ILO - ILO Modelled Estimates — Share of employment in agriculture in in China

China: ILO - ILO Modelled Estimates — Share of employment in agriculture in was 23.79 % in 2025. ▼ Falling

Latest (2025)
23.79 %
Change on year
down 2.3%
World rank
70th
of 175 countries
All-time high
62.89 %
in 1991
All-time low
23.79 %
in 2025
Years of data
35
1991–2025

ILO - ILO Modelled Estimates — Share of employment in agriculture in in China, 1991–2025

02040601991200820251991: 62.9 %1992: 61.6 %1993: 59.7 %1994: 57.8 %1995: 55.9 %1996: 54.3 %1997: 53.5 %1998: 53.1 %1999: 53 %2000: 52.6 %2001: 52.3 %2002: 52.1 %2003: 51.1 %2004: 49.1 %2005: 47.1 %2006: 45 %2007: 43.2 %2008: 41.9 %2009: 40.5 %2010: 39 %2011: 37.2 %2012: 36 %2013: 34 %2014: 32.3 %2015: 31.1 %2016: 30.2 %2017: 29.4 %2018: 28.5 %2019: 27.5 %2020: 26.2 %2021: 25.2 %2022: 26.2 %2023: 25 %2024: 24.4 %2025: 23.8 %

Source: Food and Agriculture Organization of the United Nations. Measured in %.

Analysis

The most recent figure for ilo - ilo modelled estimates — share of employment in agriculture in in China is 23.79 %, measured in 2025. That is the lowest value across all 35 years on record.

That represents a change of down 2.3% on the previous year and down 23.6% over ten years.

Over the whole period, ilo - ilo modelled estimates — share of employment in agriculture in in China peaked at 62.89 % in 1991 and was at its lowest, 23.79 %, in 2025.

China ranks 70th of 175 countries on this measure, in the middle of the range.

The long-run direction has been consistently falling across the 35 years of available data.

ILO - ILO Modelled Estimates — Share of employment in agriculture in in China, year by year

Annual values for ILO - ILO Modelled Estimates — Share of employment in agriculture in total employment - ILO Modelled Estimates — Male — Value in China, 1991 to 2025.
Year % Change
1991 62.89 %
1992 61.62 % -2.0%
1993 59.66 % -3.2%
1994 57.75 % -3.2%
1995 55.87 % -3.3%
1996 54.28 % -2.8%
1997 53.48 % -1.5%
1998 53.08 % -0.7%
1999 53 % -0.2%
2000 52.6 % -0.8%
2001 52.34 % -0.5%
2002 52.09 % -0.5%
2003 51.1 % -1.9%
2004 49.14 % -3.8%
2005 47.1 % -4.2%
2006 44.97 % -4.5%
2007 43.16 % -4.0%
2008 41.93 % -2.8%
2009 40.45 % -3.5%
2010 39.01 % -3.6%
2011 37.2 % -4.6%
2012 35.97 % -3.3%
2013 34.01 % -5.4%
2014 32.28 % -5.1%
2015 31.15 % -3.5%
2016 30.23 % -3.0%
2017 29.43 % -2.6%
2018 28.47 % -3.3%
2019 27.46 % -3.5%
2020 26.25 % -4.4%
2021 25.21 % -4.0%
2022 26.17 % +3.8%
2023 24.96 % -4.6%
2024 24.36 % -2.4%
2025 23.79 % -2.3%

Averages by decade

DecadeAverage LowestHighest Years
1990s 56.85 % 53 % 62.89 % 9
2000s 47.49 % 40.45 % 52.6 % 10
2010s 32.52 % 27.46 % 39.01 % 10
2020s 25.12 % 23.79 % 26.25 % 6

Countries ranked near China

  1. 67 Peru 24.3 % compare
  2. 68 China, mainland 24.2 % compare
  3. 68 Uzbekistan 24.2 % compare
  4. 71 Armenia 23.3 % compare
  5. 71 Namibia 23.3 % compare
  6. 73 Turkmenistan 22.1 % compare

See the full ranking of 226 places →

More agriculture & rural data for China

All data for China →

Frequently asked questions

What is ilo - ilo modelled estimates — share of employment in agriculture in in China?
Ilo - ilo modelled estimates — share of employment in agriculture in in China was 23.79 % in 2025, according to Food and Agriculture Organization of the United Nations.
What is the highest ilo - ilo modelled estimates — share of employment in agriculture in recorded in China?
The highest recorded value was 62.89 % in 1991.
What is the lowest ilo - ilo modelled estimates — share of employment in agriculture in recorded in China?
The lowest recorded value was 23.79 % in 2025.
How does China rank for ilo - ilo modelled estimates — share of employment in agriculture in?
China ranks 70th out of 175 countries with data for 2025.
Is ilo - ilo modelled estimates — share of employment in agriculture in rising or falling in China?
Over the last ten years it is down 23.6%. The long-run trend across the full record is falling.
Where does this China data come from?
The figures come from Food and Agriculture Organization of the United Nations, published as part of ILO - ILO Modelled Estimates — Share of employment in agriculture in total employment - ILO Modelled Estimates — Male — Value. Statizoid updates them automatically from the source API.

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ILO - ILO Modelled Estimates — Share of employment in agriculture in in China. Statizoid, drawing on Food and Agriculture Organization of the United Nations. Retrieved 12 September 2026, from https://agriculture.statizoid.com/stat/ilo-ilo-modelled-estimates-share-of-employment-in-agriculture-in-total-employment-ilo-2/china/

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About this data

Indicator
ILO - ILO Modelled Estimates — Share of employment in agriculture in total employment - ILO Modelled Estimates — Male — Value
Unit
%
Source
Food and Agriculture Organization of the United Nations
Licence
CC BY-NC-SA 3.0 IGO (FAO)
Coverage
226 places, 7,893 data points, 1991–2025
Last refreshed

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.