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 39.76 % in 2025. ▼ Falling
ILO - ILO Modelled Estimates — Share of employment in agriculture in in Western Africa, 1991–2025
Source: Food and Agriculture Organization of the United Nations. Measured in %.
Analysis
Western Africa recorded 39.76 % for ilo - ilo modelled estimates — share of employment in agriculture in in 2025. That is the lowest value across all 35 years on record.
That represents a change of down 1.4% on the previous year and down 11.9% over ten years.
Over the whole period, ilo - ilo modelled estimates — share of employment in agriculture in in Western Africa peaked at 58.27 % in 1991 and was at its lowest, 39.76 %, 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
| Year | % | Change |
|---|---|---|
| 1991 | 58.27 % | — |
| 1992 | 58.03 % | -0.4% |
| 1993 | 58.06 % | +0.1% |
| 1994 | 58 % | -0.1% |
| 1995 | 57.89 % | -0.2% |
| 1996 | 57.54 % | -0.6% |
| 1997 | 57.13 % | -0.7% |
| 1998 | 56.71 % | -0.7% |
| 1999 | 56.36 % | -0.6% |
| 2000 | 55.91 % | -0.8% |
| 2001 | 55.59 % | -0.6% |
| 2002 | 55.25 % | -0.6% |
| 2003 | 54.72 % | -1.0% |
| 2004 | 53.98 % | -1.4% |
| 2005 | 53.41 % | -1.1% |
| 2006 | 52.78 % | -1.2% |
| 2007 | 52.07 % | -1.3% |
| 2008 | 51.31 % | -1.5% |
| 2009 | 50.47 % | -1.6% |
| 2010 | 49.28 % | -2.4% |
| 2011 | 48.4 % | -1.8% |
| 2012 | 47.36 % | -2.1% |
| 2013 | 46.2 % | -2.4% |
| 2014 | 45.57 % | -1.4% |
| 2015 | 45.12 % | -1.0% |
| 2016 | 45.2 % | +0.2% |
| 2017 | 44.46 % | -1.6% |
| 2018 | 43.74 % | -1.6% |
| 2019 | 42.73 % | -2.3% |
| 2020 | 43.7 % | +2.3% |
| 2021 | 42.83 % | -2.0% |
| 2022 | 41.53 % | -3.0% |
| 2023 | 40.95 % | -1.4% |
| 2024 | 40.34 % | -1.5% |
| 2025 | 39.76 % | -1.4% |
Averages by decade
| Decade | Average | Lowest | Highest | Years |
|---|---|---|---|---|
| 1990s | 57.55 % | 56.36 % | 58.27 % | 9 |
| 2000s | 53.55 % | 50.47 % | 55.91 % | 10 |
| 2010s | 45.81 % | 42.73 % | 49.28 % | 10 |
| 2020s | 41.52 % | 39.76 % | 43.7 % | 6 |
Countries ranked near Western Africa
- 6 Central African Republic 66.1 % compare
- 6 Democratic People's Republic of Korea 54.1 % compare
- 7 Côte d'Ivoire 45.4 % compare
- 7 Malawi 65 % compare
- 7 Republic of Moldova 50.5 % compare
- 8 Timor-Leste 46 % compare
- 8 Uganda 64.9 % compare
- 9 South Sudan 63.8 % compare
- 9 Melanesia 36.61 % compare
- 10 Mali 63 % compare
- 11 Guinea-Bissau 61.1 % compare
- 11 Viet Nam 25 % compare
- 12 Bolivia (Plurinational State of) 24.7 % compare
- 12 Ethiopia 60.1 % compare
More agriculture & rural data for Western Africa
- Raw hides and skins of goats or kids — Yield/Carcass Weight, annual 0 % change on previous year (2024)
- Other vegetables, fresh n.e.c. — Area harvested, annual growth rate -2.22 % change on previous year (2024)
- Other vegetables, fresh n.e.c. — Yield, annual growth rate 0.7808 % change on previous year (2024)
- Other vegetables, fresh n.e.c. — Production, annual growth rate -1.46 % change on previous year (2024)
- Potatoes — Area harvested, annual growth rate -0.9609 % change on previous year (2024)
- Potatoes — Yield, annual growth rate -2.77 % change on previous year (2024)
- Potatoes — Production, annual growth rate -3.71 % change on previous year (2024)
- Raw hides and skins of cattle — Yield/Carcass Weight, annual growth 0 % change on previous year (2024)
- Raw hides and skins of cattle — Production, annual growth rate -1.05 % change on previous year (2024)
- Raw hides and skins of cattle — Producing Animals/Slaughtered, annual 0.7857 % change on previous year (2024)
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 39.76 % 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 58.27 % 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 39.76 % 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 11.9%. 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 — 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.