Employment in agriculture (% of total employment) in Namibia
Namibia: Employment in agriculture (% of total employment) was 22.3% in 2025. ▼ Falling
Employment in agriculture (% of total employment) in Namibia, 1991–2025
Source: ILO Modelled Estimates database (ILOEST), International Labour Organization (ILO).
Analysis
In 2025, employment in agriculture (% of total employment) in Namibia stood at 22.3%.
Compared with earlier readings it is down 1.3% on the previous year and down 8.5% over ten years.
Over the whole period, employment in agriculture (% of total employment) in Namibia peaked at 45.3% in 1991 and was at its lowest, 20.1%, in 2016.
That places Namibia 79th out of 187 countries 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 Namibia, year by year
| Year | Value | Change |
|---|---|---|
| 1991 | 45.3% | — |
| 1992 | 44.4% | -1.9% |
| 1993 | 44.2% | -0.5% |
| 1994 | 43.7% | -1.2% |
| 1995 | 41.0% | -6.1% |
| 1996 | 38.3% | -6.6% |
| 1997 | 35.5% | -7.3% |
| 1998 | 33.1% | -6.6% |
| 1999 | 30.7% | -7.2% |
| 2000 | 28.4% | -7.7% |
| 2001 | 28.3% | -0.4% |
| 2002 | 28.0% | -1.2% |
| 2003 | 27.6% | -1.4% |
| 2004 | 27.1% | -1.8% |
| 2005 | 27.5% | +1.6% |
| 2006 | 27.5% | -0.1% |
| 2007 | 27.5% | +0.3% |
| 2008 | 27.8% | +1.0% |
| 2009 | 28.4% | +2.2% |
| 2010 | 28.7% | +0.9% |
| 2011 | 28.0% | -2.4% |
| 2012 | 27.4% | -2.2% |
| 2013 | 31.4% | +14.7% |
| 2014 | 29.3% | -6.6% |
| 2015 | 24.4% | -16.8% |
| 2016 | 20.1% | -17.8% |
| 2017 | 21.4% | +6.6% |
| 2018 | 22.6% | +5.6% |
| 2019 | 22.9% | +1.2% |
| 2020 | 23.6% | +3.2% |
| 2021 | 23.5% | -0.4% |
| 2022 | 23.2% | -1.1% |
| 2023 | 22.9% | -1.2% |
| 2024 | 22.6% | -1.3% |
| 2025 | 22.3% | -1.3% |
Averages by decade
| Decade | Average | Lowest | Highest | Years |
|---|---|---|---|---|
| 1990s | 39.6% | 30.7% | 45.3% | 9 |
| 2000s | 27.8% | 27.1% | 28.4% | 10 |
| 2010s | 25.6% | 20.1% | 31.4% | 10 |
| 2020s | 23.0% | 22.3% | 23.6% | 6 |
Countries ranked near Namibia
More agriculture & rural data for Namibia
- Agriculture, forestry, and fishing, value added (current US$), annual 8 % change on previous year (2025)
- Agriculture, forestry, and fishing, value added (current US$), per 0.0699 current US$ per US$ of GDP (2025)
- Agriculture, forestry, and fishing, value added (current US$), per 340.78 current US$ per person (2025)
- Rural population, annual growth rate 1.13 % change on previous year (2025)
- Rural population, per unit of GDP 0.0001 units per US$ of GDP (2025)
- Rural population, per capita 0.4913 units per person (2025)
- Share of GDP from agriculture 7.0% (2025)
- Agriculture as a share of GDP vs. GDP per capita 7.0% (2025)
- Agricultural raw materials exports 1.9% (2024)
- Agricultural raw materials imports 0.5% (2024)
Frequently asked questions
- What is employment in agriculture (% of total employment) in Namibia?
- Employment in agriculture (% of total employment) in Namibia was 22.3% 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 Namibia?
- The highest recorded value was 45.3% in 1991.
- What is the lowest employment in agriculture (% of total employment) recorded in Namibia?
- The lowest recorded value was 20.1% in 2016.
- How does Namibia rank for employment in agriculture (% of total employment)?
- Namibia ranks 79th out of 187 countries with data for 2025.
- Is employment in agriculture (% of total employment) rising or falling in Namibia?
- Over the last ten years it is down 8.5%. The long-run trend across the full record is falling.
- Where does this Namibia 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).