ILO - ILO Modelled Estimates — Share of employment in agriculture in in Sub-Saharan Africa
Sub-Saharan Africa: ILO - ILO Modelled Estimates — Share of employment in agriculture in was 48.35 % in 2025. ▼ Falling
ILO - ILO Modelled Estimates — Share of employment in agriculture in in Sub-Saharan Africa, 1991–2025
Source: Food and Agriculture Organization of the United Nations. Measured in %.
Analysis
Sub-Saharan Africa recorded 48.35 % for ilo - ilo modelled estimates — share of employment in agriculture in in 2025. That is the lowest value across all 35 years on record.
The figure is down 1.0% on the previous year and down 8.7% over ten years.
Over the whole period, ilo - ilo modelled estimates — share of employment in agriculture in in Sub-Saharan Africa peaked at 60.77 % in 1994 and was at its lowest, 48.35 %, in 2025.
Sub-Saharan 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 Sub-Saharan Africa, year by year
| Year | % | Change |
|---|---|---|
| 1991 | 60.28 % | — |
| 1992 | 60.59 % | +0.5% |
| 1993 | 60.7 % | +0.2% |
| 1994 | 60.77 % | +0.1% |
| 1995 | 60.61 % | -0.3% |
| 1996 | 60.17 % | -0.7% |
| 1997 | 60 % | -0.3% |
| 1998 | 59.87 % | -0.2% |
| 1999 | 59.77 % | -0.2% |
| 2000 | 59.86 % | +0.2% |
| 2001 | 59.75 % | -0.2% |
| 2002 | 59.88 % | +0.2% |
| 2003 | 59.83 % | -0.1% |
| 2004 | 59.52 % | -0.5% |
| 2005 | 59.29 % | -0.4% |
| 2006 | 58.8 % | -0.8% |
| 2007 | 58.23 % | -1.0% |
| 2008 | 57.66 % | -1.0% |
| 2009 | 57.1 % | -1.0% |
| 2010 | 56.25 % | -1.5% |
| 2011 | 55.72 % | -0.9% |
| 2012 | 54.6 % | -2.0% |
| 2013 | 54.12 % | -0.9% |
| 2014 | 53.54 % | -1.1% |
| 2015 | 52.93 % | -1.1% |
| 2016 | 52.54 % | -0.7% |
| 2017 | 51.8 % | -1.4% |
| 2018 | 51 % | -1.5% |
| 2019 | 49.98 % | -2.0% |
| 2020 | 51.5 % | +3.0% |
| 2021 | 51.58 % | +0.2% |
| 2022 | 50.24 % | -2.6% |
| 2023 | 49.47 % | -1.5% |
| 2024 | 48.83 % | -1.3% |
| 2025 | 48.35 % | -1.0% |
Averages by decade
| Decade | Average | Lowest | Highest | Years |
|---|---|---|---|---|
| 1990s | 60.31 % | 59.77 % | 60.77 % | 9 |
| 2000s | 58.99 % | 57.1 % | 59.88 % | 10 |
| 2010s | 53.25 % | 49.98 % | 56.25 % | 10 |
| 2020s | 50 % | 48.35 % | 51.58 % | 6 |
Countries ranked near Sub-Saharan Africa
- 3 Niger 78.3 % compare
- 3 United Republic of Tanzania 66.8 % compare
- 4 Bangladesh 74.7 % compare
- 5 Afghanistan 74.6 % compare
- 6 Chad 74.4 % compare
- 6 Democratic People's Republic of Korea 57.8 % compare
- 7 Malawi 71.2 % compare
- 7 Republic of Moldova 51.3 % compare
- 8 Côte d'Ivoire 41 % compare
- 8 Timor-Leste 46.7 % compare
- 8 Uganda 70.8 % compare
- 9 Central African Republic 68.5 % compare
- 9 Melanesia 38.42 % compare
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)
- 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)
- Rural population growth 1.5% (2025)
Frequently asked questions
- What is ilo - ilo modelled estimates — share of employment in agriculture in in Sub-Saharan Africa?
- Ilo - ilo modelled estimates — share of employment in agriculture in in Sub-Saharan Africa was 48.35 % 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 Sub-Saharan Africa?
- The highest recorded value was 60.77 % in 1994.
- What is the lowest ilo - ilo modelled estimates — share of employment in agriculture in recorded in Sub-Saharan Africa?
- The lowest recorded value was 48.35 % in 2025.
- How does Sub-Saharan Africa rank for ilo - ilo modelled estimates — share of employment in agriculture in?
- Sub-Saharan 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 Sub-Saharan Africa?
- Over the last ten years it is down 8.7%. The long-run trend across the full record is falling.
- 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 ILO - ILO Modelled Estimates — Share of employment in agriculture in total employment - ILO Modelled Estimates — Female — 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.