Employment in agriculture (% of total employment) in Bulgaria
Bulgaria: Employment in agriculture (% of total employment) was 4.7% in 2025. ▼ Falling
Employment in agriculture (% of total employment) in Bulgaria, 1991–2025
Source: ILO Modelled Estimates database (ILOEST), International Labour Organization (ILO).
Analysis
Bulgaria recorded 4.7% for employment in agriculture (% of total employment) in 2025. That is the lowest value across all 35 years on record.
Compared with earlier readings it is down 3.2% on the previous year and down 31.1% over ten years.
Over the whole period, employment in agriculture (% of total employment) in Bulgaria peaked at 13.7% in 1998 and was at its lowest, 4.7%, in 2025.
That places Bulgaria 134th 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 (% of total employment) in Bulgaria, year by year
| Year | Value | Change |
|---|---|---|
| 1991 | 9.5% | — |
| 1992 | 10.0% | +4.8% |
| 1993 | 10.6% | +6.1% |
| 1994 | 11.2% | +5.9% |
| 1995 | 11.9% | +6.0% |
| 1996 | 12.5% | +5.3% |
| 1997 | 13.2% | +5.4% |
| 1998 | 13.7% | +4.3% |
| 1999 | 13.4% | -2.1% |
| 2000 | 13.2% | -1.9% |
| 2001 | 9.7% | -26.5% |
| 2002 | 10.7% | +10.4% |
| 2003 | 11.1% | +4.1% |
| 2004 | 10.7% | -3.5% |
| 2005 | 8.9% | -16.8% |
| 2006 | 8.1% | -9.3% |
| 2007 | 7.5% | -7.0% |
| 2008 | 7.6% | +1.1% |
| 2009 | 6.9% | -9.7% |
| 2010 | 6.7% | -2.8% |
| 2011 | 6.5% | -3.2% |
| 2012 | 6.5% | +0.9% |
| 2013 | 6.5% | -0.7% |
| 2014 | 7.3% | +12.0% |
| 2015 | 6.8% | -6.3% |
| 2016 | 6.9% | +1.4% |
| 2017 | 7.2% | +4.2% |
| 2018 | 6.7% | -6.6% |
| 2019 | 6.8% | +1.1% |
| 2020 | 6.6% | -3.0% |
| 2021 | 6.4% | -2.5% |
| 2022 | 6.6% | +2.0% |
| 2023 | 6.2% | -4.7% |
| 2024 | 4.8% | -22.4% |
| 2025 | 4.7% | -3.2% |
Bulgaria compared with similar countries
- Bulgaria's 4.7% is above the median for high income countries, which is 2.4%, 1.9× the median. (62 countries reporting)
- Bulgaria's 4.7% is above the median for Europe & Central Asia, which is 4.3%, 1.1× the median. (48 countries reporting)
Averages by decade
| Decade | Average | Lowest | Highest | Years |
|---|---|---|---|---|
| 1990s | 11.8% | 9.5% | 13.7% | 9 |
| 2000s | 9.5% | 6.9% | 13.2% | 10 |
| 2010s | 6.8% | 6.5% | 7.3% | 10 |
| 2020s | 5.9% | 4.7% | 6.6% | 6 |
Countries ranked near Bulgaria
More agriculture & rural data for Bulgaria
- Agriculture, forestry, and fishing, value added (current US$), annual 21.46 % change on previous year (2025)
- Agriculture, forestry, and fishing, value added (current US$), per 0.0247 current US$ per US$ of GDP (2025)
- Agriculture, forestry, and fishing, value added (current US$), per 503.12 current US$ per person (2025)
- Rural population, annual growth rate -0.9803 % change on previous year (2025)
- Rural population, per unit of GDP 0 units per US$ of GDP (2025)
- Rural population, per capita 0.2583 units per person (2025)
- Share of GDP from agriculture 2.5% (2025)
- Agriculture as a share of GDP vs. GDP per capita 2.5% (2025)
- Agricultural raw materials exports 0.7% (2024)
- Agricultural raw materials imports 0.8% (2024)
Frequently asked questions
- What is employment in agriculture (% of total employment) in Bulgaria?
- Employment in agriculture (% of total employment) in Bulgaria was 4.7% in 2025, according to ILO Modelled Estimates database (ILOEST), International Labour Organization (ILO).
- What is the highest employment in agriculture (% of total employment) recorded in Bulgaria?
- The highest recorded value was 13.7% in 1998.
- What is the lowest employment in agriculture (% of total employment) recorded in Bulgaria?
- The lowest recorded value was 4.7% in 2025.
- How does Bulgaria rank for employment in agriculture (% of total employment)?
- Bulgaria ranks 134th out of 187 countries with data for 2025.
- Is employment in agriculture (% of total employment) rising or falling in Bulgaria?
- Over the last ten years it is down 31.1%. The long-run trend across the full record is falling.
- Where does this Bulgaria data come from?
- The figures come from ILO Modelled Estimates database (ILOEST), International Labour Organization (ILO), published as part of Employment in agriculture (% of total employment) (modeled ILO estimate). Statizoid updates them automatically from the source API.
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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).