Armenia - Rural population (% of total population)

Rural population (% of total population) in Armenia was 36.69 as of 2020. Its highest value over the past 60 years was 48.73 in 1960, while its lowest value was 32.29 in 1988.

Definition: 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.

Source: World Bank staff estimates based on the United Nations Population Division's World Urbanization Prospects: 2018 Revision.

See also:

Year Value
1960 48.73
1961 47.85
1962 46.98
1963 46.11
1964 45.24
1965 44.38
1966 43.52
1967 42.66
1968 41.81
1969 40.96
1970 40.14
1971 39.34
1972 38.56
1973 37.78
1974 37.00
1975 36.39
1976 35.78
1977 35.18
1978 34.58
1979 34.16
1980 33.95
1981 33.74
1982 33.53
1983 33.33
1984 33.12
1985 32.91
1986 32.70
1987 32.50
1988 32.29
1989 32.31
1990 32.58
1991 32.85
1992 33.12
1993 33.39
1994 33.67
1995 33.94
1996 34.22
1997 34.50
1998 34.77
1999 35.05
2000 35.33
2001 35.62
2002 35.76
2003 35.86
2004 35.96
2005 36.06
2006 36.16
2007 36.26
2008 36.36
2009 36.46
2010 36.56
2011 36.66
2012 36.76
2013 36.84
2014 36.89
2015 36.92
2016 36.92
2017 36.90
2018 36.85
2019 36.78
2020 36.69

Development Relevance: The rural population is calculated using the urban share reported by the United Nations Population Division. There is no universal standard for distinguishing rural from urban areas, and any urban-rural dichotomy is an oversimplification. The two distinct images - isolated farm, thriving metropolis - represent poles on a continuum. Life changes along a variety of dimensions, moving from the most remote forest outpost through fields and pastures, past tiny hamlets, through small towns with weekly farm markets, into intensively cultivated areas near large towns and small cities, eventually reaching the center of a megacity. Along the way access to infrastructure, social services, and nonfarm employment increase, and with them population density and income. A 2005 World Bank Policy Research Paper proposes an operational definition of rurality based on population density and distance to large cities (Chomitz, Buys, and Thomas 2005). The report argues that these criteria are important gradients along which economic behavior and appropriate development interventions vary substantially. Where population densities are low, markets of all kinds are thin, and the unit cost of delivering most social services and many types of infrastructure is high. Where large urban areas are distant, farm-gate or factory-gate prices of outputs will be low and input prices will be high, and it will be difficult to recruit skilled people to public service or private enterprises. Thus, low population density and remoteness together define a set of rural areas that face special development challenges. Countries differ in the way they classify population as "urban" or "rural." Most countries use an urban classification related to the size or characteristics of settlements. Some define urban areas based on the presence of certain infrastructure and services. And other countries designate urban areas based on administrative arrangements. Because of national differences in the characteristics that distinguish urban from rural areas, the distinction between urban and rural population is not amenable to a single definition that would be applicable to all countries. Rural population methodology is defined by various national statistical offices. In the United States, for example, the US Census Bureau's urban-rural classification is fundamentally a delineation of geographical areas, identifying both individual urban areas and the rural areas of the nation. "Rural" encompasses all population, housing, and territory not included within an urban area.

Limitations and Exceptions: Aggregation of urban and rural population may not add up to total population because of different country coverage. There is no consistent and universally accepted standard for distinguishing urban from rural areas, in part because of the wide variety of situations across countries. Estimates of the world's urban population would change significantly if China, India, and a few other populous nations were to change their definition of urban centers. Because the estimates of city and metropolitan area are based on national definitions of what constitutes a city or metropolitan area, cross-country comparisons should be made with caution. To estimate urban populations, UN ratios of urban to total population were applied to the World Bank's estimates of total population.

Statistical Concept and Methodology: Rural population is calculated as the difference between the total population and the urban population. Rural population is approximated as the midyear nonurban population. While a practical means of identifying the rural population, it is not a precise measure. The United Nations Population Division and other agencies provide current population estimates for developing countries that lack recent census data and pre- and post-census estimates for countries with census data.

Aggregation method: Weighted average

Periodicity: Annual

Classification

Topic: Environment Indicators

Sub-Topic: Density & urbanization