Employment in agriculture (% of total employment) in Timor-Leste
Timor-Leste: Employment in agriculture (% of total employment) was 46.0% in 2025. ▼ Falling
Employment in agriculture (% of total employment) in Timor-Leste, 1991–2025
Source: ILO Modelled Estimates database (ILOEST), International Labour Organization (ILO).
Analysis
In 2025, employment in agriculture (% of total employment) in Timor-Leste stood at 46.0%.
The figure is down 0.7% on the previous year and up 1.4% over ten years.
Over the whole period, employment in agriculture (% of total employment) in Timor-Leste peaked at 59.7% in 1991 and was at its lowest, 37.8%, in 2021.
That places Timor-Leste 27th out of 187 countries with data for 2025, putting it 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 Timor-Leste, year by year
| Year | Value | Change |
|---|---|---|
| 1991 | 59.7% | — |
| 1992 | 59.0% | -1.2% |
| 1993 | 58.4% | -1.1% |
| 1994 | 57.8% | -1.1% |
| 1995 | 57.3% | -0.8% |
| 1996 | 56.8% | -1.0% |
| 1997 | 56.6% | -0.2% |
| 1998 | 57.0% | +0.6% |
| 1999 | 56.4% | -0.9% |
| 2000 | 54.5% | -3.4% |
| 2001 | 53.3% | -2.3% |
| 2002 | 54.2% | +1.7% |
| 2003 | 54.5% | +0.6% |
| 2004 | 54.7% | +0.3% |
| 2005 | 54.2% | -0.8% |
| 2006 | 54.7% | +1.0% |
| 2007 | 53.7% | -1.9% |
| 2008 | 52.6% | -1.9% |
| 2009 | 51.1% | -2.9% |
| 2010 | 50.8% | -0.7% |
| 2011 | 49.5% | -2.4% |
| 2012 | 48.8% | -1.5% |
| 2013 | 48.0% | -1.7% |
| 2014 | 46.7% | -2.7% |
| 2015 | 45.4% | -2.8% |
| 2016 | 44.1% | -2.8% |
| 2017 | 43.8% | -0.8% |
| 2018 | 43.1% | -1.6% |
| 2019 | 39.8% | -7.6% |
| 2020 | 39.4% | -1.1% |
| 2021 | 37.8% | -3.9% |
| 2022 | 48.3% | +27.6% |
| 2023 | 48.4% | +0.2% |
| 2024 | 46.3% | -4.2% |
| 2025 | 46.0% | -0.7% |
Timor-Leste compared with similar countries
- Timor-Leste's 46.0% is above the median for lower middle income countries, which is 35.4%, 1.3× the median. (46 countries reporting)
- Timor-Leste's 46.0% is above the median for East Asia & Pacific, which is 23.6%, 1.9× the median. (29 countries reporting)
Biggest year-on-year movements
Years where Employment in agriculture (% of total employment) in Timor-Leste changed far more than this series normally does. A large move can be a real event or a change in how the figure was measured — the source note below says who published it.
| Year | Change | From | To |
|---|---|---|---|
| 2022 | +27.6% | 37.8% | 48.3% |
Averages by decade
| Decade | Average | Lowest | Highest | Years |
|---|---|---|---|---|
| 1990s | 57.7% | 56.4% | 59.7% | 9 |
| 2000s | 53.7% | 51.1% | 54.7% | 10 |
| 2010s | 46.0% | 39.8% | 50.8% | 10 |
| 2020s | 44.4% | 37.8% | 48.4% | 6 |
Countries ranked near Timor-Leste
More agriculture & rural data for Timor-Leste
- Agriculture, forestry, and fishing, value added (current US$), annual 5.27 % change on previous year (2024)
- Agriculture, forestry, and fishing, value added (current US$), per 0.2016 current US$ per US$ of GDP (2024)
- Agriculture, forestry, and fishing, value added (current US$), per 268.53 current US$ per person (2024)
- Rural population, annual growth rate 1.1 % change on previous year (2025)
- Rural population, per unit of GDP 0.0005 units per US$ of GDP (2025)
- Rural population, per capita 0.7121 units per person (2025)
- Share of GDP from agriculture 20.2% (2024)
- Agriculture as a share of GDP vs. GDP per capita 20.2% (2024)
- Agricultural raw materials exports 0.2% (2023)
- Agricultural raw materials imports 0.8% (2023)
Frequently asked questions
- What is employment in agriculture (% of total employment) in Timor-Leste?
- Employment in agriculture (% of total employment) in Timor-Leste was 46.0% 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 Timor-Leste?
- The highest recorded value was 59.7% in 1991.
- What is the lowest employment in agriculture (% of total employment) recorded in Timor-Leste?
- The lowest recorded value was 37.8% in 2021.
- How does Timor-Leste rank for employment in agriculture (% of total employment)?
- Timor-Leste ranks 27th out of 187 countries with data for 2025.
- Is employment in agriculture (% of total employment) rising or falling in Timor-Leste?
- Over the last ten years it is up 1.4%. The long-run trend across the full record is falling.
- Where does this Timor-Leste 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).