Employment in agriculture, female (% of female employment) in South Africa
South Africa: Employment in agriculture, female (% of female employment) was 3.8% in 2025. ▼ Falling
Employment in agriculture, female (% of female employment) in South Africa, 1991–2025
Source: ILO Modelled Estimates database (ILOEST), International Labour Organization (ILO).
Analysis
South Africa recorded 3.8% for employment in agriculture, female (% of female employment) in 2025.
That represents a change of down 0.1% on the previous year and down 10.7% over ten years.
Over the whole period, employment in agriculture, female (% of female employment) in South Africa peaked at 7.4% in 1992 and was at its lowest, 3.2%, in 2014.
That places South Africa 123rd out of 187 countries with data for 2025, putting it in the middle of the range.
The long-run direction has been consistently falling across the 35 years of available data.
Employment in agriculture, female (% of female employment) in South Africa, year by year
| Year | Value | Change |
|---|---|---|
| 1991 | 7.3% | — |
| 1992 | 7.4% | +1.3% |
| 1993 | 7.3% | -0.2% |
| 1994 | 7.3% | -0.4% |
| 1995 | 7.3% | -0.1% |
| 1996 | 7.3% | -0.5% |
| 1997 | 7.2% | -0.9% |
| 1998 | 7.2% | -0.6% |
| 1999 | 7.0% | -2.0% |
| 2000 | 6.8% | -3.5% |
| 2001 | 5.9% | -12.5% |
| 2002 | 7.1% | +19.1% |
| 2003 | 6.0% | -14.9% |
| 2004 | 5.9% | -1.6% |
| 2005 | 4.5% | -23.5% |
| 2006 | 4.6% | +0.8% |
| 2007 | 4.3% | -6.3% |
| 2008 | 4.1% | -3.2% |
| 2009 | 3.7% | -11.4% |
| 2010 | 3.6% | -3.0% |
| 2011 | 3.5% | -2.4% |
| 2012 | 3.6% | +3.6% |
| 2013 | 3.5% | -2.0% |
| 2014 | 3.2% | -8.4% |
| 2015 | 4.3% | +32.1% |
| 2016 | 3.9% | -8.4% |
| 2017 | 3.8% | -2.8% |
| 2018 | 3.9% | +2.6% |
| 2019 | 3.8% | -2.5% |
| 2020 | 4.0% | +4.6% |
| 2021 | 3.7% | -6.0% |
| 2022 | 4.0% | +6.8% |
| 2023 | 4.0% | -0.5% |
| 2024 | 3.8% | -3.9% |
| 2025 | 3.8% | -0.1% |
South Africa compared with similar countries
- South Africa's 3.8% is below the median for upper middle income countries, which is 11.6%, 33% of the median. (53 countries reporting)
- South Africa's 3.8% is below the median for Sub-Saharan Africa, which is 44.8%, 8% of the median. (47 countries reporting)
Biggest year-on-year movements
Years where Employment in agriculture, female (% of female employment) in South Africa changed far more than this series normally does. A large move can be a real event or a change in how the figure was measured — the source note below says who published it.
| Year | Change | From | To |
|---|---|---|---|
| 2015 | +32.1% | 3.2% | 4.3% |
Averages by decade
| Decade | Average | Lowest | Highest | Years |
|---|---|---|---|---|
| 1990s | 7.2% | 7.0% | 7.4% | 9 |
| 2000s | 5.3% | 3.7% | 7.1% | 10 |
| 2010s | 3.7% | 3.2% | 4.3% | 10 |
| 2020s | 3.9% | 3.7% | 4.0% | 6 |
Countries ranked near South Africa
More agriculture & rural data for South Africa
- Agriculture, forestry, and fishing, value added (current US$), annual 7.11 % change on previous year (2025)
- Agriculture, forestry, and fishing, value added (current US$), per 0.0283 current US$ per US$ of GDP (2025)
- Agriculture, forestry, and fishing, value added (current US$), per 186.56 current US$ per person (2025)
- Rural population, annual growth rate 0.812 % change on previous year (2025)
- Rural population, per unit of GDP 0.0001 units per US$ of GDP (2025)
- Rural population, per capita 0.3618 units per person (2025)
- Share of GDP from agriculture 2.8% (2025)
- Agriculture as a share of GDP vs. GDP per capita 2.8% (2025)
- Agricultural raw materials exports 2.0% (2025)
- Agricultural raw materials imports 1.0% (2025)
Frequently asked questions
- What is employment in agriculture, female (% of female employment) in South Africa?
- Employment in agriculture, female (% of female employment) in South Africa was 3.8% in 2025, according to ILO Modelled Estimates database (ILOEST), International Labour Organization (ILO).
- What is the highest employment in agriculture, female (% of female employment) recorded in South Africa?
- The highest recorded value was 7.4% in 1992.
- What is the lowest employment in agriculture, female (% of female employment) recorded in South Africa?
- The lowest recorded value was 3.2% in 2014.
- How does South Africa rank for employment in agriculture, female (% of female employment)?
- South Africa ranks 123rd out of 187 countries with data for 2025.
- Is employment in agriculture, female (% of female employment) rising or falling in South Africa?
- Over the last ten years it is down 10.7%. The long-run trend across the full record is falling.
- Where does this South Africa data come from?
- The figures come from ILO Modelled Estimates database (ILOEST), International Labour Organization (ILO), published as part of Employment in agriculture, female (% of female employment) (modeled ILO estimate). Statizoid updates them automatically from the source API.
Download this data
CSV · JSON — 35 observations, free to reuse under CC BY 4.0 (World Bank Open Data).
About this data
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 (ISIC 3) or category A (ISIC 4).