Employment in agriculture (% of total employment) in Middle East, North Africa, Afghanistan & Pakistan
Middle East, North Africa, Afghanistan & Pakistan: Employment in agriculture (% of total employment) was 21.7% in 2025. ▼ Falling
Employment in agriculture (% of total employment) in Middle East, North Africa, Afghanistan & Pakistan, 1991–2025
Source: ILO Modelled Estimates database (ILOEST), International Labour Organization (ILO).
Analysis
In 2025, employment in agriculture (% of total employment) in Middle East, North Africa, Afghanistan & Pakistan stood at 21.7%. That is the lowest value across all 35 years on record.
The figure is down 1.1% on the previous year and down 14.1% over ten years.
Over the whole period, employment in agriculture (% of total employment) in Middle East, North Africa, Afghanistan & Pakistan peaked at 33.7% in 1992 and was at its lowest, 21.7%, in 2025.
That places Middle East, North Africa, Afghanistan & Pakistan 27th 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 Middle East, North Africa, Afghanistan & Pakistan, year by year
| Year | Value | Change |
|---|---|---|
| 1991 | 33.6% | — |
| 1992 | 33.7% | +0.2% |
| 1993 | 33.0% | -2.0% |
| 1994 | 33.6% | +1.6% |
| 1995 | 32.3% | -3.6% |
| 1996 | 31.9% | -1.2% |
| 1997 | 30.7% | -4.0% |
| 1998 | 31.3% | +2.2% |
| 1999 | 31.1% | -0.6% |
| 2000 | 31.4% | +0.9% |
| 2001 | 30.9% | -1.5% |
| 2002 | 30.3% | -1.9% |
| 2003 | 30.3% | -0.3% |
| 2004 | 30.6% | +1.1% |
| 2005 | 30.0% | -1.9% |
| 2006 | 29.7% | -1.0% |
| 2007 | 29.5% | -0.7% |
| 2008 | 29.3% | -0.7% |
| 2009 | 28.3% | -3.4% |
| 2010 | 27.6% | -2.5% |
| 2011 | 27.5% | -0.4% |
| 2012 | 26.8% | -2.4% |
| 2013 | 26.5% | -1.0% |
| 2014 | 26.1% | -1.5% |
| 2015 | 25.3% | -3.3% |
| 2016 | 25.3% | +0.3% |
| 2017 | 24.5% | -3.5% |
| 2018 | 23.1% | -5.6% |
| 2019 | 23.3% | +0.9% |
| 2020 | 23.5% | +0.9% |
| 2021 | 23.0% | -2.0% |
| 2022 | 22.4% | -2.6% |
| 2023 | 22.1% | -1.5% |
| 2024 | 21.9% | -0.7% |
| 2025 | 21.7% | -1.1% |
Averages by decade
| Decade | Average | Lowest | Highest | Years |
|---|---|---|---|---|
| 1990s | 32.4% | 30.7% | 33.7% | 9 |
| 2000s | 30.0% | 28.3% | 31.4% | 10 |
| 2010s | 25.6% | 23.1% | 27.6% | 10 |
| 2020s | 22.5% | 21.7% | 23.5% | 6 |
Countries ranked near Middle East, North Africa, Afghanistan & Pakistan
More agriculture & rural data for Middle East, North Africa, Afghanistan & Pakistan
- Agriculture, forestry, and fishing, value added (current US$), annual 2.86 % change on previous year (2025)
- Agriculture, forestry, and fishing, value added 347.82 billion current US$ (2025)
- Agriculture, forestry, and fishing, value added 6.8% (2025)
- Rural population 364.70 million (2025)
- Rural population growth 1.2% (2025)
- Rural population 44.0% (2025)
- Agricultural raw materials imports 1.0% (2023)
- Agricultural raw materials exports 0.2% (2023)
- Rural population, per capita 0.4404 units per person (2025)
- Rural population, per unit of GDP 0.0001 units per US$ of GDP (2025)
All data for Middle East, North Africa, Afghanistan & Pakistan →
Frequently asked questions
- What is employment in agriculture (% of total employment) in Middle East, North Africa, Afghanistan & Pakistan?
- Employment in agriculture (% of total employment) in Middle East, North Africa, Afghanistan & Pakistan 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 Middle East, North Africa, Afghanistan & Pakistan?
- The highest recorded value was 33.7% in 1992.
- What is the lowest employment in agriculture (% of total employment) recorded in Middle East, North Africa, Afghanistan & Pakistan?
- The lowest recorded value was 21.7% in 2025.
- How does Middle East, North Africa, Afghanistan & Pakistan rank for employment in agriculture (% of total employment)?
- Middle East, North Africa, Afghanistan & Pakistan ranks 27th out of 47 groups with data for 2025.
- Is employment in agriculture (% of total employment) rising or falling in Middle East, North Africa, Afghanistan & Pakistan?
- Over the last ten years it is down 14.1%. The long-run trend across the full record is falling.
- Where does this Middle East, North Africa, Afghanistan & Pakistan 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).