Employment in agriculture (% of total employment) in Mauritania
Mauritania: Employment in agriculture (% of total employment) was 32.1% in 2025. ▼ Falling
Employment in agriculture (% of total employment) in Mauritania, 1991–2025
Source: ILO Modelled Estimates database (ILOEST), International Labour Organization (ILO).
Analysis
In 2025, employment in agriculture (% of total employment) in Mauritania stood at 32.1%. That is the lowest value across all 35 years on record.
That represents a change of down 2.1% on the previous year and down 11.5% over ten years.
Over the whole period, employment in agriculture (% of total employment) in Mauritania peaked at 47.5% in 1994 and was at its lowest, 32.1%, in 2025.
Mauritania ranks 55th 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 Mauritania, year by year
| Year | Value | Change |
|---|---|---|
| 1991 | 47.5% | — |
| 1992 | 47.5% | -0.1% |
| 1993 | 47.1% | -0.7% |
| 1994 | 47.5% | +0.9% |
| 1995 | 46.7% | -1.7% |
| 1996 | 46.2% | -1.2% |
| 1997 | 46.4% | +0.5% |
| 1998 | 46.1% | -0.8% |
| 1999 | 45.8% | -0.6% |
| 2000 | 46.0% | +0.5% |
| 2001 | 46.0% | -0.1% |
| 2002 | 45.5% | -1.0% |
| 2003 | 44.6% | -2.0% |
| 2004 | 43.8% | -1.9% |
| 2005 | 42.5% | -2.8% |
| 2006 | 40.8% | -4.2% |
| 2007 | 40.8% | -0.1% |
| 2008 | 40.5% | -0.6% |
| 2009 | 40.2% | -0.8% |
| 2010 | 39.5% | -1.6% |
| 2011 | 38.8% | -1.9% |
| 2012 | 38.2% | -1.5% |
| 2013 | 37.6% | -1.6% |
| 2014 | 36.9% | -1.6% |
| 2015 | 36.3% | -1.8% |
| 2016 | 36.1% | -0.5% |
| 2017 | 35.4% | -2.0% |
| 2018 | 34.7% | -1.7% |
| 2019 | 34.0% | -2.1% |
| 2020 | 35.2% | +3.6% |
| 2021 | 35.3% | +0.1% |
| 2022 | 34.5% | -2.3% |
| 2023 | 33.4% | -3.1% |
| 2024 | 32.8% | -1.8% |
| 2025 | 32.1% | -2.1% |
Mauritania compared with similar countries
- Mauritania's 32.1% is below the median for lower middle income countries, which is 35.4%, 91% of the median. (46 countries reporting)
- Mauritania's 32.1% is below the median for Sub-Saharan Africa, which is 44.5%, 72% of the median. (47 countries reporting)
Averages by decade
| Decade | Average | Lowest | Highest | Years |
|---|---|---|---|---|
| 1990s | 46.8% | 45.8% | 47.5% | 9 |
| 2000s | 43.1% | 40.2% | 46.0% | 10 |
| 2010s | 36.8% | 34.0% | 39.5% | 10 |
| 2020s | 33.9% | 32.1% | 35.3% | 6 |
Countries ranked near Mauritania
More agriculture & rural data for Mauritania
- Agriculture, forestry, and fishing, value added (current US$), annual 10.81 % change on previous year (2025)
- Agriculture, forestry, and fishing, value added (current US$), per 0.1995 current US$ per US$ of GDP (2025)
- Agriculture, forestry, and fishing, value added (current US$), per 438.46 current US$ per person (2025)
- Rural population, annual growth rate 0.5156 % change on previous year (2025)
- Rural population, per unit of GDP 0.0002 units per US$ of GDP (2025)
- Rural population, per capita 0.3851 units per person (2025)
- Share of GDP from agriculture 20.0% (2025)
- Agriculture as a share of GDP vs. GDP per capita 20.0% (2025)
- Agricultural raw materials exports 0.2% (2024)
- Agricultural raw materials imports 0.3% (2024)
Frequently asked questions
- What is employment in agriculture (% of total employment) in Mauritania?
- Employment in agriculture (% of total employment) in Mauritania was 32.1% 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 Mauritania?
- The highest recorded value was 47.5% in 1994.
- What is the lowest employment in agriculture (% of total employment) recorded in Mauritania?
- The lowest recorded value was 32.1% in 2025.
- How does Mauritania rank for employment in agriculture (% of total employment)?
- Mauritania ranks 55th out of 187 countries with data for 2025.
- Is employment in agriculture (% of total employment) rising or falling in Mauritania?
- Over the last ten years it is down 11.5%. The long-run trend across the full record is falling.
- Where does this Mauritania 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).