World Rural Development Day
Next: July 6, 2027
For the villages that feed the world.
The story
Where it comes from
World Rural Development Day was declared by the UN General Assembly on 6 September 2024, in a resolution adopted by consensus. Bangladesh proposed it, with India, Nepal, Peru, the Philippines and Thailand, to draw attention to the people who farm the land, fish the seas and live far from the cities, and who still carry much of the world's poverty. The date recalls 6 July 1979, when the Centre on Integrated Rural Development for Asia and the Pacific (CIRDAP) was founded.
How it's celebrated
The UN invites governments, organisations and individuals to mark the day with practical projects for rural places and communities, from roads and clinics to schools and internet access. Anyone can join in: buy from local farmers and small producers, visit the countryside, or call the relatives back in the village and ask how life there is changing.
Did you know
- Eight in ten of the world's poorest people live in rural areas.
- CIRDAP, the Asia-Pacific rural development centre whose founding the date recalls, first launched the day itself in 2022, before the UN took it up.
- The resolution passed without a vote, and at least 30 countries co-sponsored it.
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