Employment in agriculture (% of total employment) in El Salvador
El Salvador: Employment in agriculture (% of total employment) was 13.9% in 2025. ▼ Falling
Employment in agriculture (% of total employment) in El Salvador, 1991–2025
Source: ILO Modelled Estimates database (ILOEST), International Labour Organization (ILO).
Analysis
El Salvador recorded 13.9% for employment in agriculture (% of total employment) in 2025. That is the lowest value across all 35 years on record.
The figure is down 1.6% on the previous year and down 23.5% over ten years.
Over the whole period, employment in agriculture (% of total employment) in El Salvador peaked at 35.6% in 1991 and was at its lowest, 13.9%, in 2025.
El Salvador ranks 98th of 187 countries on this measure, 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 El Salvador, year by year
| Year | Value | Change |
|---|---|---|
| 1991 | 35.6% | — |
| 1992 | 34.8% | -2.4% |
| 1993 | 31.0% | -10.8% |
| 1994 | 27.2% | -12.4% |
| 1995 | 26.2% | -3.5% |
| 1996 | 27.5% | +4.7% |
| 1997 | 25.8% | -6.1% |
| 1998 | 25.2% | -2.4% |
| 1999 | 22.2% | -11.7% |
| 2000 | 21.7% | -2.3% |
| 2001 | 21.9% | +0.8% |
| 2002 | 19.8% | -9.4% |
| 2003 | 18.3% | -7.5% |
| 2004 | 19.2% | +4.8% |
| 2005 | 20.1% | +4.6% |
| 2006 | 18.9% | -5.7% |
| 2007 | 18.1% | -4.5% |
| 2008 | 18.8% | +3.7% |
| 2009 | 21.0% | +12.1% |
| 2010 | 20.8% | -1.2% |
| 2011 | 21.6% | +3.9% |
| 2012 | 21.0% | -2.9% |
| 2013 | 19.6% | -6.6% |
| 2014 | 18.8% | -4.2% |
| 2015 | 18.1% | -3.5% |
| 2016 | 18.7% | +3.1% |
| 2017 | 18.6% | -0.6% |
| 2018 | 16.7% | -10.0% |
| 2019 | 16.3% | -2.5% |
| 2020 | 15.8% | -3.1% |
| 2021 | 14.9% | -5.8% |
| 2022 | 15.0% | +0.7% |
| 2023 | 14.2% | -5.0% |
| 2024 | 14.1% | -1.1% |
| 2025 | 13.9% | -1.6% |
El Salvador compared with similar countries
- El Salvador's 13.9% is below the median for upper middle income countries, which is 15.5%, 89% of the median. (53 countries reporting)
- El Salvador's 13.9% is above the median for Latin America & Caribbean, which is 11.5%, 1.2× the median. (31 countries reporting)
Averages by decade
| Decade | Average | Lowest | Highest | Years |
|---|---|---|---|---|
| 1990s | 28.4% | 22.2% | 35.6% | 9 |
| 2000s | 19.8% | 18.1% | 21.9% | 10 |
| 2010s | 19.0% | 16.3% | 21.6% | 10 |
| 2020s | 14.6% | 13.9% | 15.8% | 6 |
Countries ranked near El Salvador
More agriculture & rural data for El Salvador
- Agriculture, forestry, and fishing, value added (current US$), annual 2.84 % change on previous year (2025)
- Agriculture, forestry, and fishing, value added (current US$), per 0.044 current US$ per US$ of GDP (2025)
- Agriculture, forestry, and fishing, value added (current US$), per 253.9 current US$ per person (2025)
- Rural population, annual growth rate -1.41 % change on previous year (2025)
- Rural population, per unit of GDP 0 units per US$ of GDP (2025)
- Rural population, per capita 0.2448 units per person (2025)
- Share of GDP from agriculture 4.4% (2025)
- Agriculture as a share of GDP vs. GDP per capita 4.4% (2025)
- Agricultural raw materials exports 0.7% (2024)
- Agricultural raw materials imports 2.0% (2024)
Frequently asked questions
- What is employment in agriculture (% of total employment) in El Salvador?
- Employment in agriculture (% of total employment) in El Salvador was 13.9% 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 El Salvador?
- The highest recorded value was 35.6% in 1991.
- What is the lowest employment in agriculture (% of total employment) recorded in El Salvador?
- The lowest recorded value was 13.9% in 2025.
- How does El Salvador rank for employment in agriculture (% of total employment)?
- El Salvador ranks 98th out of 187 countries with data for 2025.
- Is employment in agriculture (% of total employment) rising or falling in El Salvador?
- Over the last ten years it is down 23.5%. The long-run trend across the full record is falling.
- Where does this El Salvador 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).