Employment in agriculture (% of total employment) in Europe & Central Asia
Europe & Central Asia: Employment in agriculture (% of total employment) was 6.7% in 2025. ▼ Falling
Employment in agriculture (% of total employment) in Europe & Central Asia, 1991–2025
Source: ILO Modelled Estimates database (ILOEST), International Labour Organization (ILO).
Analysis
In 2025, employment in agriculture (% of total employment) in Europe & Central Asia stood at 6.7%. That is the lowest value across all 35 years on record.
The figure is down 1.9% on the previous year and down 24.9% over ten years.
Over the whole period, employment in agriculture (% of total employment) in Europe & Central Asia peaked at 15.7% in 1992 and was at its lowest, 6.7%, in 2025.
Europe & Central Asia ranks 39th of 47 groups on this measure, in the bottom quarter.
The long-run direction has been consistently falling across the 35 years of available data.
Employment in agriculture (% of total employment) in Europe & Central Asia, year by year
| Year | Value | Change |
|---|---|---|
| 1991 | 15.5% | — |
| 1992 | 15.7% | +1.1% |
| 1993 | 15.4% | -1.7% |
| 1994 | 15.6% | +1.3% |
| 1995 | 15.5% | -0.5% |
| 1996 | 15.2% | -2.2% |
| 1997 | 14.4% | -5.4% |
| 1998 | 14.1% | -1.8% |
| 1999 | 14.4% | +2.5% |
| 2000 | 13.9% | -3.8% |
| 2001 | 13.3% | -4.3% |
| 2002 | 12.7% | -4.7% |
| 2003 | 12.3% | -2.8% |
| 2004 | 11.5% | -6.9% |
| 2005 | 11.1% | -3.2% |
| 2006 | 10.7% | -3.8% |
| 2007 | 10.2% | -5.0% |
| 2008 | 9.8% | -3.6% |
| 2009 | 9.6% | -1.6% |
| 2010 | 9.7% | +0.4% |
| 2011 | 9.6% | -0.2% |
| 2012 | 9.5% | -1.7% |
| 2013 | 9.3% | -1.8% |
| 2014 | 9.1% | -1.9% |
| 2015 | 8.9% | -2.6% |
| 2016 | 8.7% | -2.5% |
| 2017 | 8.4% | -3.2% |
| 2018 | 8.1% | -3.0% |
| 2019 | 7.9% | -2.8% |
| 2020 | 7.9% | -0.5% |
| 2021 | 7.8% | -0.7% |
| 2022 | 7.3% | -6.5% |
| 2023 | 7.0% | -3.7% |
| 2024 | 6.8% | -3.3% |
| 2025 | 6.7% | -1.9% |
Averages by decade
| Decade | Average | Lowest | Highest | Years |
|---|---|---|---|---|
| 1990s | 15.1% | 14.1% | 15.7% | 9 |
| 2000s | 11.5% | 9.6% | 13.9% | 10 |
| 2010s | 8.9% | 7.9% | 9.7% | 10 |
| 2020s | 7.2% | 6.7% | 7.9% | 6 |
Countries ranked near Europe & Central Asia
More agriculture & rural data for Europe & Central Asia
- Agriculture, forestry, and fishing, value added (current US$), annual 10.88 % change on previous year (2025)
- Agriculture, forestry, and fishing, value added 643.81 billion current US$ (2025)
- Agriculture, forestry, and fishing, value added 2.0% (2025)
- Rural population 241.78 million (2025)
- Rural population growth 0.0% (2025)
- Rural population 25.9% (2025)
- Agricultural raw materials imports 1.2% (2024)
- Agricultural raw materials exports 1.2% (2024)
- Rural population, per capita 0.2593 units per person (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 Europe & Central Asia?
- Employment in agriculture (% of total employment) in Europe & Central Asia was 6.7% 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 Europe & Central Asia?
- The highest recorded value was 15.7% in 1992.
- What is the lowest employment in agriculture (% of total employment) recorded in Europe & Central Asia?
- The lowest recorded value was 6.7% in 2025.
- How does Europe & Central Asia rank for employment in agriculture (% of total employment)?
- Europe & Central Asia ranks 39th out of 47 groups with data for 2025.
- Is employment in agriculture (% of total employment) rising or falling in Europe & Central Asia?
- Over the last ten years it is down 24.9%. The long-run trend across the full record is falling.
- Where does this Europe & Central Asia 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).