ILOSTAT - Labour force survey — Employment in agriculture by status in South Africa
South Africa: ILOSTAT - Labour force survey — Employment in agriculture by status was 54.34 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
The most recent figure for ilostat - labour force survey — employment in agriculture by status in South Africa is 54.34 1000 No, measured in 2024.
The figure is up 17.4% on the previous year and up 32.4% over ten years.
Over the whole period, ilostat - labour force survey — employment in agriculture by status in South Africa peaked at 100.13 1000 No in 2001 and was at its lowest, 40.65 1000 No, in 2013.
That places South Africa 49th out of 88 countries with data for 2024, putting it in the middle of the range.
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 | 80.38 1000 No | — |
| 2001 | 100.13 1000 No | +24.6% |
| 2002 | 95.74 1000 No | -4.4% |
| 2003 | 89.42 1000 No | -6.6% |
| 2004 | 71.16 1000 No | -20.4% |
| 2005 | 68.93 1000 No | -3.1% |
| 2006 | 63.41 1000 No | -8.0% |
| 2007 | 62.05 1000 No | -2.1% |
| 2008 | 60.54 1000 No | -2.4% |
| 2009 | 56.11 1000 No | -7.3% |
| 2010 | 55.39 1000 No | -1.3% |
| 2011 | 44.72 1000 No | -19.3% |
| 2012 | 43.38 1000 No | -3.0% |
| 2013 | 40.65 1000 No | -6.3% |
| 2014 | 41.03 1000 No | +0.9% |
| 2015 | 45.88 1000 No | +11.8% |
| 2016 | 54.53 1000 No | +18.9% |
| 2017 | 52.29 1000 No | -4.1% |
| 2018 | 49.91 1000 No | -4.6% |
| 2019 | 47.01 1000 No | -5.8% |
| 2020 | 79.04 1000 No | +68.1% |
| 2021 | 66.14 1000 No | -16.3% |
| 2022 | 50.09 1000 No | -24.3% |
| 2023 | 46.3 1000 No | -7.6% |
| 2024 | 54.34 1000 No | +17.4% |
South Africa compared with similar countries
- South Africa's 54.34 1000 No is below the median for upper middle income countries, which is 133.1 1000 No, 41% of the median. (26 countries reporting)
- South Africa's 54.34 1000 No is below the median for Sub-Saharan Africa, which is 552.03 1000 No, 10% of the median. (10 countries reporting)
Biggest year-on-year movements
Years where ILOSTAT - Labour force survey — Employment in agriculture by status in South Africa changed far more than this series normally does. A large move can be a real event or a change in how the figure was measured — the source note below says who published it.
| Year | Change | From | To |
|---|---|---|---|
| 2020 | +68.1% | 47.01 1000 No | 79.04 1000 No |
Averages by decade
| Decade | Average | Lowest | Highest | Years |
|---|---|---|---|---|
| 2000s | 74.79 1000 No | 56.11 1000 No | 100.13 1000 No | 10 |
| 2010s | 47.48 1000 No | 40.65 1000 No | 55.39 1000 No | 10 |
| 2020s | 59.18 1000 No | 46.3 1000 No | 79.04 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 54.34 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 100.13 1000 No in 2001.
- What is the lowest ilostat - labour force survey — employment in agriculture by status recorded in South Africa?
- The lowest recorded value was 40.65 1000 No in 2013.
- How does South Africa rank for ilostat - labour force survey — employment in agriculture by status?
- South Africa ranks 49th 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 32.4%. 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, self-employed — 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.