ILO - ILO Modelled Estimates — Share of employment in agriculture in in China
China: ILO - ILO Modelled Estimates — Share of employment in agriculture in was 21.29 % in 2025. ▼ Falling
ILO - ILO Modelled Estimates — Share of employment in agriculture in in China, 1991–2025
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 China stood at 21.29 %. That is the lowest value across all 35 years on record.
The figure is down 2.4% on the previous year and down 23.4% over ten years.
Over the whole period, ilo - ilo modelled estimates — share of employment in agriculture in in China peaked at 58.71 % in 1991 and was at its lowest, 21.29 %, in 2025.
China ranks 73rd 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
| Year | % | Change |
|---|---|---|
| 1991 | 58.71 % | — |
| 1992 | 57.57 % | -1.9% |
| 1993 | 55.5 % | -3.6% |
| 1994 | 53.42 % | -3.7% |
| 1995 | 51.35 % | -3.9% |
| 1996 | 49.68 % | -3.3% |
| 1997 | 49.08 % | -1.2% |
| 1998 | 48.98 % | -0.2% |
| 1999 | 49.27 % | +0.6% |
| 2000 | 49.2 % | -0.1% |
| 2001 | 49.17 % | -0.1% |
| 2002 | 49.18 % | +0.0% |
| 2003 | 48.29 % | -1.8% |
| 2004 | 46.11 % | -4.5% |
| 2005 | 44.04 % | -4.5% |
| 2006 | 41.87 % | -4.9% |
| 2007 | 40.09 % | -4.3% |
| 2008 | 38.91 % | -2.9% |
| 2009 | 37.45 % | -3.8% |
| 2010 | 36.07 % | -3.7% |
| 2011 | 34.2 % | -5.2% |
| 2012 | 33.01 % | -3.5% |
| 2013 | 30.85 % | -6.5% |
| 2014 | 28.98 % | -6.1% |
| 2015 | 27.8 % | -4.1% |
| 2016 | 26.94 % | -3.1% |
| 2017 | 26.21 % | -2.7% |
| 2018 | 25.29 % | -3.5% |
| 2019 | 24.28 % | -4.0% |
| 2020 | 23.18 % | -4.5% |
| 2021 | 22.47 % | -3.1% |
| 2022 | 23.65 % | +5.3% |
| 2023 | 22.4 % | -5.3% |
| 2024 | 21.82 % | -2.6% |
| 2025 | 21.29 % | -2.4% |
Averages by decade
| Decade | Average | Lowest | Highest | Years |
|---|---|---|---|---|
| 1990s | 52.62 % | 48.98 % | 58.71 % | 9 |
| 2000s | 44.43 % | 37.45 % | 49.2 % | 10 |
| 2010s | 29.36 % | 24.28 % | 36.07 % | 10 |
| 2020s | 22.47 % | 21.29 % | 23.65 % | 6 |
Countries ranked near China
- 70 Namibia 22.3 % compare
- 71 Turkmenistan 21.9 % compare
- 72 China, mainland 21.7 % compare
- 74 Philippines 20.5 % compare
- 75 Western Sahara 18.6 % compare
- 76 Botswana 18 % compare
- 76 Serbia 18 % compare
More agriculture & rural data for China
- Agriculture, forestry, and fishing, value added (current US$), annual 1.98 % change on previous year (2025)
- Agriculture, forestry, and fishing, value added (current US$), per 0.0666 current US$ per US$ of GDP (2025)
- Agriculture, forestry, and fishing, value added (current US$), per 923.03 current US$ per person (2025)
- Rural population, annual growth rate -1.48 % change on previous year (2025)
- Rural population, per unit of GDP 0 units per US$ of GDP (2025)
- Rural population, per capita 0.3366 units per person (2025)
- Share of GDP from agriculture 6.7% (2025)
- Agriculture as a share of GDP vs. GDP per capita 6.7% (2025)
- Agricultural raw materials exports 0.3% (2024)
- Agricultural raw materials imports 2.7% (2024)
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 21.29 % 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 58.71 % in 1991.
- What is the lowest ilo - ilo modelled estimates — share of employment in agriculture in recorded in China?
- The lowest recorded value was 21.29 % in 2025.
- How does China rank for ilo - ilo modelled estimates — share of employment in agriculture in?
- China ranks 73rd 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 23.4%. 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 — 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.