Employment in agriculture (modelled ILO estimate)

181 countries, 2025. Unit: % of employment.

First in the ranking
85.3 %
Burundi
Median country
14.5 %
half above, half below
World
25.8 %
World Bank aggregate
Range
0.1 to 85.3
Singapore - Burundi

How to read it

Across 181 countries worldwide, the highest value is in Burundi (85.3 %) and the lowest in Singapore (0.1 %).

The median country is at 14.5 %: half are above, half below.

For the world as a whole, the value fell from 39.9 % in 1996 to 25.8 % in 2025.

Employment is defined as persons of working age who were engaged in any activity to produce goods or provide services for pay or profit, whether at work during the reference period or not at work due to temporary absence from a job, or to working-time arrangement. The agriculture sector consists of activities in agriculture, hunting, forestry and fishing, in accordance with division 1 (ISIC 2) or categories A-B…

Compare selected countries · on the world map

Source: ILO Modelled Estimates database (ILOEST), International Labour Organization (ILO), uri: https://ilostat.ilo.org/data/bulk/, publisher: ILOSTAT, type: external… · via World Bank WDI (SL.AGR.EMPL.ZS) · licence

Jobs in agriculture over time

%

Add to chart:

Ranking of countries

2025
In chart Continent Share of the highest value
1Burundi85.3Africa
2Mozambique73.0Africa
3Niger73.0Africa
4Chad71.7Africa
5Madagascar69.2Africa
6Laos68.6Asia
7Central African Republic66.1Africa
8Malawi65.0Africa
9Uganda64.9Africa
10Tanzania64.6Africa
11Mali63.0Africa
12Guinea-Bissau61.1Africa
13Ethiopia60.1Africa
14Democratic Republic of the Congo58.5Africa
15Eritrea55.5Africa
16Equatorial Guinea55.3Africa
17Zambia54.5Africa
18Zimbabwe54.3Africa
19North Korea54.1Asia
20Angola51.9Africa
21Burkina Faso51.8Africa
22Afghanistan51.6Asia
23Moldova50.5Europe
24Guinea47.4Africa
25Haiti46.6North America
26Timor-Leste46.0Asia
27Kenya45.8Africa
28Côte d'Ivoire45.4Africa
29Myanmar45.0Asia
30Vanuatu44.5Oceania
31Sierra Leone44.5Africa
32Bangladesh44.3Asia
33Tajikistan43.3Asia
34Solomon Islands42.5Oceania
35Bhutan42.4Asia
36Cameroon41.9Africa
37India41.6Asia
38Liberia41.1Africa
39Benin40.2Africa
40Togo37.6Africa
41Papua New Guinea36.9Oceania
42Republic of the Congo36.4Africa
43Pakistan36.2Asia
44Fiji35.6Oceania
45Rwanda35.1Africa
46Ghana34.6Africa
47Azerbaijan34.2Asia
48Georgia34.0Asia
49Comoros33.6Africa
50Nigeria33.5Africa
51Cambodia33.4Asia
52Ecuador32.5South America
53Mauritania32.1Africa
54Yemen31.6Asia
55Lesotho30.9Africa
56Albania30.8Europe
57Nicaragua30.5North America
58Somalia30.0Africa
59Senegal29.6Africa
60Guatemala29.1North America
61Gabon28.9Africa
62Thailand28.6Asia
63Morocco27.9Africa
64The Gambia27.6Africa
65Indonesia27.3Asia
66Mongolia27.0Asia
67Armenia27.0Asia
68Samoa26.9Oceania
69Sri Lanka25.9Asia
70Uzbekistan25.2Asia
71Vietnam25.0Asia
72Bolivia24.7South America
73Tonga23.6Oceania
74Peru23.1South America
75Nepal22.9Asia
76Honduras22.4North America
77Namibia22.3Africa
78Turkmenistan21.9Asia
79China21.7Asia
80Philippines20.5Asia
81Botswana18.0Africa
82Serbia18.0Europe
83Egypt17.5Africa
84Bosnia and Herzegovina16.7Europe
85Syria16.3Asia
86Belize16.1North America
87Panama16.0North America
88Paraguay16.0South America
89Cuba15.5North America
90Kyrgyzstan15.4Asia
91Eswatini14.5Africa
92Türkiye14.2Asia
93Colombia14.2South America
94Jamaica13.9North America
95El Salvador13.9North America
96Iran13.6Asia
97Tunisia12.5Africa
98Guyana12.2South America
99São Tomé and Principe12.1Africa
100Costa Rica11.5North America
101Mexico11.4North America
102Kazakhstan11.3Asia
103Maldives11.3Asia
104Romania10.9Europe
105Greece10.7Europe
106Libya10.0Africa
107Algeria9.5Africa
108Belarus9.5Europe
109Cabo Verde9.2Africa
110Malaysia9.2Asia
111Saint Vincent and the Grenadines9.1North America
112Venezuela8.9South America
113North Macedonia8.5Europe
114Iraq8.2Asia
115Uruguay8.1South America
116Brazil7.6South America
117Saint Lucia7.5North America
118Dominican Republic7.0North America
119Argentina7.0South America
120Suriname7.0South America
121Latvia6.7Europe
122Poland6.2Europe
123Chile6.1South America
124Oman5.9Asia
125New Zealand5.4Oceania
126South Africa5.4Africa
127Russia5.1Europe
128South Korea5.1Asia
129Mauritius4.7Africa
130Bulgaria4.7Europe
131Lithuania4.7Europe
132Trinidad and Tobago4.5North America
133Croatia4.3Europe
134Montenegro4.2Europe
135Hungary4.1Europe
136Ireland3.9Europe
137Slovenia3.7Europe
138Iceland3.6Europe
139Finland3.5Europe
140Spain3.4Europe
141Italy3.3Europe
142Jordan3.1Asia
143Estonia3.0Europe
144Japan2.8Asia
145Portugal2.8Europe
146Austria2.8Europe
147Czechia2.7Europe
148Norway2.5Europe
149Saudi Arabia2.5Asia
150France2.3Europe
151Switzerland2.2Europe
152Australia2.2Oceania
153Slovakia2.2Europe
154Cyprus2.2Asia
155French Polynesia1.9Oceania
156Kuwait1.9Asia
157New Caledonia1.8Oceania
158Sweden1.8Europe
159Netherlands1.7Europe
160Denmark1.6Europe
161Qatar1.6Asia
162United States Virgin Islands1.6North America
163Guam1.6Oceania
164United States1.5North America
165United Arab Emirates1.4Asia
166Barbados1.2North America
167Brunei1.2Asia
168Djibouti1.2Africa
169Puerto Rico1.1North America
170Canada1.1North America
171Germany1.1Europe
172Belgium1.0Europe
173Luxembourg0.9Europe
174Malta0.9Europe
175United Kingdom0.9Europe
176Bahrain0.8Asia
177Bahamas0.8North America
178Israel0.8Asia
179Macao0.4Asia
180Hong Kong0.2Asia
181Singapore0.1Asia
World Bank, WDI · SL.AGR.EMPL.ZS · 2025 · CC BY 4.0 Source and licence

Biggest changes, 2015-2025

change in percentage points · 181 countries

Largest increase

  1. Afghanistan 43.6 → 51.6 +8.0 pp
  2. Papua New Guinea 29.3 → 36.9 +7.5 pp
  3. Ecuador 27.3 → 32.5 +5.2 pp
  4. Togo 34.6 → 37.6 +3.0 pp
  5. Venezuela 6.5 → 8.9 +2.4 pp

Largest decrease

  1. Rwanda 54.7 → 35.1 −19.7 pp
  2. Vietnam 44.0 → 25.0 −19.0 pp
  3. Bhutan 58.0 → 42.4 −15.6 pp
  4. Georgia 46.9 → 34.0 −13.0 pp
  5. Sierra Leone 56.9 → 44.5 −12.4 pp

Continents over time

median country of each continent

Jobs in agriculture - continent medians

%

Africa Asia Europe North America South America Oceania

0 20 40 60 1991 Africa: 53.84 Asia: 38.88 Europe: 10.62 North America: 23.26 South America: 18.33 Oceania: 28.42 1992 Africa: 55 Asia: 39.02 Europe: 10.45 North America: 23.25 South America: 18.14 Oceania: 27.69 1993 Africa: 57.19 Asia: 38.29 Europe: 10 North America: 22.7 South America: 17.9 Oceania: 26.98 1994 Africa: 56.17 Asia: 38.85 Europe: 10.35 North America: 21.88 South America: 17.59 Oceania: 26.94 1995 Africa: 55.97 Asia: 37.42 Europe: 9.72 North America: 22.82 South America: 17.37 Oceania: 27.31 1996 Africa: 55.38 Asia: 37.09 Europe: 9.98 North America: 21.98 South America: 16.88 Oceania: 26.75 1997 Africa: 54.14 Asia: 37.19 Europe: 9.69 North America: 19.11 South America: 16.72 Oceania: 27.15 1998 Africa: 53.25 Asia: 37.76 Europe: 9.1 North America: 19.42 South America: 16.48 Oceania: 27.42 1999 Africa: 52.83 Asia: 37.47 Europe: 8.64 North America: 19.29 South America: 17 Oceania: 27.63 2000 Africa: 52.28 Asia: 36.18 Europe: 7.95 North America: 17.52 South America: 17.03 Oceania: 28.21 2001 Africa: 51.88 Asia: 35.79 Europe: 7.27 North America: 16.57 South America: 17.03 Oceania: 28.18 2002 Africa: 53.45 Asia: 35.31 Europe: 7.03 North America: 16.84 South America: 16.7 Oceania: 28.37 2003 Africa: 53.22 Asia: 34.42 Europe: 6.98 North America: 16.11 South America: 17.07 Oceania: 28.28 2004 Africa: 53.52 Asia: 33.46 Europe: 6.32 North America: 15.57 South America: 16.91 Oceania: 28.02 2005 Africa: 54.16 Asia: 32.4 Europe: 5.89 North America: 15.26 South America: 16.86 Oceania: 27.63 2006 Africa: 52.58 Asia: 31.43 Europe: 5.63 North America: 14.6 South America: 15.97 Oceania: 27.19 2007 Africa: 50.72 Asia: 30.68 Europe: 5.53 North America: 14.09 South America: 15 Oceania: 26.52 2008 Africa: 47.89 Asia: 29.55 Europe: 5.29 North America: 13.37 South America: 14.43 Oceania: 26.62 2009 Africa: 47.03 Asia: 28.44 Europe: 5.57 North America: 13.13 South America: 14.88 Oceania: 26.09 2010 Africa: 45.77 Asia: 27.62 Europe: 5.59 North America: 14.45 South America: 15.04 Oceania: 25.8 2011 Africa: 46.51 Asia: 26.84 Europe: 5.46 North America: 14.05 South America: 13.85 Oceania: 26.79 2012 Africa: 45.76 Asia: 26.14 Europe: 5.55 North America: 13.62 South America: 13.23 Oceania: 27.55 2013 Africa: 44.34 Asia: 25.75 Europe: 4.58 North America: 13.14 South America: 13.1 Oceania: 28.44 2014 Africa: 43.9 Asia: 25.35 Europe: 4.68 North America: 14.12 South America: 12.73 Oceania: 28.59 2015 Africa: 43.43 Asia: 24.25 Europe: 4.53 North America: 13.78 South America: 12.51 Oceania: 29.32 2016 Africa: 43.33 Asia: 23.04 Europe: 4.35 North America: 13.44 South America: 12.59 Oceania: 30.16 2017 Africa: 42.94 Asia: 22.57 Europe: 4.31 North America: 13.49 South America: 12.77 Oceania: 29.93 2018 Africa: 42.32 Asia: 22.02 Europe: 4.07 North America: 13.2 South America: 12.52 Oceania: 29.68 2019 Africa: 42.6 Asia: 20.44 Europe: 4.11 North America: 12.89 South America: 12.18 Oceania: 29.19 2020 Africa: 43.31 Asia: 20.66 Europe: 4.04 North America: 13.12 South America: 12.71 Oceania: 28.66 2021 Africa: 43.78 Asia: 20.02 Europe: 4.08 North America: 13.31 South America: 12.43 Oceania: 26.72 2022 Africa: 43.32 Asia: 19.94 Europe: 3.96 North America: 12.65 South America: 11.69 Oceania: 25.91 2023 Africa: 42.74 Asia: 22.04 Europe: 3.7 North America: 11.96 South America: 11.18 Oceania: 24.78 2024 Africa: 41.05 Asia: 21.7 Europe: 3.64 North America: 11.61 South America: 10.73 Oceania: 24.24 2025 Africa: 40.24 Asia: 21.08 Europe: 3.55 North America: 11.4 South America: 10.54 Oceania: 23.61 1991 2001 2006 2011 2016 2025

By continent

median country
Africa 40.2 %
Asia 21.1 %
Europe 3.6 %
North America 11.4 %
South America 10.5 %
Oceania 23.6 %

Tick a country in the table to add it to the chart above, up to six at a time. The ranking uses the latest year for which at least half of the countries have a value; countries without a value that year are not listed.