Share of employment in agriculture vs. share of population living in rural areas in Jamaica
Jamaica: Share of employment in agriculture vs. share of population living in rural areas was 14.6% in 2023. ▼ Falling
Share of employment in agriculture vs. share of population living in rural areas in Jamaica, 1991–2023
Source: ILO via World Bank – processed by Our World in Data. Measured in %.
Analysis
Jamaica recorded 14.6% for share of employment in agriculture vs. share of population living in rural areas in 2023. That is the lowest value across all 33 years on record.
That represents a change of down 1.6% on the previous year and down 19.8% over ten years.
Over the whole period, share of employment in agriculture vs. share of population living in rural areas in Jamaica peaked at 27.9% in 1991 and was at its lowest, 14.6%, in 2023.
Jamaica ranks 96th of 186 countries on this measure, in the middle of the range.
The long-run direction has been consistently falling across the 33 years of available data.
Share of employment in agriculture vs. share of population living in rural areas in Jamaica, year by year
| Year | % | Change |
|---|---|---|
| 1991 | 27.9% | — |
| 1992 | 27.5% | -1.5% |
| 1993 | 24.6% | -10.3% |
| 1994 | 23.9% | -2.8% |
| 1995 | 23.2% | -3.1% |
| 1996 | 22.7% | -2.3% |
| 1997 | 21.2% | -6.3% |
| 1998 | 21.0% | -1.1% |
| 1999 | 20.6% | -1.9% |
| 2000 | 20.9% | +1.3% |
| 2001 | 20.8% | -0.4% |
| 2002 | 20.1% | -3.1% |
| 2003 | 20.4% | +1.3% |
| 2004 | 18.5% | -9.3% |
| 2005 | 18.1% | -2.0% |
| 2006 | 18.3% | +0.9% |
| 2007 | 17.6% | -3.5% |
| 2008 | 17.5% | -0.9% |
| 2009 | 17.7% | +1.0% |
| 2010 | 17.7% | +0.5% |
| 2011 | 17.6% | -0.6% |
| 2012 | 18.1% | +2.8% |
| 2013 | 18.2% | +0.6% |
| 2014 | 18.5% | +1.3% |
| 2015 | 17.7% | -3.8% |
| 2016 | 16.7% | -5.8% |
| 2017 | 16.8% | +0.2% |
| 2018 | 16.3% | -3.0% |
| 2019 | 15.2% | -6.3% |
| 2020 | 15.9% | +4.6% |
| 2021 | 15.7% | -1.2% |
| 2022 | 14.9% | -5.6% |
| 2023 | 14.6% | -1.6% |
Jamaica compared with similar countries
- Jamaica's 14.6% is below the median for upper middle income countries, which is 17.1%, 85% of the median. (53 countries reporting)
- Jamaica's 14.6% is above the median for Latin America & Caribbean, which is 12.0%, 1.2× the median. (31 countries reporting)
Averages by decade
| Decade | Average | Lowest | Highest | Years |
|---|---|---|---|---|
| 1990s | 23.6% | 20.6% | 27.9% | 9 |
| 2000s | 19.0% | 17.5% | 20.9% | 10 |
| 2010s | 17.3% | 15.2% | 18.5% | 10 |
| 2020s | 15.3% | 14.6% | 15.9% | 4 |
Countries ranked near Jamaica
More agriculture & rural data for Jamaica
- Agriculture, forestry, and fishing, value added (current US$), annual 13.16 % change on previous year (2025)
- Agriculture, forestry, and fishing, value added (current US$), per 0.0874 current US$ per US$ of GDP (2025)
- Agriculture, forestry, and fishing, value added (current US$), per 699.7 current US$ per person (2025)
- Rural population, annual growth rate -1.28 % change on previous year (2025)
- Rural population, per unit of GDP 0.0001 units per US$ of GDP (2025)
- Rural population, per capita 0.4057 units per person (2025)
- Share of GDP from agriculture 8.7% (2025)
- Agriculture as a share of GDP vs. GDP per capita 8.7% (2025)
- Agricultural raw materials exports 0.1% (2023)
- Agricultural raw materials imports 0.9% (2023)
Frequently asked questions
- What is share of employment in agriculture vs. share of population living in rural areas in Jamaica?
- Share of employment in agriculture vs. share of population living in rural areas in Jamaica was 14.6% in 2023, according to ILO via World Bank – processed by Our World in Data.
- What is the highest share of employment in agriculture vs. share of population living in rural areas recorded in Jamaica?
- The highest recorded value was 27.9% in 1991.
- What is the lowest share of employment in agriculture vs. share of population living in rural areas recorded in Jamaica?
- The lowest recorded value was 14.6% in 2023.
- How does Jamaica rank for share of employment in agriculture vs. share of population living in rural areas?
- Jamaica ranks 96th out of 186 countries with data for 2023.
- Is share of employment in agriculture vs. share of population living in rural areas rising or falling in Jamaica?
- Over the last ten years it is down 19.8%. The long-run trend across the full record is falling.
- Where does this Jamaica data come from?
- The figures come from ILO via World Bank – processed by Our World in Data, published as part of Share of employment in agriculture vs. share of population living in rural areas. Statizoid updates them automatically from the source API.
Download this data
CSV · JSON — 33 observations, free to reuse under CC BY 4.0 (Our World in Data).
About this data
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.