Employment in agrifood systems by subindustry and sex: Agriculture in Sub-Saharan Africa
Sub-Saharan Africa: Employment in agrifood systems by subindustry and sex: Agriculture was 238,646 1000 No in 2023. ▲ Rising
Employment in agrifood systems by subindustry and sex: Agriculture in Sub-Saharan Africa, 2000–2023
Source: Food and Agriculture Organization of the United Nations. Measured in 1000 No.
Analysis
The most recent figure for employment in agrifood systems by subindustry and sex: agriculture in Sub-Saharan Africa is 238,646 1000 No, measured in 2023. That is the highest value across all 24 years on record.
That represents a change of up 2.9% on the previous year and up 20.6% over ten years.
Over the whole period, employment in agrifood systems by subindustry and sex: agriculture in Sub-Saharan Africa peaked at 238,646 1000 No in 2023 and was at its lowest, 151,541 1000 No, in 2000.
Sub-Saharan Africa ranks 5th of 30 groups on this measure, in the top quarter.
The long-run direction has been consistently rising across the 24 years of available data.
Employment in agrifood systems by subindustry and sex: Agriculture in Sub-Saharan Africa, year by year
| Year | 1000 No | Change |
|---|---|---|
| 2000 | 151,541 1000 No | — |
| 2001 | 155,723 1000 No | +2.8% |
| 2002 | 160,348 1000 No | +3.0% |
| 2003 | 164,622 1000 No | +2.7% |
| 2004 | 168,354 1000 No | +2.3% |
| 2005 | 172,320 1000 No | +2.4% |
| 2006 | 175,736 1000 No | +2.0% |
| 2007 | 178,837 1000 No | +1.8% |
| 2008 | 182,014 1000 No | +1.8% |
| 2009 | 184,795 1000 No | +1.5% |
| 2010 | 186,148 1000 No | +0.7% |
| 2011 | 190,090 1000 No | +2.1% |
| 2012 | 191,841 1000 No | +0.9% |
| 2013 | 197,851 1000 No | +3.1% |
| 2014 | 199,632 1000 No | +0.9% |
| 2015 | 202,361 1000 No | +1.4% |
| 2016 | 206,346 1000 No | +2.0% |
| 2017 | 208,176 1000 No | +0.9% |
| 2018 | 210,289 1000 No | +1.0% |
| 2019 | 211,675 1000 No | +0.7% |
| 2020 | 219,695 1000 No | +3.8% |
| 2021 | 226,474 1000 No | +3.1% |
| 2022 | 231,912 1000 No | +2.4% |
| 2023 | 238,646 1000 No | +2.9% |
Averages by decade
| Decade | Average | Lowest | Highest | Years |
|---|---|---|---|---|
| 2000s | 169,429 1000 No | 151,541 1000 No | 184,795 1000 No | 10 |
| 2010s | 200,441 1000 No | 186,148 1000 No | 211,675 1000 No | 10 |
| 2020s | 229,182 1000 No | 219,695 1000 No | 238,646 1000 No | 4 |
Countries ranked near Sub-Saharan Africa
- 2 China, mainland 169,787 1000 No compare
- 3 Indonesia 39,882 1000 No compare
- 4 Democratic Republic of the Congo 20,885 1000 No compare
- 4 Nigeria 37,027 1000 No compare
- 5 Bangladesh 32,792 1000 No compare
- 5 United Republic of Tanzania 20,501 1000 No compare
- 6 Ethiopia 32,092 1000 No compare
- 6 Viet Nam 14,963 1000 No compare
- 7 Democratic People's Republic of Korea 9,251 1000 No compare
- 7 Pakistan 28,441 1000 No compare
- 8 Uganda 13,983 1000 No compare
More agriculture & rural data for Sub-Saharan Africa
- Agriculture, forestry, and fishing, value added (current US$), annual 10.7 % change on previous year (2025)
- Rural population, per capita 0.5534 units per person (2025)
- Agriculture, forestry, and fishing, value added (current US$), per 0.1791 current US$ per US$ of GDP (2025)
- Agriculture, forestry, and fishing, value added (current US$), per 299.6 current US$ per person (2025)
- Rural population, annual growth rate 1.53 % change on previous year (2025)
- Rural population, per unit of GDP 0.0003 units per US$ of GDP (2025)
- Agricultural raw materials exports 2.6% (2024)
- Agriculture, forestry, and fishing, value added 395.96 billion current US$ (2025)
- Agriculture, forestry, and fishing, value added 17.9% (2025)
- Rural population 731.42 million (2025)
Frequently asked questions
- What is employment in agrifood systems by subindustry and sex: agriculture in Sub-Saharan Africa?
- Employment in agrifood systems by subindustry and sex: agriculture in Sub-Saharan Africa was 238,646 1000 No in 2023, according to Food and Agriculture Organization of the United Nations.
- What is the highest employment in agrifood systems by subindustry and sex: agriculture recorded in Sub-Saharan Africa?
- The highest recorded value was 238,646 1000 No in 2023.
- What is the lowest employment in agrifood systems by subindustry and sex: agriculture recorded in Sub-Saharan Africa?
- The lowest recorded value was 151,541 1000 No in 2000.
- How does Sub-Saharan Africa rank for employment in agrifood systems by subindustry and sex: agriculture?
- Sub-Saharan Africa ranks 5th out of 30 groups with data for 2023.
- Is employment in agrifood systems by subindustry and sex: agriculture rising or falling in Sub-Saharan Africa?
- Over the last ten years it is up 20.6%. The long-run trend across the full record is rising.
- Where does this Sub-Saharan Africa data come from?
- The figures come from Food and Agriculture Organization of the United Nations, published as part of Employment in agrifood systems by subindustry and sex: Agriculture — Value — All age ranges or no breakdown by age — National — Agriculture. Statizoid updates them automatically from the source API.
Download this data
CSV · JSON — 24 observations, free to reuse under CC BY-NC-SA 3.0 IGO (FAO).
About this data
The Suite of Gender Indicators presents a set of indicators relevant to agrifood systems that are disaggregated by sex, with the aim of highlighting gender differences across agrifood systems. The initial set of indicators is based on those used in FAO’s 2023 Status of Women in Agrifood Systems (SWAFS) report and on the recommendations of an expert consultation held in December 2023, and covers key dimensions including economic participation, governance, agency, social norms, assets and services, education, health, and nutrition. Indicator selection was informed by expert judgment and by the availability of data with sufficient geographic and temporal coverage to enable meaningful comparisons across regions and over time. While most indicators are produced and published by FAO and other international organizations, the objective of this domain is to provide a one-stop shop for sex-disaggregated data on agrifood systems.