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 32.92 % in 2025. ▼ Falling

Latest (2025)
32.92 %
Change on year
down 1.7%
Rank
9th
of 31 groups
All-time high
52.97 %
in 1991
All-time low
32.92 %
in 2025
Years of data
35
1991–2025

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

02040601991200820251991: 53 %1992: 52.7 %1993: 52.7 %1994: 52.6 %1995: 52.4 %1996: 52.1 %1997: 51.6 %1998: 51.1 %1999: 50.7 %2000: 50.5 %2001: 50.1 %2002: 49.8 %2003: 49.3 %2004: 48.6 %2005: 48.1 %2006: 47.5 %2007: 46.9 %2008: 46.2 %2009: 45.4 %2010: 44.2 %2011: 43.3 %2012: 41.7 %2013: 40 %2014: 39.4 %2015: 38.9 %2016: 38.9 %2017: 38.1 %2018: 37.5 %2019: 36.3 %2020: 37.1 %2021: 36.5 %2022: 34.6 %2023: 34 %2024: 33.5 %2025: 32.9 %

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

Analysis

In 2025, ilo - ilo modelled estimates — share of employment in agriculture in in Western Africa stood at 32.92 %. That is the lowest value across all 35 years on record.

That represents a change of down 1.7% on the previous year and down 15.4% over ten years.

Over the whole period, ilo - ilo modelled estimates — share of employment in agriculture in in Western Africa peaked at 52.97 % in 1991 and was at its lowest, 32.92 %, in 2025.

That places Western Africa 9th out of 31 groups with data for 2025, putting it 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 Western Africa, year by year

Annual values for ILO - ILO Modelled Estimates — Share of employment in agriculture in total employment - ILO Modelled Estimates — Female — Value in Western Africa, 1991 to 2025.
Year % Change
1991 52.97 %
1992 52.67 % -0.6%
1993 52.67 % +0.0%
1994 52.56 % -0.2%
1995 52.44 % -0.2%
1996 52.06 % -0.7%
1997 51.6 % -0.9%
1998 51.07 % -1.0%
1999 50.67 % -0.8%
2000 50.52 % -0.3%
2001 50.15 % -0.7%
2002 49.84 % -0.6%
2003 49.34 % -1.0%
2004 48.65 % -1.4%
2005 48.1 % -1.1%
2006 47.51 % -1.2%
2007 46.88 % -1.3%
2008 46.16 % -1.5%
2009 45.38 % -1.7%
2010 44.18 % -2.6%
2011 43.29 % -2.0%
2012 41.68 % -3.7%
2013 40.03 % -4.0%
2014 39.37 % -1.6%
2015 38.92 % -1.1%
2016 38.89 % -0.1%
2017 38.14 % -1.9%
2018 37.45 % -1.8%
2019 36.33 % -3.0%
2020 37.13 % +2.2%
2021 36.46 % -1.8%
2022 34.62 % -5.0%
2023 34.03 % -1.7%
2024 33.48 % -1.6%
2025 32.92 % -1.7%

Averages by decade

DecadeAverage LowestHighest Years
1990s 52.08 % 50.67 % 52.97 % 9
2000s 48.25 % 45.38 % 50.52 % 10
2010s 39.83 % 36.33 % 44.18 % 10
2020s 34.77 % 32.92 % 37.13 % 6

Countries ranked near Western Africa

  1. 6 Chad 74.4 % compare
  2. 6 Democratic People's Republic of Korea 57.8 % compare
  3. 7 Malawi 71.2 % compare
  4. 7 Republic of Moldova 51.3 % compare
  5. 8 Côte d'Ivoire 41 % compare
  6. 8 Timor-Leste 46.7 % compare
  7. 8 Uganda 70.8 % compare
  8. 9 Central African Republic 68.5 % compare
  9. 9 Melanesia 38.42 % compare
  10. 10 Madagascar 68.3 % compare
  11. 11 Bolivia (Plurinational State of) 24.5 % compare
  12. 11 Pakistan 68 % compare
  13. 12 Guinea-Bissau 66.2 % compare
  14. 12 Viet Nam 24.4 % compare

See the full ranking of 226 places →

More agriculture & rural data for Western Africa

All data for Western Africa →

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 32.92 % 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 52.97 % 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 32.92 % in 2025.
How does Western Africa rank for ilo - ilo modelled estimates — share of employment in agriculture in?
Western Africa ranks 9th 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 15.4%. 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 — Female — Value. Statizoid updates them automatically from the source API.

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ILO - ILO Modelled Estimates — Share of employment in agriculture in in Western Africa. Statizoid, drawing on Food and Agriculture Organization of the United Nations. Retrieved 15 September 2026, from https://agriculture.statizoid.com/stat/ilo-ilo-modelled-estimates-share-of-employment-in-agriculture-in-total-employment-ilo-3/western-africa/

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About this data

Indicator
ILO - ILO Modelled Estimates — Share of employment in agriculture in total employment - ILO Modelled Estimates — Female — 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.