Employment in agriculture (% of total employment) in Kenya
Kenya: Employment in agriculture (% of total employment) was 45.8% in 2025. ▼ Falling
Employment in agriculture (% of total employment) in Kenya, 1991–2025
Source: ILO Modelled Estimates database (ILOEST), International Labour Organization (ILO).
Analysis
In 2025, employment in agriculture (% of total employment) in Kenya stood at 45.8%. That is the lowest value across all 35 years on record.
That represents a change of down 1.5% on the previous year and down 12.8% over ten years.
Over the whole period, employment in agriculture (% of total employment) in Kenya peaked at 61.5% in 1993 and was at its lowest, 45.8%, in 2025.
Kenya ranks 28th of 187 countries on this measure, in the top quarter.
The long-run direction has been consistently falling across the 35 years of available data.
Employment in agriculture (% of total employment) in Kenya, year by year
| Year | Value | Change |
|---|---|---|
| 1991 | 61.3% | — |
| 1992 | 61.4% | +0.2% |
| 1993 | 61.5% | +0.1% |
| 1994 | 61.3% | -0.3% |
| 1995 | 61.1% | -0.4% |
| 1996 | 60.8% | -0.5% |
| 1997 | 60.7% | -0.1% |
| 1998 | 60.5% | -0.4% |
| 1999 | 60.4% | -0.2% |
| 2000 | 60.4% | -0.0% |
| 2001 | 59.9% | -0.8% |
| 2002 | 59.7% | -0.4% |
| 2003 | 59.3% | -0.6% |
| 2004 | 58.8% | -0.9% |
| 2005 | 58.1% | -1.1% |
| 2006 | 57.4% | -1.2% |
| 2007 | 56.7% | -1.3% |
| 2008 | 56.6% | -0.2% |
| 2009 | 56.4% | -0.4% |
| 2010 | 55.6% | -1.3% |
| 2011 | 55.1% | -0.9% |
| 2012 | 54.5% | -1.2% |
| 2013 | 53.9% | -1.1% |
| 2014 | 53.1% | -1.4% |
| 2015 | 52.5% | -1.2% |
| 2016 | 51.9% | -1.2% |
| 2017 | 51.3% | -1.1% |
| 2018 | 50.4% | -1.7% |
| 2019 | 49.7% | -1.3% |
| 2020 | 51.2% | +3.0% |
| 2021 | 51.2% | +0.0% |
| 2022 | 47.8% | -6.7% |
| 2023 | 47.2% | -1.4% |
| 2024 | 46.5% | -1.4% |
| 2025 | 45.8% | -1.5% |
Kenya compared with similar countries
- Kenya's 45.8% is above the median for lower middle income countries, which is 35.4%, 1.3× the median. (46 countries reporting)
- Kenya's 45.8% is above the median for Sub-Saharan Africa, which is 44.5%, 1.0× the median. (47 countries reporting)
Averages by decade
| Decade | Average | Lowest | Highest | Years |
|---|---|---|---|---|
| 1990s | 61.0% | 60.4% | 61.5% | 9 |
| 2000s | 58.3% | 56.4% | 60.4% | 10 |
| 2010s | 52.8% | 49.7% | 55.6% | 10 |
| 2020s | 48.3% | 45.8% | 51.2% | 6 |
Countries ranked near Kenya
More agriculture & rural data for Kenya
- Agriculture, forestry, and fishing, value added (current US$), annual 16.52 % change on previous year (2025)
- Agriculture, forestry, and fishing, value added (current US$), per 0.2316 current US$ per US$ of GDP (2025)
- Agriculture, forestry, and fishing, value added (current US$), per 547.24 current US$ per person (2025)
- Rural population, annual growth rate 1.47 % change on previous year (2025)
- Rural population, per unit of GDP 0.0003 units per US$ of GDP (2025)
- Rural population, per capita 0.6779 units per person (2025)
- Share of GDP from agriculture 23.2% (2025)
- Agriculture as a share of GDP vs. GDP per capita 23.2% (2025)
- Agricultural raw materials exports 12.9% (2024)
- Agricultural raw materials imports 2.0% (2024)
Frequently asked questions
- What is employment in agriculture (% of total employment) in Kenya?
- Employment in agriculture (% of total employment) in Kenya was 45.8% 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 Kenya?
- The highest recorded value was 61.5% in 1993.
- What is the lowest employment in agriculture (% of total employment) recorded in Kenya?
- The lowest recorded value was 45.8% in 2025.
- How does Kenya rank for employment in agriculture (% of total employment)?
- Kenya ranks 28th out of 187 countries with data for 2025.
- Is employment in agriculture (% of total employment) rising or falling in Kenya?
- Over the last ten years it is down 12.8%. The long-run trend across the full record is falling.
- Where does this Kenya 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).