Employment in agriculture (% of total employment) in Cape Verde
Cape Verde: Employment in agriculture (% of total employment) was 9.2% in 2025. ▼ Falling
Employment in agriculture (% of total employment) in Cape Verde, 1991–2025
Source: ILO Modelled Estimates database (ILOEST), International Labour Organization (ILO).
Analysis
In 2025, employment in agriculture (% of total employment) in Cape Verde stood at 9.2%. That is the lowest value across all 35 years on record.
That represents a change of down 3.4% on the previous year and down 35.1% over ten years.
Over the whole period, employment in agriculture (% of total employment) in Cape Verde peaked at 27.5% in 1991 and was at its lowest, 9.2%, in 2025.
That places Cape Verde 112th 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 Cape Verde, year by year
| Year | Value | Change |
|---|---|---|
| 1991 | 27.5% | — |
| 1992 | 26.5% | -3.6% |
| 1993 | 25.9% | -2.2% |
| 1994 | 24.8% | -4.3% |
| 1995 | 23.8% | -3.9% |
| 1996 | 23.0% | -3.7% |
| 1997 | 22.1% | -3.9% |
| 1998 | 21.2% | -3.9% |
| 1999 | 20.7% | -2.4% |
| 2000 | 19.8% | -4.1% |
| 2001 | 19.4% | -2.1% |
| 2002 | 18.9% | -2.7% |
| 2003 | 18.4% | -2.4% |
| 2004 | 17.7% | -3.7% |
| 2005 | 17.2% | -3.2% |
| 2006 | 16.6% | -3.2% |
| 2007 | 15.8% | -4.8% |
| 2008 | 15.3% | -3.1% |
| 2009 | 15.3% | -0.1% |
| 2010 | 15.1% | -1.4% |
| 2011 | 14.8% | -2.0% |
| 2012 | 14.7% | -0.6% |
| 2013 | 14.6% | -0.8% |
| 2014 | 14.4% | -1.1% |
| 2015 | 14.2% | -1.4% |
| 2016 | 13.9% | -2.3% |
| 2017 | 13.5% | -2.8% |
| 2018 | 11.8% | -12.5% |
| 2019 | 10.6% | -10.4% |
| 2020 | 11.2% | +5.3% |
| 2021 | 11.1% | -0.5% |
| 2022 | 10.3% | -7.5% |
| 2023 | 9.9% | -3.7% |
| 2024 | 9.6% | -3.4% |
| 2025 | 9.2% | -3.4% |
Cape Verde compared with similar countries
- Cape Verde's 9.2% is below the median for upper middle income countries, which is 15.5%, 60% of the median. (53 countries reporting)
- Cape Verde's 9.2% is below the median for Sub-Saharan Africa, which is 44.5%, 21% of the median. (47 countries reporting)
Averages by decade
| Decade | Average | Lowest | Highest | Years |
|---|---|---|---|---|
| 1990s | 23.9% | 20.7% | 27.5% | 9 |
| 2000s | 17.5% | 15.3% | 19.8% | 10 |
| 2010s | 13.8% | 10.6% | 15.1% | 10 |
| 2020s | 10.2% | 9.2% | 11.2% | 6 |
Countries ranked near Cape Verde
More agriculture & rural data for Cape Verde
- Agriculture, forestry, and fishing, value added (current US$), annual 14.7 % change on previous year (2025)
- Agriculture, forestry, and fishing, value added (current US$), per 0.0504 current US$ per US$ of GDP (2025)
- Agriculture, forestry, and fishing, value added (current US$), per 291.98 current US$ per person (2025)
- Rural population, annual growth rate -3.24 % change on previous year (2025)
- Rural population, per unit of GDP 0 units per US$ of GDP (2025)
- Rural population, per capita 0.2237 units per person (2025)
- Share of GDP from agriculture 5.0% (2025)
- Agriculture as a share of GDP vs. GDP per capita 5.0% (2025)
- Agricultural raw materials exports 0.0% (2023)
- Agricultural raw materials imports 1.6% (2024)
Frequently asked questions
- What is employment in agriculture (% of total employment) in Cape Verde?
- Employment in agriculture (% of total employment) in Cape Verde was 9.2% 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 Cape Verde?
- The highest recorded value was 27.5% in 1991.
- What is the lowest employment in agriculture (% of total employment) recorded in Cape Verde?
- The lowest recorded value was 9.2% in 2025.
- How does Cape Verde rank for employment in agriculture (% of total employment)?
- Cape Verde ranks 112th out of 187 countries with data for 2025.
- Is employment in agriculture (% of total employment) rising or falling in Cape Verde?
- Over the last ten years it is down 35.1%. The long-run trend across the full record is falling.
- Where does this Cape Verde 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.
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).