Employment in agriculture (% of total employment) in East Asia & Pacific
East Asia & Pacific: Employment in agriculture (% of total employment) was 21.7% in 2025. ▼ Falling
Employment in agriculture (% of total employment) in East Asia & Pacific, 1991–2025
Source: ILO Modelled Estimates database (ILOEST), International Labour Organization (ILO).
Analysis
In 2025, employment in agriculture (% of total employment) in East Asia & Pacific stood at 21.7%. That is the lowest value across all 35 years on record.
That represents a change of down 2.3% on the previous year and down 22.4% over ten years.
Over the whole period, employment in agriculture (% of total employment) in East Asia & Pacific peaked at 52.8% in 1991 and was at its lowest, 21.7%, in 2025.
That places East Asia & Pacific 28th out of 47 groups 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 East Asia & Pacific, year by year
| Year | Value | Change |
|---|---|---|
| 1991 | 52.8% | — |
| 1992 | 51.9% | -1.8% |
| 1993 | 50.2% | -3.2% |
| 1994 | 48.6% | -3.2% |
| 1995 | 46.9% | -3.6% |
| 1996 | 45.5% | -3.0% |
| 1997 | 44.7% | -1.6% |
| 1998 | 45.0% | +0.6% |
| 1999 | 45.1% | +0.3% |
| 2000 | 45.0% | -0.3% |
| 2001 | 44.7% | -0.7% |
| 2002 | 44.6% | -0.1% |
| 2003 | 44.1% | -1.3% |
| 2004 | 42.2% | -4.2% |
| 2005 | 40.7% | -3.6% |
| 2006 | 38.9% | -4.5% |
| 2007 | 37.5% | -3.5% |
| 2008 | 36.6% | -2.5% |
| 2009 | 35.6% | -2.8% |
| 2010 | 34.5% | -2.9% |
| 2011 | 33.2% | -3.9% |
| 2012 | 32.3% | -2.8% |
| 2013 | 30.5% | -5.3% |
| 2014 | 29.0% | -5.1% |
| 2015 | 27.9% | -3.8% |
| 2016 | 27.0% | -3.4% |
| 2017 | 26.3% | -2.6% |
| 2018 | 25.4% | -3.3% |
| 2019 | 24.4% | -3.8% |
| 2020 | 23.8% | -2.7% |
| 2021 | 23.1% | -2.9% |
| 2022 | 23.9% | +3.8% |
| 2023 | 22.7% | -5.0% |
| 2024 | 22.1% | -2.6% |
| 2025 | 21.7% | -2.3% |
Averages by decade
| Decade | Average | Lowest | Highest | Years |
|---|---|---|---|---|
| 1990s | 47.9% | 44.7% | 52.8% | 9 |
| 2000s | 41.0% | 35.6% | 45.0% | 10 |
| 2010s | 29.0% | 24.4% | 34.5% | 10 |
| 2020s | 22.9% | 21.7% | 23.9% | 6 |
Countries ranked near East Asia & Pacific
More agriculture & rural data for East Asia & Pacific
- Rural population, per capita 0.3523 units per person (2025)
- Agriculture, forestry, and fishing, value added 1.86 trillion current US$ (2025)
- Agriculture, forestry, and fishing, value added 5.5% (2025)
- Rural population 842.28 million (2025)
- Rural population growth -1.0% (2025)
- Rural population 35.2% (2025)
- Agricultural raw materials imports 1.6% (2024)
- Agricultural raw materials exports 0.8% (2024)
- Agriculture, forestry, and fishing, value added (current US$), per 0.0553 current US$ per US$ of GDP (2025)
- Rural population, per unit of GDP 0 units per US$ of GDP (2025)
Frequently asked questions
- What is employment in agriculture (% of total employment) in East Asia & Pacific?
- Employment in agriculture (% of total employment) in East Asia & Pacific was 21.7% 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 East Asia & Pacific?
- The highest recorded value was 52.8% in 1991.
- What is the lowest employment in agriculture (% of total employment) recorded in East Asia & Pacific?
- The lowest recorded value was 21.7% in 2025.
- How does East Asia & Pacific rank for employment in agriculture (% of total employment)?
- East Asia & Pacific ranks 28th out of 47 groups with data for 2025.
- Is employment in agriculture (% of total employment) rising or falling in East Asia & Pacific?
- Over the last ten years it is down 22.4%. The long-run trend across the full record is falling.
- Where does this East Asia & Pacific 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).