FAO Model — Share of agricultural employment in total AFS employment in South Africa
South Africa: FAO Model — Share of agricultural employment in total AFS employment was 41.27 % in 2023. ▼ Falling
FAO Model — Share of agricultural employment in total AFS employment in South Africa, 2000–2023
Source: Food and Agriculture Organization of the United Nations. Measured in %.
Analysis
In 2023, fao model — share of agricultural employment in total afs employment in South Africa stood at 41.27 %.
Compared with earlier readings it is up 1.2% on the previous year and up 8.7% over ten years.
Over the whole period, fao model — share of agricultural employment in total afs employment in South Africa peaked at 49.77 % in 2002 and was at its lowest, 33.24 %, in 2011.
South Africa ranks 98th of 137 countries on this measure, in the middle of the range.
The long-run direction has been consistently falling across the 24 years of available data.
FAO Model — Share of agricultural employment in total AFS employment in South Africa, year by year
| Year | % | Change |
|---|---|---|
| 2000 | 43.39 % | — |
| 2001 | 44.92 % | +3.5% |
| 2002 | 49.77 % | +10.8% |
| 2003 | 48.66 % | -2.2% |
| 2004 | 44.68 % | -8.2% |
| 2005 | 40.33 % | -9.7% |
| 2006 | 38.45 % | -4.7% |
| 2007 | 41.86 % | +8.9% |
| 2008 | 38.49 % | -8.1% |
| 2009 | 36.85 % | -4.3% |
| 2010 | 34.47 % | -6.5% |
| 2011 | 33.24 % | -3.6% |
| 2012 | 35.65 % | +7.3% |
| 2013 | 37.96 % | +6.5% |
| 2014 | 35.82 % | -5.6% |
| 2015 | 39.44 % | +10.1% |
| 2016 | 41.5 % | +5.2% |
| 2017 | 39.96 % | -3.7% |
| 2018 | 39.19 % | -1.9% |
| 2019 | 40.2 % | +2.6% |
| 2020 | 41.42 % | +3.0% |
| 2021 | 44 % | +6.2% |
| 2022 | 40.8 % | -7.3% |
| 2023 | 41.27 % | +1.2% |
South Africa compared with similar countries
- South Africa's 41.27 % is below the median for upper middle income countries, which is 61.89 %, 67% of the median. (36 countries reporting)
- South Africa's 41.27 % is below the median for Sub-Saharan Africa, which is 79.63 %, 52% of the median. (35 countries reporting)
Averages by decade
| Decade | Average | Lowest | Highest | Years |
|---|---|---|---|---|
| 2000s | 42.74 % | 36.85 % | 49.77 % | 10 |
| 2010s | 37.74 % | 33.24 % | 41.5 % | 10 |
| 2020s | 41.87 % | 40.8 % | 44 % | 4 |
Countries ranked near South Africa
More agriculture & rural data for South Africa
- Agriculture, forestry, and fishing, value added (current US$), annual 7.11 % change on previous year (2025)
- Agriculture, forestry, and fishing, value added (current US$), per 0.0283 current US$ per US$ of GDP (2025)
- Agriculture, forestry, and fishing, value added (current US$), per 186.56 current US$ per person (2025)
- Rural population, annual growth rate 0.812 % change on previous year (2025)
- Rural population, per unit of GDP 0.0001 units per US$ of GDP (2025)
- Rural population, per capita 0.3618 units per person (2025)
- Share of GDP from agriculture 2.8% (2025)
- Agriculture as a share of GDP vs. GDP per capita 2.8% (2025)
- Agricultural raw materials exports 2.0% (2025)
- Agricultural raw materials imports 1.0% (2025)
Frequently asked questions
- What is fao model — share of agricultural employment in total afs employment in South Africa?
- Fao model — share of agricultural employment in total afs employment in South Africa was 41.27 % in 2023, according to Food and Agriculture Organization of the United Nations.
- What is the highest fao model — share of agricultural employment in total afs employment recorded in South Africa?
- The highest recorded value was 49.77 % in 2002.
- What is the lowest fao model — share of agricultural employment in total afs employment recorded in South Africa?
- The lowest recorded value was 33.24 % in 2011.
- How does South Africa rank for fao model — share of agricultural employment in total afs employment?
- South Africa ranks 98th out of 137 countries with data for 2023.
- Is fao model — share of agricultural employment in total afs employment rising or falling in South Africa?
- Over the last ten years it is up 8.7%. The long-run trend across the full record is falling.
- Where does this South Africa data come from?
- The figures come from Food and Agriculture Organization of the United Nations, published as part of FAO Model — Share of agricultural employment in total AFS employment — Male — Value. 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 FAOSTAT Employment indicators domain focuses on indicators related to employment in agrifood systems and rural areas. The update is performed yearly, using data from the International Labour Organization (ILO) database that contains a rich set of indicators from a wide range of topics related to labour statistics. The indicators published in FAOSTAT are derived from the labour force statistics (LFS) and rural and urban labour markets (RURURB) databases of the ILOSTAT database. In addition, the ILO modelled estimates and projections (ILOEST) are used to provide information on employment in agriculture. FAOSTAT also publishes indicators on employment in agrifood systems (AFS) from 2000 at the national, regional, and global levels, using a methodology developed by the FAO to estimate the number of people employed within these systems.