ILO - ILO Modelled Estimates — Share of employment in agriculture in in Southern Asia

Southern Asia: ILO - ILO Modelled Estimates — Share of employment in agriculture in was 40.11 % in 2025. ▼ Falling

Latest (2025)
40.11 %
Change on year
down 1.5%
Rank
8th
of 31 groups
All-time high
59.77 %
in 1991
All-time low
39.17 %
in 2019
Years of data
35
1991–2025

ILO - ILO Modelled Estimates — Share of employment in agriculture in in Southern Asia, 1991–2025

02040601991200820251991: 59.8 %1992: 59.7 %1993: 59.4 %1994: 59.4 %1995: 58.7 %1996: 58.2 %1997: 57.7 %1998: 57.6 %1999: 57.1 %2000: 56.9 %2001: 56 %2002: 55 %2003: 53.7 %2004: 52.6 %2005: 51.7 %2006: 51 %2007: 50.2 %2008: 49.9 %2009: 48.9 %2010: 48.1 %2011: 46.6 %2012: 45 %2013: 44.2 %2014: 43.4 %2015: 42.4 %2016: 41.7 %2017: 40.5 %2018: 39.5 %2019: 39.2 %2020: 42.3 %2021: 41.9 %2022: 41 %2023: 41.7 %2024: 40.7 %2025: 40.1 %

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

Analysis

Southern Asia recorded 40.11 % for ilo - ilo modelled estimates — share of employment in agriculture in in 2025.

The figure is down 1.5% on the previous year and down 5.5% over ten years.

Over the whole period, ilo - ilo modelled estimates — share of employment in agriculture in in Southern Asia peaked at 59.77 % in 1991 and was at its lowest, 39.17 %, in 2019.

Southern Asia ranks 8th 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 Southern Asia, year by year

Annual values for ILO - ILO Modelled Estimates — Share of employment in agriculture in total employment - ILO Modelled Estimates — Value in Southern Asia, 1991 to 2025.
Year % Change
1991 59.77 %
1992 59.67 % -0.2%
1993 59.41 % -0.4%
1994 59.41 % +0.0%
1995 58.73 % -1.1%
1996 58.18 % -0.9%
1997 57.71 % -0.8%
1998 57.65 % -0.1%
1999 57.06 % -1.0%
2000 56.91 % -0.3%
2001 55.96 % -1.7%
2002 54.97 % -1.8%
2003 53.68 % -2.3%
2004 52.65 % -1.9%
2005 51.69 % -1.8%
2006 51.01 % -1.3%
2007 50.24 % -1.5%
2008 49.9 % -0.7%
2009 48.94 % -1.9%
2010 48.1 % -1.7%
2011 46.58 % -3.2%
2012 44.99 % -3.4%
2013 44.21 % -1.7%
2014 43.37 % -1.9%
2015 42.44 % -2.1%
2016 41.66 % -1.8%
2017 40.48 % -2.8%
2018 39.53 % -2.3%
2019 39.17 % -0.9%
2020 42.34 % +8.1%
2021 41.92 % -1.0%
2022 41.04 % -2.1%
2023 41.68 % +1.6%
2024 40.74 % -2.3%
2025 40.11 % -1.5%

Averages by decade

DecadeAverage LowestHighest Years
1990s 58.62 % 57.06 % 59.77 % 9
2000s 52.6 % 48.94 % 56.91 % 10
2010s 43.05 % 39.17 % 48.1 % 10
2020s 41.3 % 40.11 % 42.34 % 6

Countries ranked near Southern Asia

  1. 5 Madagascar 69.2 % compare
  2. 6 Central African Republic 66.1 % compare
  3. 6 Democratic People's Republic of Korea 54.1 % compare
  4. 7 Côte d'Ivoire 45.4 % compare
  5. 7 Malawi 65 % compare
  6. 7 Republic of Moldova 50.5 % compare
  7. 8 Timor-Leste 46 % compare
  8. 8 Uganda 64.9 % compare
  9. 9 South Sudan 63.8 % compare
  10. 9 Melanesia 36.61 % compare
  11. 10 Mali 63 % compare
  12. 11 Guinea-Bissau 61.1 % compare
  13. 11 Viet Nam 25 % compare

See the full ranking of 226 places →

More agriculture & rural data for Southern Asia

All data for Southern Asia →

Frequently asked questions

What is ilo - ilo modelled estimates — share of employment in agriculture in in Southern Asia?
Ilo - ilo modelled estimates — share of employment in agriculture in in Southern Asia was 40.11 % 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 Southern Asia?
The highest recorded value was 59.77 % in 1991.
What is the lowest ilo - ilo modelled estimates — share of employment in agriculture in recorded in Southern Asia?
The lowest recorded value was 39.17 % in 2019.
How does Southern Asia rank for ilo - ilo modelled estimates — share of employment in agriculture in?
Southern Asia ranks 8th out of 31 groups with data for 2025.
Is ilo - ilo modelled estimates — share of employment in agriculture in rising or falling in Southern Asia?
Over the last ten years it is down 5.5%. The long-run trend across the full record is falling.
Where does this Southern Asia 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 Southern Asia. 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/southern-asia/

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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.