Share of agriculture in total employment by country

Countries reporting
44
Highest
73.4%
Ethiopia
Lowest
0.2%
Hong Kong
Median
13.9%
Years covered
215
1801–2015
Data points
2,481

What the numbers show

Share of agriculture in total employment is currently reported for 44 countries. The highest value is 73.4% in Ethiopia; the lowest is 0.2% in Hong Kong.

The median across all reporting countries is 13.9%, and the mean is 22.2%.

The gap between the highest and lowest reporting country is a factor of about 367.

Over the past decade 2 countries rose and 40 fell. The largest increase was in United Kingdom of Great Britain and Northern Ireland (up 17.6%), and the largest decrease in Bolivia, Plurinational State of (down 42.4%).

Share of agriculture in total employment: full country ranking

#Country LatestYear 10-year changeTrend
1 Ethiopia 73.4% 2011 down 13.5% falling
2 Zambia 72.2% 2010 up 0.8% rising
3 Tanzania, United Republic of 70.7% 2011 down 14.5% falling
4 Malawi 65.2% 2010 down 20.8% falling
5 Nigeria 61.8% 2011 down 4.6% falling
6 India 54.7% 2010 down 8.2% falling
7 Senegal 51.4% 2010 down 11.7% falling
8 Kenya 47.5% 2011 down 14.1% falling
9 Ghana 38.9% 2011 down 26.3% falling
10 Thailand 38.7% 2011 down 15.9% falling
11 Botswana 38.1% 2010 down 0.5% falling
12 China 34.8% 2011 down 30.4% falling
13 Indonesia 34.4% 2012 down 20.6% falling
14 Philippines 33.5% 2012 down 9.5% falling
15 Morocco 26.7% 2012 down 26.8% falling
16 Egypt 22.9% 2012 down 23.4% falling
17 Peru 22.6% 2011 down 18.7% falling
18 Colombia 18.6% 2010 down 24.4% falling
19 Bolivia, Plurinational State of 18.2% 2010 down 42.4% falling
20 South Africa 16.8% 2011 down 2.3% falling
21 Brazil 16.0% 2011 down 24.5% falling
22 Mexico 14.1% 2011 down 15.1% falling
23 Costa Rica 13.7% 2011 down 19.4% falling
24 Malaysia 11.5% 2011 down 20.1% falling
25 Chile 8.6% 2011 down 25.9% falling
26 Venezuela, Bolivarian Republic of 8.3% 2011 down 18.6% volatile
27 Mauritius 7.0% 2011 down 35.8% falling
28 Republic of Korea 6.9% 2010 down 34.9% volatile
29 Argentina 6.5% 2011 down 25.3% falling
30 Taiwan 5.0% 2012 down 33.3% volatile
31 Finland 4.9% 2007 down 30.0% volatile
32 Japan 4.6% 2012 down 14.8% volatile
33 Spain 4.5% 2007 down 39.2% volatile
34 Italy 3.8% 2011 down 20.8% volatile
35 France 3.3% 2007 down 25.0% volatile
36 Netherlands 2.9% 2011 down 17.1% volatile
37 Denmark 2.8% 2011 down 17.6% volatile
38 Sweden 2.2% 2010 down 26.7% volatile
39 United Kingdom of Great Britain and Northern Ireland 2.0% 2011 up 17.6% volatile
40 Belgium 1.9% 2007 down 26.9% volatile
41 United States 1.4% 2015 down 6.7% volatile
42 Germany 1.2% 1991 down 14.3% falling
43 Singapore 0.3% 2011 unchanged volatile
44 Hong Kong 0.2% 2011 unchanged volatile

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Share of agriculture in total employment by country. Statizoid, drawing on Herrendorf et al. and Groningen Growth and Development Centre (2015) – processed by Our World in Data. Retrieved 30 August 2026, from https://agriculture.statizoid.com/stat/share-of-agriculture-in-total-employment/

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About this data

Indicator
Share of agriculture in total employment
Unit
%
Source
Herrendorf et al. and Groningen Growth and Development Centre (2015) – processed by Our World in Data
Licence
CC BY 4.0 (Our World in Data)
Coverage
44 places, 2,481 data points, 1801–2015
Last refreshed