ILO - ILO Modelled Estimates — Share of employment in agriculture in in South America

South America: ILO - ILO Modelled Estimates — Share of employment in agriculture in was 14.53 % in 2025. ▼ Falling

Latest (2025)
14.53 %
Change on year
down 1.1%
Rank
18th
of 31 groups
All-time high
23.48 %
in 1991
All-time low
14.53 %
in 2025
Years of data
35
1991–2025

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

05101520251991200820251991: 23.5 %1992: 23.5 %1993: 23.2 %1994: 23.1 %1995: 22.8 %1996: 22.3 %1997: 21.8 %1998: 21.3 %1999: 21.7 %2000: 21.4 %2001: 21.1 %2002: 21.1 %2003: 21.1 %2004: 21.2 %2005: 20.8 %2006: 19.9 %2007: 18.9 %2008: 18.1 %2009: 18.1 %2010: 17.4 %2011: 16.9 %2012: 16.6 %2013: 16.4 %2014: 15.8 %2015: 15.8 %2016: 16.2 %2017: 16.2 %2018: 16.3 %2019: 15.9 %2020: 16.9 %2021: 16.2 %2022: 15.5 %2023: 15.1 %2024: 14.7 %2025: 14.5 %

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

Analysis

South America recorded 14.53 % for ilo - ilo modelled estimates — share of employment in agriculture in in 2025. That is the lowest value across all 35 years on record.

That represents a change of down 1.1% on the previous year and down 7.7% over ten years.

Over the whole period, ilo - ilo modelled estimates — share of employment in agriculture in in South America peaked at 23.48 % in 1991 and was at its lowest, 14.53 %, in 2025.

South America ranks 18th of 31 groups 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 South America, year by year

Annual values for ILO - ILO Modelled Estimates — Share of employment in agriculture in total employment - ILO Modelled Estimates — Male — Value in South America, 1991 to 2025.
Year % Change
1991 23.48 %
1992 23.47 % -0.0%
1993 23.24 % -1.0%
1994 23.1 % -0.6%
1995 22.77 % -1.4%
1996 22.28 % -2.2%
1997 21.75 % -2.4%
1998 21.29 % -2.1%
1999 21.66 % +1.7%
2000 21.4 % -1.2%
2001 21.13 % -1.3%
2002 21.07 % -0.3%
2003 21.11 % +0.2%
2004 21.19 % +0.4%
2005 20.77 % -2.0%
2006 19.9 % -4.2%
2007 18.85 % -5.3%
2008 18.07 % -4.1%
2009 18.13 % +0.3%
2010 17.41 % -4.0%
2011 16.9 % -2.9%
2012 16.56 % -2.0%
2013 16.45 % -0.7%
2014 15.76 % -4.2%
2015 15.75 % -0.1%
2016 16.18 % +2.7%
2017 16.17 % -0.1%
2018 16.26 % +0.6%
2019 15.91 % -2.2%
2020 16.92 % +6.3%
2021 16.23 % -4.1%
2022 15.53 % -4.3%
2023 15.05 % -3.1%
2024 14.69 % -2.4%
2025 14.53 % -1.1%

Averages by decade

DecadeAverage LowestHighest Years
1990s 22.56 % 21.29 % 23.48 % 9
2000s 20.16 % 18.07 % 21.4 % 10
2010s 16.34 % 15.75 % 17.41 % 10
2020s 15.49 % 14.53 % 16.92 % 6

Countries ranked near South America

  1. 15 Eritrea 53.1 % compare
  2. 15 Polynesia 17.07 % compare
  3. 16 Iran (Islamic Republic of) 13.8 % compare
  4. 16 Zambia 51.6 % compare
  5. 17 Afghanistan 50.2 % compare
  6. 17 Venezuela (Bolivarian Republic of) 12.4 % compare
  7. 18 Burkina Faso 50 % compare
  8. 18 Türkiye 12.3 % compare
  9. 19 Cabo Verde 12.6 % compare
  10. 19 Myanmar 49.2 % compare
  11. 20 Angola 48.1 % compare
  12. 20 Micronesia 2.31 % compare
  13. 21 Zimbabwe 47.6 % compare

See the full ranking of 226 places →

More agriculture & rural data for South America

All data for South America →

Frequently asked questions

What is ilo - ilo modelled estimates — share of employment in agriculture in in South America?
Ilo - ilo modelled estimates — share of employment in agriculture in in South America was 14.53 % 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 South America?
The highest recorded value was 23.48 % in 1991.
What is the lowest ilo - ilo modelled estimates — share of employment in agriculture in recorded in South America?
The lowest recorded value was 14.53 % in 2025.
How does South America rank for ilo - ilo modelled estimates — share of employment in agriculture in?
South America ranks 18th out of 31 groups with data for 2025.
Is ilo - ilo modelled estimates — share of employment in agriculture in rising or falling in South America?
Over the last ten years it is down 7.7%. The long-run trend across the full record is falling.
Where does this South America 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 South America. Statizoid, drawing on Food and Agriculture Organization of the United Nations. Retrieved 14 September 2026, from https://agriculture.statizoid.com/stat/ilo-ilo-modelled-estimates-share-of-employment-in-agriculture-in-total-employment-ilo-2/south-america/

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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.