Employment in agriculture (% of total employment) in Zimbabwe
Zimbabwe: Employment in agriculture (% of total employment) was 54.3% in 2025. ▲ Rising
Employment in agriculture (% of total employment) in Zimbabwe, 1991–2025
Source: ILO Modelled Estimates database (ILOEST), International Labour Organization (ILO).
Analysis
Zimbabwe recorded 54.3% for employment in agriculture (% of total employment) in 2025.
That represents a change of down 1.6% on the previous year and down 14.8% over ten years.
Over the whole period, employment in agriculture (% of total employment) in Zimbabwe peaked at 66.1% in 2008 and was at its lowest, 46.7%, in 1998.
That places Zimbabwe 19th out of 187 countries with data for 2025, putting it in the top 10%.
The long-run direction has been consistently rising across the 35 years of available data.
Employment in agriculture (% of total employment) in Zimbabwe, year by year
| Year | Value | Change |
|---|---|---|
| 1991 | 47.7% | — |
| 1992 | 48.4% | +1.5% |
| 1993 | 48.8% | +0.8% |
| 1994 | 47.8% | -1.9% |
| 1995 | 47.7% | -0.3% |
| 1996 | 47.0% | -1.5% |
| 1997 | 46.9% | -0.3% |
| 1998 | 46.7% | -0.4% |
| 1999 | 47.3% | +1.4% |
| 2000 | 49.7% | +5.1% |
| 2001 | 51.8% | +4.2% |
| 2002 | 55.3% | +6.7% |
| 2003 | 58.9% | +6.5% |
| 2004 | 61.4% | +4.4% |
| 2005 | 62.1% | +1.0% |
| 2006 | 63.7% | +2.6% |
| 2007 | 64.2% | +0.9% |
| 2008 | 66.1% | +3.0% |
| 2009 | 64.4% | -2.6% |
| 2010 | 62.2% | -3.5% |
| 2011 | 62.0% | -0.3% |
| 2012 | 62.0% | -0.1% |
| 2013 | 63.2% | +2.0% |
| 2014 | 64.0% | +1.3% |
| 2015 | 63.7% | -0.4% |
| 2016 | 63.7% | -0.0% |
| 2017 | 63.0% | -1.1% |
| 2018 | 62.4% | -0.9% |
| 2019 | 62.4% | -0.1% |
| 2020 | 58.6% | -6.1% |
| 2021 | 53.6% | -8.5% |
| 2022 | 53.3% | -0.6% |
| 2023 | 55.4% | +4.0% |
| 2024 | 55.2% | -0.5% |
| 2025 | 54.3% | -1.6% |
Zimbabwe compared with similar countries
- Zimbabwe's 54.3% is above the median for lower middle income countries, which is 35.4%, 1.5× the median. (46 countries reporting)
- Zimbabwe's 54.3% is above the median for Sub-Saharan Africa, which is 44.5%, 1.2× the median. (47 countries reporting)
Averages by decade
| Decade | Average | Lowest | Highest | Years |
|---|---|---|---|---|
| 1990s | 47.6% | 46.7% | 48.8% | 9 |
| 2000s | 59.8% | 49.7% | 66.1% | 10 |
| 2010s | 62.9% | 62.0% | 64.0% | 10 |
| 2020s | 55.1% | 53.3% | 58.6% | 6 |
Countries ranked near Zimbabwe
- 16 Eritrea 55.5% compare
- 17 Equatorial Guinea 55.3% compare
- 18 Zambia 54.5% compare
- 20 Korea, Democratic People's Republic of 54.1% compare
- 21 Angola 51.9% compare
- 22 Burkina Faso 51.8% compare
More agriculture & rural data for Zimbabwe
- Agriculture, forestry, and fishing, value added (current US$), annual 34.41 % change on previous year (2025)
- Agriculture, forestry, and fishing, value added (current US$), per 0.0947 current US$ per US$ of GDP (2025)
- Agriculture, forestry, and fishing, value added (current US$), per 286.19 current US$ per person (2025)
- Rural population, annual growth rate 0.8815 % change on previous year (2025)
- Rural population, per unit of GDP 0.0002 units per US$ of GDP (2025)
- Rural population, per capita 0.595 units per person (2025)
- Share of GDP from agriculture 9.5% (2025)
- Agriculture as a share of GDP vs. GDP per capita 9.5% (2025)
- Agricultural raw materials exports 0.9% (2024)
- Agricultural raw materials imports 0.3% (2024)
Frequently asked questions
- What is employment in agriculture (% of total employment) in Zimbabwe?
- Employment in agriculture (% of total employment) in Zimbabwe was 54.3% 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 Zimbabwe?
- The highest recorded value was 66.1% in 2008.
- What is the lowest employment in agriculture (% of total employment) recorded in Zimbabwe?
- The lowest recorded value was 46.7% in 1998.
- How does Zimbabwe rank for employment in agriculture (% of total employment)?
- Zimbabwe ranks 19th out of 187 countries with data for 2025.
- Is employment in agriculture (% of total employment) rising or falling in Zimbabwe?
- Over the last ten years it is down 14.8%. The long-run trend across the full record is rising.
- Where does this Zimbabwe 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).