Employment in agrifood systems by subindustry and sex: Off-farm in Sub-Saharan Africa
Sub-Saharan Africa: Employment in agrifood systems by subindustry and sex: Off-farm was 54,904 1000 No in 2023. ▲ Rising
Employment in agrifood systems by subindustry and sex: Off-farm in Sub-Saharan Africa, 2000–2023
Source: Food and Agriculture Organization of the United Nations. Measured in 1000 No.
Analysis
Sub-Saharan Africa recorded 54,904 1000 No for employment in agrifood systems by subindustry and sex: off-farm in 2023. That is the highest value across all 24 years on record.
That represents a change of up 8.3% on the previous year and up 47.1% over ten years.
Over the whole period, employment in agrifood systems by subindustry and sex: off-farm in Sub-Saharan Africa peaked at 54,904 1000 No in 2023 and was at its lowest, 21,108 1000 No, in 2000.
That places Sub-Saharan Africa 3rd out of 30 groups with data for 2023, putting it in the top 10%.
The long-run direction has been consistently rising across the 24 years of available data.
Employment in agrifood systems by subindustry and sex: Off-farm in Sub-Saharan Africa, year by year
| Year | 1000 No | Change |
|---|---|---|
| 2000 | 21,108 1000 No | — |
| 2001 | 22,280 1000 No | +5.5% |
| 2002 | 23,311 1000 No | +4.6% |
| 2003 | 24,329 1000 No | +4.4% |
| 2004 | 25,010 1000 No | +2.8% |
| 2005 | 28,368 1000 No | +13.4% |
| 2006 | 28,015 1000 No | -1.2% |
| 2007 | 29,740 1000 No | +6.2% |
| 2008 | 30,832 1000 No | +3.7% |
| 2009 | 32,002 1000 No | +3.8% |
| 2010 | 33,465 1000 No | +4.6% |
| 2011 | 33,253 1000 No | -0.6% |
| 2012 | 35,188 1000 No | +5.8% |
| 2013 | 37,333 1000 No | +6.1% |
| 2014 | 39,283 1000 No | +5.2% |
| 2015 | 40,306 1000 No | +2.6% |
| 2016 | 41,368 1000 No | +2.6% |
| 2017 | 42,422 1000 No | +2.5% |
| 2018 | 43,391 1000 No | +2.3% |
| 2019 | 39,459 1000 No | -9.1% |
| 2020 | 42,527 1000 No | +7.8% |
| 2021 | 45,599 1000 No | +7.2% |
| 2022 | 50,680 1000 No | +11.1% |
| 2023 | 54,904 1000 No | +8.3% |
Averages by decade
| Decade | Average | Lowest | Highest | Years |
|---|---|---|---|---|
| 2000s | 26,500 1000 No | 21,108 1000 No | 32,002 1000 No | 10 |
| 2010s | 38,547 1000 No | 33,253 1000 No | 43,391 1000 No | 10 |
| 2020s | 48,427 1000 No | 42,527 1000 No | 54,904 1000 No | 4 |
Countries ranked near Sub-Saharan Africa
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: off-farm in Sub-Saharan Africa?
- Employment in agrifood systems by subindustry and sex: off-farm in Sub-Saharan Africa was 54,904 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: off-farm recorded in Sub-Saharan Africa?
- The highest recorded value was 54,904 1000 No in 2023.
- What is the lowest employment in agrifood systems by subindustry and sex: off-farm recorded in Sub-Saharan Africa?
- The lowest recorded value was 21,108 1000 No in 2000.
- How does Sub-Saharan Africa rank for employment in agrifood systems by subindustry and sex: off-farm?
- Sub-Saharan Africa ranks 3rd out of 30 groups with data for 2023.
- Is employment in agrifood systems by subindustry and sex: off-farm rising or falling in Sub-Saharan Africa?
- Over the last ten years it is up 47.1%. 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: Off-farm agrifood systems — Value — Female — All age ranges or no breakdown by age — National — Non-agricultural agrifood systems. 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.