ILO - ILO Modelled Estimates — Share of employment in agriculture in in Costa Rica

Costa Rica: ILO - ILO Modelled Estimates — Share of employment in agriculture in was 11.5 % in 2025. ▼ Falling

Latest (2025)
11.5 %
Change on year
down 2.5%
World rank
93rd
of 175 countries
All-time high
21.3 %
in 1991
All-time low
11.5 %
in 2025
Years of data
35
1991–2025

ILO - ILO Modelled Estimates — Share of employment in agriculture in in Costa Rica, 1991–2025

051015201991200820251991: 21.3 %1992: 20.1 %1993: 18.8 %1994: 17.6 %1995: 17.8 %1996: 17.5 %1997: 17.1 %1998: 16.7 %1999: 16.3 %2000: 16.9 %2001: 16.6 %2002: 16.8 %2003: 16.1 %2004: 15.8 %2005: 16.1 %2006: 14.9 %2007: 14.1 %2008: 13.2 %2009: 12.9 %2010: 14.6 %2011: 14.2 %2012: 13.6 %2013: 13.1 %2014: 14.7 %2015: 15.8 %2016: 15.7 %2017: 15.4 %2018: 15.8 %2019: 15.3 %2020: 16.5 %2021: 15.2 %2022: 13.4 %2023: 13.4 %2024: 11.8 %2025: 11.5 %

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

Analysis

The most recent figure for ilo - ilo modelled estimates — share of employment in agriculture in in Costa Rica is 11.5 %, measured in 2025. That is the lowest value across all 35 years on record.

The figure is down 2.5% on the previous year and down 27.2% over ten years.

Over the whole period, ilo - ilo modelled estimates — share of employment in agriculture in in Costa Rica peaked at 21.3 % in 1991 and was at its lowest, 11.5 %, in 2025.

Costa Rica ranks 93rd 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 Costa Rica, year by year

Annual values for ILO - ILO Modelled Estimates — Share of employment in agriculture in total employment - ILO Modelled Estimates — Value in Costa Rica, 1991 to 2025.
Year % Change
1991 21.3 %
1992 20.1 % -5.6%
1993 18.8 % -6.5%
1994 17.6 % -6.4%
1995 17.8 % +1.1%
1996 17.5 % -1.7%
1997 17.1 % -2.3%
1998 16.7 % -2.3%
1999 16.3 % -2.4%
2000 16.9 % +3.7%
2001 16.6 % -1.8%
2002 16.8 % +1.2%
2003 16.1 % -4.2%
2004 15.8 % -1.9%
2005 16.1 % +1.9%
2006 14.9 % -7.5%
2007 14.1 % -5.4%
2008 13.2 % -6.4%
2009 12.9 % -2.3%
2010 14.6 % +13.2%
2011 14.2 % -2.7%
2012 13.6 % -4.2%
2013 13.1 % -3.7%
2014 14.7 % +12.2%
2015 15.8 % +7.5%
2016 15.7 % -0.6%
2017 15.4 % -1.9%
2018 15.8 % +2.6%
2019 15.3 % -3.2%
2020 16.5 % +7.8%
2021 15.2 % -7.9%
2022 13.4 % -11.8%
2023 13.4 % +0.0%
2024 11.8 % -11.9%
2025 11.5 % -2.5%

Costa Rica compared with similar countries

  • Costa Rica's 11.5 % is above the median for high income countries, which is 2.6 %, 4.4× the median. (54 countries reporting)
  • Costa Rica's 11.5 % is above the median for Latin America & Caribbean, which is 11.5 %, 1.0× the median. (29 countries reporting)

Averages by decade

DecadeAverage LowestHighest Years
1990s 18.13 % 16.3 % 21.3 % 9
2000s 15.34 % 12.9 % 16.9 % 10
2010s 14.82 % 13.1 % 15.8 % 10
2020s 13.63 % 11.5 % 16.5 % 6

Countries ranked near Costa Rica

  1. 90 Tunisia 12.5 % compare
  2. 91 Guyana 12.2 % compare
  3. 92 Sao Tome and Principe 12.1 % compare
  4. 94 Mexico 11.4 % compare
  5. 95 Kazakhstan 11.3 % compare
  6. 95 Maldives 11.3 % compare

See the full ranking of 226 places →

More agriculture & rural data for Costa Rica

All data for Costa Rica →

Frequently asked questions

What is ilo - ilo modelled estimates — share of employment in agriculture in in Costa Rica?
Ilo - ilo modelled estimates — share of employment in agriculture in in Costa Rica was 11.5 % 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 Costa Rica?
The highest recorded value was 21.3 % in 1991.
What is the lowest ilo - ilo modelled estimates — share of employment in agriculture in recorded in Costa Rica?
The lowest recorded value was 11.5 % in 2025.
How does Costa Rica rank for ilo - ilo modelled estimates — share of employment in agriculture in?
Costa Rica ranks 93rd out of 175 countries with data for 2025.
Is ilo - ilo modelled estimates — share of employment in agriculture in rising or falling in Costa Rica?
Over the last ten years it is down 27.2%. The long-run trend across the full record is falling.
Where does this Costa Rica 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.

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ILO - ILO Modelled Estimates — Share of employment in agriculture in in Costa Rica. 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/costa-rica/

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About this data

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