Statizoid

Share of employment in agriculture vs. share of population living in rural areas by country

The share of people employed in agriculture includes working-age people with a job in farming, forestry, fishing, and related activities, including those temporarily absent.

Countries reporting
186
Highest
85.1%
Burundi
Lowest
0.1%
Singapore
Median
14.7%
Years covered
33
1991–2023
Data points
6,134

What the numbers show

Share of employment in agriculture vs. share of population living in rural areas is currently reported for 186 countries. The highest value is 85.1% in Burundi; the lowest is 0.1% in Singapore.

The median across all reporting countries is 14.7%, and the mean is 22.2%.

The gap between the highest and lowest reporting country is a factor of about 932.

Over the past decade 18 countries rose and 168 fell. The largest increase was in Venezuela, Bolivarian Republic of (up 42.8%), and the largest decrease in Singapore (down 72.2%).

Share of employment in agriculture vs. share of population living in rural areas: full country ranking

#Country LatestYear 10-year changeTrend
1 Burundi 85.1% 2023 down 1.9% falling
2 Niger 70.6% 2023 down 4.7% falling
3 Central African Republic 70.5% 2023 down 4.9% falling
4 Lao People's Democratic Republic 69.6% 2023 up 3.7% falling
5 Mozambique 69.5% 2023 down 6.1% falling
6 Madagascar 69.4% 2023 down 2.6% falling
7 Chad 69.1% 2023 down 3.8% falling
8 Mali 67.8% 2023 down 7.8% flat
9 Uganda 65.9% 2023 down 10.8% falling
10 Tanzania, United Republic of 65.4% 2023 down 4.9% falling
11 Ethiopia 62.4% 2023 down 12.2% falling
12 Malawi 61.7% 2023 down 6.6% falling
13 Nepal 61.2% 2023 down 7.4% falling
14 Eritrea 60.9% 2023 down 6.1% falling
15 South Sudan 59.2% 2023 down 0.1% falling
16 Guinea 58.2% 2023 down 10.1% falling
17 Angola 56.2% 2023 up 1.3% rising
18 Equatorial Guinea 55.9% 2023 up 4.6% falling
19 Zambia 55.4% 2023 down 1.0% falling
20 Congo, Democratic Republic of the 55.1% 2023 down 10.1% falling
21 Rwanda 54.8% 2023 down 24.9% falling
22 Zimbabwe 52.5% 2023 down 21.2% falling
23 Armenia 52.3% 2023 up 0.1% flat
24 Republic of Moldova 51.1% 2023 down 9.2% rising
25 Guinea-Bissau 50.0% 2023 down 9.8% falling
26 Korea, Democratic People's Republic of 46.8% 2023 down 6.7% falling
27 Afghanistan 45.5% 2023 down 4.7% falling
28 Côte d'Ivoire 45.2% 2023 up 0.1% falling
29 Myanmar 45.2% 2023 down 14.1% falling
30 Haiti 44.7% 2023 down 6.3% falling
31 Bhutan 43.8% 2023 down 22.2% falling
32 Vanuatu 43.6% 2023 down 27.3% falling
33 India 43.5% 2023 down 5.8% falling
34 Cameroon 43.4% 2023 down 12.2% falling
35 Sierra Leone 43.0% 2023 down 27.2% falling
36 Tajikistan 42.7% 2023 down 14.4% falling
37 Georgia 39.9% 2023 down 15.7% falling
38 Sudan 39.8% 2022 down 10.8% falling
39 Liberia 38.9% 2023 down 9.9% falling
40 Papua New Guinea 38.7% 2023 up 36.0% rising
41 Solomon Islands 37.6% 2023 down 9.8% rising
42 Timor-Leste 36.8% 2023 down 31.2% falling
43 Pakistan 36.1% 2023 down 14.5% falling
44 Cambodia 36.0% 2023 down 27.3% falling
45 Azerbaijan 35.5% 2023 down 4.3% falling
46 Ghana 35.4% 2023 down 22.1% falling
47 Bangladesh 35.3% 2023 down 21.8% falling
48 Albania 34.9% 2023 down 21.1% falling
49 Comoros 34.4% 2023 down 13.5% falling
50 Nigeria 34.3% 2023 down 10.5% falling
51 Viet Nam 33.0% 2023 down 29.5% falling
52 Mauritania 32.7% 2023 down 7.0% falling
53 Kenya 32.3% 2023 down 14.3% falling
54 Burkina Faso 31.4% 2023 down 17.6% falling
55 Togo 30.3% 2023 down 17.7% falling
56 Samoa 30.2% 2023 up 3.9% falling
57 Congo 30.2% 2023 down 9.6% falling
58 Thailand 30.1% 2023 down 23.4% falling
59 Ecuador 30.0% 2023 up 12.6% rising
60 Morocco 29.6% 2023 down 22.2% falling
61 Lesotho 29.2% 2023 down 6.9% falling
62 Gabon 29.2% 2023 down 13.2% falling
63 Gambia 29.1% 2023 down 17.1% falling
64 Indonesia 28.8% 2023 down 17.7% falling
65 Yemen 28.6% 2023 up 2.1% falling
66 Fiji 28.1% 2023 down 8.6% rising
67 Benin 28.0% 2023 down 29.3% falling
68 Nicaragua 27.7% 2023 down 12.3% falling
69 Guatemala 26.7% 2023 down 13.7% falling
70 Tonga 26.3% 2023 down 17.6% falling
71 Sri Lanka 26.3% 2023 down 11.4% falling
72 Mongolia 26.1% 2023 down 12.4% falling
73 Somalia 26.0% 2023 down 17.5% falling
74 Bolivia, Plurinational State of 24.4% 2023 down 25.7% falling
75 Peru 24.0% 2023 down 7.9% falling
76 Kyrgyzstan 23.9% 2023 down 25.9% falling
77 Honduras 22.6% 2023 down 34.6% falling
78 Philippines 22.4% 2023 down 28.0% falling
79 China 22.3% 2023 down 28.9% falling
80 Turkmenistan 22.2% 2023 down 22.0% falling
81 Senegal 21.6% 2023 down 42.0% falling
82 Namibia 21.5% 2023 down 31.5% falling
83 Serbia 19.2% 2023 down 10.0% falling
84 South Africa 18.8% 2023 up 22.4% falling
85 Egypt 18.7% 2023 down 33.1% falling
86 Botswana 18.0% 2023 down 10.6% flat
87 Romania 17.9% 2023 down 38.8% falling
88 Bosnia and Herzegovina 17.6% 2023 down 6.8% falling
89 Paraguay 17.2% 2023 down 26.2% falling
90 Cuba 17.1% 2023 down 8.1% falling
91 Belize 15.6% 2023 down 10.5% falling
92 Syrian Arab Republic 15.0% 2023 down 2.4% falling
93 El Salvador 14.8% 2023 down 24.7% falling
94 Panama 14.7% 2023 down 10.1% falling
95 Türkiye 14.6% 2023 down 36.1% falling
96 Jamaica 14.6% 2023 down 19.8% falling
97 Colombia 14.4% 2023 down 15.2% falling
98 Iran, Islamic Republic of 14.3% 2023 down 16.5% falling
99 Ukraine 14.1% 2021 down 12.6% falling
100 Uzbekistan 13.9% 2023 down 14.7% falling
101 Eswatini 13.8% 2023 down 2.5% falling
102 Costa Rica 13.4% 2023 down 3.4% falling
103 Tunisia 12.8% 2023 down 16.4% falling
104 Kazakhstan 12.1% 2023 down 49.9% falling
105 Mexico 12.0% 2023 down 15.7% falling
106 Greece 11.5% 2023 down 12.8% falling
107 Guyana 11.3% 2023 down 40.5% falling
108 Sao Tome and Principe 11.1% 2023 down 22.2% falling
109 Venezuela, Bolivarian Republic of 10.6% 2023 up 42.8% falling
110 Saint Lucia 10.4% 2023 down 9.8% falling
111 Belarus 10.0% 2023 down 10.2% falling
112 Cape Verde 9.9% 2023 down 43.3% falling
113 Malaysia 9.8% 2023 down 22.5% falling
114 Saint Vincent and the Grenadines 9.6% 2023 down 18.5% falling
115 Algeria 9.3% 2023 down 13.2% falling
116 North Macedonia 9.3% 2023 down 50.4% falling
117 Uruguay 8.7% 2023 down 6.3% flat
118 Libya 8.7% 2023 down 13.3% falling
119 Iraq 8.2% 2023 down 18.2% falling
120 Brazil 8.2% 2023 down 18.2% falling
121 Maldives 7.7% 2023 down 14.9% falling
122 Poland 7.6% 2023 down 36.6% falling
123 Dominican Republic 7.4% 2023 down 33.4% falling
124 Suriname 7.4% 2023 up 7.6% rising
125 Latvia 6.8% 2023 down 16.2% falling
126 Palestine, State of 6.2% 2022 down 45.8% falling
127 Chile 6.2% 2023 down 26.9% falling
128 Oman 6.1% 2023 up 16.2% falling
129 Montenegro 6.0% 2023 up 33.3% falling
130 Russian Federation 5.7% 2023 down 18.5% falling
131 Bulgaria 5.7% 2023 down 14.7% falling
132 New Zealand 5.6% 2023 down 12.6% falling
133 Korea 5.3% 2023 down 9.7% falling
134 Mauritius 5.3% 2023 down 25.6% falling
135 Lithuania 5.1% 2023 down 39.9% falling
136 Croatia 4.7% 2023 down 56.6% falling
137 Hungary 4.4% 2023 down 7.2% falling
138 Slovenia 4.0% 2023 down 51.9% falling
139 Ireland 4.0% 2023 down 30.3% falling
140 Iceland 3.7% 2023 down 16.6% falling
141 Spain 3.6% 2023 down 15.7% falling
142 Finland 3.6% 2023 down 12.7% falling
143 Italy 3.6% 2023 down 0.2% falling
144 Lebanon 3.4% 2023 down 12.2% falling
145 Jordan 3.2% 2023 down 6.3% falling
146 Austria 3.1% 2023 down 31.9% falling
147 Japan 3.0% 2023 down 16.4% falling
148 Portugal 2.9% 2023 down 71.1% falling
149 Trinidad and Tobago 2.9% 2023 down 17.2% volatile
150 Bahamas 2.9% 2023 down 18.2% falling
151 Saudi Arabia 2.8% 2023 down 53.6% falling
152 Czechia 2.7% 2023 down 9.4% falling
153 Barbados 2.6% 2023 down 9.6% falling
154 Estonia 2.6% 2023 down 39.0% volatile
155 France 2.5% 2023 down 18.5% falling
156 Norway 2.5% 2023 up 13.4% falling
157 Slovakia 2.4% 2023 down 28.4% volatile
158 Cyprus 2.4% 2023 down 23.5% volatile
159 Australia 2.1% 2023 down 18.0% falling
160 French Polynesia 2.1% 2023 down 21.1% falling
161 Denmark 2.0% 2023 down 22.0% falling
162 Kuwait 1.9% 2023 down 15.4% falling
163 Netherlands 1.9% 2023 down 9.0% falling
164 Switzerland 1.9% 2023 down 46.0% falling
165 New Caledonia 1.8% 2023 down 0.2% volatile
166 Sweden 1.8% 2023 down 12.9% falling
167 Qatar 1.7% 2023 up 24.0% falling
168 United States of America 1.6% 2023 down 3.4% falling
169 Brunei Darussalam 1.5% 2023 up 10.7% falling
170 United Arab Emirates 1.3% 2023 down 49.1% volatile
171 United States Virgin Islands 1.3% 2023 down 23.0% falling
172 Canada 1.3% 2023 down 29.5% falling
173 Germany 1.2% 2023 down 17.1% falling
174 Puerto Rico 1.2% 2023 down 20.9% falling
175 Djibouti 1.1% 2023 down 25.8% falling
176 Malta 1.1% 2023 down 12.1% falling
177 Belgium 1.1% 2023 down 19.9% falling
178 United Kingdom of Great Britain and Northern Ireland 1.0% 2023 down 6.8% falling
179 Bahrain 0.9% 2023 down 19.2% falling
180 Luxembourg 0.9% 2023 down 45.0% falling
181 Israel 0.8% 2023 down 38.7% falling
182 Argentina 0.6% 2023 down 11.0% falling
183 Macau, China 0.5% 2023 up 7.2% rising
184 Guam 0.2% 2023 down 18.6% falling
185 Hong Kong, China 0.2% 2023 down 11.9% falling
186 Singapore 0.1% 2023 down 72.2% volatile

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Share of employment in agriculture vs. share of population living in rural areas by country. Statizoid, drawing on ILO via World Bank – processed by Our World in Data. Retrieved 10 September 2026, from https://agriculture.statizoid.com/stat/employment-in-agriculture-vs-share-of-population-living-in-rural-areas/

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About this data

Indicator
Share of employment in agriculture vs. share of population living in rural areas
Unit
%
Source
ILO via World Bank – processed by Our World in Data
Licence
CC BY 4.0 (Our World in Data)
Coverage
186 places, 6,134 data points, 1991–2023
Last refreshed

The share of people employed in agriculture includes working-age people with a job in farming, forestry, fishing, and related activities, including those temporarily absent.