. That is the lowest value across all 8 years on record.
Compared with earlier readings it is down 7.5% over ten years.
Over the whole period, rural population, female in Sub-Saharan Africa (excluding high income) peaked at 39.3% in 1980 and was at its lowest, 31.3%, in 2015.
Sub-Saharan Africa (excluding high income) ranks 11th of 47 groups on this measure, in the top quarter.
Rural population, female in Sub-Saharan Africa (excluding high income), year by year
| Year | % of total | Change |
|---|---|---|
| 1980 | 39.3% | — |
| 1985 | 38.1% | -3.0% |
| 1990 | 36.8% | -3.6% |
| 1995 | 35.8% | -2.7% |
| 2000 | 34.9% | -2.4% |
| 2005 | 33.8% | -3.1% |
| 2010 | 32.6% | -3.6% |
| 2015 | 31.3% | -4.0% |
Averages by decade
| Decade | Average | Lowest | Highest | Years |
|---|---|---|---|---|
| 1980s | 38.7% | 38.1% | 39.3% | 2 |
| 1990s | 36.3% | 35.8% | 36.8% | 2 |
| 2000s | 34.4% | 33.8% | 34.9% | 2 |
| 2010s | 32.0% | 31.3% | 32.6% | 2 |
Countries ranked near Sub-Saharan Africa (excluding high income)
More gender data for Sub-Saharan Africa (excluding high income)
- Labor force, female 247.09 million (2025)
- Labor force, female, per capita 0.187 units per person (2025)
- Labor force, female, per unit of GDP 0.0001 units per US$ of GDP (2025)
- Labor force, female, annual growth rate 2.97 % change on previous year (2025)
- Labor force, female, per square kilometre 9.83 units per square kilometre (2023)
- Incidence of HIV, ages 15-49, female 1.12 per 1,000 uninfected female population ages 15-49 (2024)
- Incidence of HIV, ages 15-49, male 0.5884 per 1,000 uninfected male population ages 15-49 (2024)
- Incidence of HIV, ages 15-24, female 1.38 per 1,000 uninfected female population ages 15-24 (2024)
- Incidence of HIV, ages 15-24, male 0.4268 per 1,000 uninfected male population ages 15-24 (2024)
- Ratio of female to male youth unemployment rate (% ages 15-24) 127.7% (2025)
Frequently asked questions
- What is rural population, female in Sub-Saharan Africa (excluding high income)?
- Rural population, female in Sub-Saharan Africa (excluding high income) was 31.3% in 2015, according to The United Nations Population Division's World Urbanization Prospects.
- What is the highest rural population, female recorded in Sub-Saharan Africa (excluding high income)?
- The highest recorded value was 39.3% in 1980.
- What is the lowest rural population, female recorded in Sub-Saharan Africa (excluding high income)?
- The lowest recorded value was 31.3% in 2015.
- How does Sub-Saharan Africa (excluding high income) rank for rural population, female?
- Sub-Saharan Africa (excluding high income) ranks 11th out of 47 groups with data for 2015.
- Is rural population, female rising or falling in Sub-Saharan Africa (excluding high income)?
- Over the last ten years it is down 7.5%. The long-run trend across the full record is falling.
- Where does this Sub-Saharan Africa (excluding high income) data come from?
- The figures come from The United Nations Population Division's World Urbanization Prospects, published as part of Rural population, female (% of total). Statizoid updates them automatically from the source API.
Download this data
CSV · JSON — 8 observations, free to reuse under CC BY 4.0 (World Bank Open Data).
About this data
Female rural population is the percentage of females who live in rural areas to total population.