Afghanistan vs Sri Lanka: Share of population living in rural areas
Afghanistan
15.6%
in 2020
Sri Lanka
15.3%
in 2020
Afghanistan rank
178th
Sri Lanka rank
181st
Share of population living in rural areas over time
- Afghanistan
- Sri Lanka
How they compare
Afghanistan currently reports 15.6% against 15.3% in Sri Lanka, a difference of 0.3%.
Across all 15 years both countries report, Afghanistan has been ahead every year.
Afghanistan ranks 178th and Sri Lanka ranks 181st of 236 countries.
Afghanistan has averaged higher in every one of the 8 decades both report.
Head to head by decade
| Decade | Afghanistan | Sri Lanka | Difference | Ahead |
|---|---|---|---|---|
| 1950s | 48.6% | 39.4% | 9.2% | Afghanistan |
| 1960s | 44.5% | 34.4% | 10.1% | Afghanistan |
| 1970s | 38.8% | 29.5% | 9.3% | Afghanistan |
| 1980s | 38.4% | 25.2% | 13.1% | Afghanistan |
| 1990s | 35.0% | 22.2% | 12.8% | Afghanistan |
| 2000s | 26.2% | 18.9% | 7.4% | Afghanistan |
| 2010s | 19.8% | 17.1% | 2.8% | Afghanistan |
| 2020s | 15.6% | 15.3% | 0.3% | Afghanistan |
Averages of every year both report within each decade.
Frequently asked questions
- Which has higher share of population living in rural areas, Afghanistan or Sri Lanka?
- Afghanistan, at 15.6% against 15.3% in Sri Lanka as of 2020.
- What is the difference in share of population living in rural areas between Afghanistan and Sri Lanka?
- 0.3%, with Afghanistan ahead.
- How many years of comparable data are there for Afghanistan and Sri Lanka?
- 15 years are reported by both, from 1950 to 2020.
- How do Afghanistan and Sri Lanka rank globally for share of population living in rural areas?
- Afghanistan ranks 178th and Sri Lanka ranks 181st of 236 countries.
- Where does this data come from?
- European Commission, Joint Research Centre (JRC) (2025) – with major processing by Our World in Data, published as Share of population living in rural areas. Statizoid refreshes it automatically from the source and publishes the full history for both places.
Individual pages
About this data
Estimated share of the population living in rural areas. Rural areas are identified using satellite imagery and population data, applying the same definitions across countries.