ILOSTAT - Labour force survey — Employment in agriculture by status in South Africa
South Africa: ILOSTAT - Labour force survey — Employment in agriculture by status was 586.58 1000 No in 2024. ▼ Falling
ILOSTAT - Labour force survey — Employment in agriculture by status in South Africa, 2000–2024
Source: Food and Agriculture Organization of the United Nations. Measured in 1000 No.
Analysis
In 2024, ilostat - labour force survey — employment in agriculture by status in South Africa stood at 586.58 1000 No.
The figure is up 0.9% on the previous year and up 31.5% over ten years.
Over the whole period, ilostat - labour force survey — employment in agriculture by status in South Africa peaked at 681.78 1000 No in 2002 and was at its lowest, 386.08 1000 No, in 2011.
South Africa ranks 15th of 88 countries on this measure, in the top quarter.
The long-run direction has been consistently falling across the 25 years of available data.
ILOSTAT - Labour force survey — Employment in agriculture by status in South Africa, year by year
| Year | 1000 No | Change |
|---|---|---|
| 2000 | 584.77 1000 No | — |
| 2001 | 622.43 1000 No | +6.4% |
| 2002 | 681.78 1000 No | +9.5% |
| 2003 | 635 1000 No | -6.9% |
| 2004 | 588.13 1000 No | -7.4% |
| 2005 | 470.69 1000 No | -20.0% |
| 2006 | 462.05 1000 No | -1.8% |
| 2007 | 479.09 1000 No | +3.7% |
| 2008 | 492.14 1000 No | +2.7% |
| 2009 | 434.44 1000 No | -11.7% |
| 2010 | 387.62 1000 No | -10.8% |
| 2011 | 386.08 1000 No | -0.4% |
| 2012 | 423.51 1000 No | +9.7% |
| 2013 | 470.36 1000 No | +11.1% |
| 2014 | 446.09 1000 No | -5.2% |
| 2015 | 546.92 1000 No | +22.6% |
| 2016 | 557.98 1000 No | +2.0% |
| 2017 | 534.41 1000 No | -4.2% |
| 2018 | 518.72 1000 No | -2.9% |
| 2019 | 547.68 1000 No | +5.6% |
| 2020 | 490.48 1000 No | -10.4% |
| 2021 | 541.69 1000 No | +10.4% |
| 2022 | 548.17 1000 No | +1.2% |
| 2023 | 581.27 1000 No | +6.0% |
| 2024 | 586.58 1000 No | +0.9% |
South Africa compared with similar countries
- South Africa's 586.58 1000 No is above the median for upper middle income countries, which is 38.58 1000 No, 15.2× the median. (26 countries reporting)
- South Africa's 586.58 1000 No is above the median for Sub-Saharan Africa, which is 128.42 1000 No, 4.6× the median. (10 countries reporting)
Averages by decade
| Decade | Average | Lowest | Highest | Years |
|---|---|---|---|---|
| 2000s | 545.05 1000 No | 434.44 1000 No | 681.78 1000 No | 10 |
| 2010s | 481.94 1000 No | 386.08 1000 No | 557.98 1000 No | 10 |
| 2020s | 549.64 1000 No | 490.48 1000 No | 586.58 1000 No | 5 |
Countries ranked near South Africa
More agriculture & rural data for South Africa
- Agriculture, forestry, and fishing, value added (current US$), annual 7.11 % change on previous year (2025)
- Agriculture, forestry, and fishing, value added (current US$), per 0.0283 current US$ per US$ of GDP (2025)
- Agriculture, forestry, and fishing, value added (current US$), per 186.56 current US$ per person (2025)
- Rural population, annual growth rate 0.812 % change on previous year (2025)
- Rural population, per unit of GDP 0.0001 units per US$ of GDP (2025)
- Rural population, per capita 0.3618 units per person (2025)
- Share of GDP from agriculture 2.8% (2025)
- Agriculture as a share of GDP vs. GDP per capita 2.8% (2025)
- Agricultural raw materials exports 2.0% (2025)
- Agricultural raw materials imports 1.0% (2025)
Frequently asked questions
- What is ilostat - labour force survey — employment in agriculture by status in South Africa?
- Ilostat - labour force survey — employment in agriculture by status in South Africa was 586.58 1000 No in 2024, according to Food and Agriculture Organization of the United Nations.
- What is the highest ilostat - labour force survey — employment in agriculture by status recorded in South Africa?
- The highest recorded value was 681.78 1000 No in 2002.
- What is the lowest ilostat - labour force survey — employment in agriculture by status recorded in South Africa?
- The lowest recorded value was 386.08 1000 No in 2011.
- How does South Africa rank for ilostat - labour force survey — employment in agriculture by status?
- South Africa ranks 15th out of 88 countries with data for 2024.
- Is ilostat - labour force survey — employment in agriculture by status rising or falling in South Africa?
- Over the last ten years it is up 31.5%. The long-run trend across the full record is falling.
- Where does this South Africa data come from?
- The figures come from Food and Agriculture Organization of the United Nations, published as part of ILOSTAT - Labour force survey — Employment in agriculture by status of employment, employees — Male — Value. Statizoid updates them automatically from the source API.
Download this data
CSV · JSON — 25 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.