ILO - ILO Modelled Estimates — Share of employment in agriculture in in Western Africa
Western Africa: ILO - ILO Modelled Estimates — Share of employment in agriculture in was 45.71 % in 2025. ▼ Falling
ILO - ILO Modelled Estimates — Share of employment in agriculture in in Western Africa, 1991–2025
Source: Food and Agriculture Organization of the United Nations. Measured in %.
Analysis
Western Africa recorded 45.71 % for ilo - ilo modelled estimates — share of employment in agriculture in in 2025. That is the lowest value across all 35 years on record.
Compared with earlier readings it is down 1.3% on the previous year and down 9.3% over ten years.
Over the whole period, ilo - ilo modelled estimates — share of employment in agriculture in in Western Africa peaked at 62.71 % in 1991 and was at its lowest, 45.71 %, in 2025.
Western Africa ranks 6th of 31 groups on this measure, in the top quarter.
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 Western Africa, year by year
| Year | % | Change |
|---|---|---|
| 1991 | 62.71 % | — |
| 1992 | 62.54 % | -0.3% |
| 1993 | 62.6 % | +0.1% |
| 1994 | 62.59 % | -0.0% |
| 1995 | 62.48 % | -0.2% |
| 1996 | 62.16 % | -0.5% |
| 1997 | 61.8 % | -0.6% |
| 1998 | 61.47 % | -0.5% |
| 1999 | 61.19 % | -0.5% |
| 2000 | 60.5 % | -1.1% |
| 2001 | 60.23 % | -0.4% |
| 2002 | 59.88 % | -0.6% |
| 2003 | 59.32 % | -0.9% |
| 2004 | 58.53 % | -1.3% |
| 2005 | 57.95 % | -1.0% |
| 2006 | 57.29 % | -1.1% |
| 2007 | 56.53 % | -1.3% |
| 2008 | 55.73 % | -1.4% |
| 2009 | 54.84 % | -1.6% |
| 2010 | 53.67 % | -2.1% |
| 2011 | 52.77 % | -1.7% |
| 2012 | 52.23 % | -1.0% |
| 2013 | 51.48 % | -1.4% |
| 2014 | 50.86 % | -1.2% |
| 2015 | 50.41 % | -0.9% |
| 2016 | 50.58 % | +0.3% |
| 2017 | 49.84 % | -1.5% |
| 2018 | 49.06 % | -1.6% |
| 2019 | 48.15 % | -1.9% |
| 2020 | 49.18 % | +2.1% |
| 2021 | 48.14 % | -2.1% |
| 2022 | 47.25 % | -1.8% |
| 2023 | 46.93 % | -0.7% |
| 2024 | 46.29 % | -1.4% |
| 2025 | 45.71 % | -1.3% |
Averages by decade
| Decade | Average | Lowest | Highest | Years |
|---|---|---|---|---|
| 1990s | 62.17 % | 61.19 % | 62.71 % | 9 |
| 2000s | 58.08 % | 54.84 % | 60.5 % | 10 |
| 2010s | 50.91 % | 48.15 % | 53.67 % | 10 |
| 2020s | 47.25 % | 45.71 % | 49.18 % | 6 |
Countries ranked near Western Africa
- 3 Chad 70 % compare
- 3 Democratic People's Republic of Korea 50.6 % compare
- 4 Democratic Republic of the Congo 49.9 % compare
- 4 Niger 68.7 % compare
- 5 Côte d'Ivoire 48.7 % compare
- 5 Ethiopia 67.6 % compare
- 6 Mali 64.3 % compare
- 6 Republic of Moldova 49.5 % compare
- 7 Central African Republic 63.8 % compare
- 8 Mozambique 63.7 % compare
- 8 Timor-Leste 45.4 % compare
- 9 South Sudan 62.2 % compare
- 9 Melanesia 35.02 % compare
More agriculture & rural data for Western Africa
- Raw hides and skins of goats or kids — Yield/Carcass Weight, annual 0 % change on previous year (2024)
- Other vegetables, fresh n.e.c. — Area harvested, annual growth rate -2.22 % change on previous year (2024)
- Other vegetables, fresh n.e.c. — Yield, annual growth rate 0.7808 % change on previous year (2024)
- Other vegetables, fresh n.e.c. — Production, annual growth rate -1.46 % change on previous year (2024)
- Potatoes — Area harvested, annual growth rate -0.9609 % change on previous year (2024)
- Potatoes — Yield, annual growth rate -2.77 % change on previous year (2024)
- Potatoes — Production, annual growth rate -3.71 % change on previous year (2024)
- Raw hides and skins of cattle — Yield/Carcass Weight, annual growth 0 % change on previous year (2024)
- Raw hides and skins of cattle — Production, annual growth rate -1.05 % change on previous year (2024)
- Raw hides and skins of cattle — Producing Animals/Slaughtered, annual 0.7857 % change on previous year (2024)
Frequently asked questions
- What is ilo - ilo modelled estimates — share of employment in agriculture in in Western Africa?
- Ilo - ilo modelled estimates — share of employment in agriculture in in Western Africa was 45.71 % 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 Western Africa?
- The highest recorded value was 62.71 % in 1991.
- What is the lowest ilo - ilo modelled estimates — share of employment in agriculture in recorded in Western Africa?
- The lowest recorded value was 45.71 % in 2025.
- How does Western Africa rank for ilo - ilo modelled estimates — share of employment in agriculture in?
- Western Africa ranks 6th out of 31 groups with data for 2025.
- Is ilo - ilo modelled estimates — share of employment in agriculture in rising or falling in Western Africa?
- Over the last ten years it is down 9.3%. The long-run trend across the full record is falling.
- Where does this Western Africa 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.
Download this data
CSV · JSON — 35 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.