Share of Employees in [industry] out of total employment in in South Africa

South Africa: Share of Employees in [industry] out of total employment in was 88.18 % in 2024. ▲ Rising

Latest (2024)
88.18 %
Change on year
down 4.2%
World rank
6th
of 68 countries
All-time high
92 %
in 2023
All-time low
78.68 %
in 2000
Years of data
25
2000–2024

Share of Employees in [industry] out of total employment in in South Africa, 2000–2024

0204060801002000201220242000: 78.7 %2001: 81.8 %2002: 84.3 %2003: 85.9 %2004: 85.6 %2005: 83.1 %2006: 81.3 %2007: 83.1 %2008: 85.4 %2009: 86.8 %2010: 86 %2011: 85.3 %2012: 89.8 %2013: 87.4 %2014: 88.1 %2015: 92 %2016: 90.2 %2017: 89.9 %2018: 89.9 %2019: 90.1 %2020: 87.4 %2021: 89.2 %2022: 90.3 %2023: 92 %2024: 88.2 %

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

Analysis

In 2024, share of employees in [industry] out of total employment in in South Africa stood at 88.18 %.

Compared with earlier readings it is down 4.2% on the previous year and up 0.1% over ten years.

Over the whole period, share of employees in [industry] out of total employment in in South Africa peaked at 92 % in 2023 and was at its lowest, 78.68 %, in 2000.

South Africa ranks 6th of 68 countries on this measure, in the top 10%.

The long-run direction has been consistently rising across the 25 years of available data.

Share of Employees in [industry] out of total employment in in South Africa, year by year

Annual values for Share of Employees in [industry] out of total employment in [industry] by [sex]: Total AFS employment — Value — Female — All age ranges or no breakdown by age — National — Agrifood systems in South Africa, 2000 to 2024.
Year % Change
2000 78.68 %
2001 81.79 % +4.0%
2002 84.35 % +3.1%
2003 85.9 % +1.8%
2004 85.64 % -0.3%
2005 83.08 % -3.0%
2006 81.27 % -2.2%
2007 83.08 % +2.2%
2008 85.42 % +2.8%
2009 86.82 % +1.6%
2010 86.01 % -0.9%
2011 85.27 % -0.9%
2012 89.85 % +5.4%
2013 87.39 % -2.7%
2014 88.13 % +0.8%
2015 91.95 % +4.3%
2016 90.17 % -1.9%
2017 89.91 % -0.3%
2018 89.9 % -0.0%
2019 90.14 % +0.3%
2020 87.39 % -3.1%
2021 89.16 % +2.0%
2022 90.26 % +1.2%
2023 92 % +1.9%
2024 88.18 % -4.2%

South Africa compared with similar countries

  • South Africa's 88.18 % is above the median for upper middle income countries, which is 38.09 %, 2.3× the median. (27 countries reporting)
  • South Africa's 88.18 % is above the median for Sub-Saharan Africa, which is 13.43 %, 6.6× the median. (13 countries reporting)

Averages by decade

DecadeAverage LowestHighest Years
2000s 83.6 % 78.68 % 86.82 % 10
2010s 88.87 % 85.27 % 91.95 % 10
2020s 89.4 % 87.39 % 92 % 5

Countries ranked near South Africa

  1. 3 Slovakia 93.21 % compare
  2. 3 Viet Nam 31.92 % compare
  3. 4 Iran (Islamic Republic of) 29.07 % compare
  4. 4 Israel 92.32 % compare
  5. 5 Bolivia (Plurinational State of) 13.64 % compare
  6. 5 United Kingdom of Great Britain and Northern Ireland 90.37 % compare
  7. 6 Timor-Leste 4 % compare
  8. 7 Barbados 87.04 % compare
  9. 7 United Republic of Tanzania 3.75 % compare
  10. 8 Australia 84.34 % compare
  11. 8 Portugal 84.34 % compare

See the full ranking of 77 places →

More agriculture & rural data for South Africa

All data for South Africa →

Frequently asked questions

What is share of employees in [industry] out of total employment in in South Africa?
Share of employees in [industry] out of total employment in in South Africa was 88.18 % in 2024, according to Food and Agriculture Organization of the United Nations.
What is the highest share of employees in [industry] out of total employment in recorded in South Africa?
The highest recorded value was 92 % in 2023.
What is the lowest share of employees in [industry] out of total employment in recorded in South Africa?
The lowest recorded value was 78.68 % in 2000.
How does South Africa rank for share of employees in [industry] out of total employment in?
South Africa ranks 6th out of 68 countries with data for 2024.
Is share of employees in [industry] out of total employment in rising or falling in South Africa?
Over the last ten years it is up 0.1%. The long-run trend across the full record is rising.
Where does this South Africa data come from?
The figures come from Food and Agriculture Organization of the United Nations, published as part of Share of Employees in [industry] out of total employment in [industry] by [sex]: Total AFS employment — Value — Female — All age ranges or no breakdown by age — National — Agrifood systems. 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).

Share, cite or embed this page

Cite this page

Share of Employees in [industry] out of total employment in in South Africa. Statizoid, drawing on Food and Agriculture Organization of the United Nations. Retrieved 19 September 2026, from https://agriculture.statizoid.com/stat/share-of-employees-in-industry-out-of-total-employment-in-industry-by-sex-total-afs-2/south-africa/

Embed or link this data

Paste this into a page to link back to these figures. The data itself is free to reuse under CC BY-NC-SA 3.0 IGO (FAO); please keep the attribution.

<a href="https://agriculture.statizoid.com/stat/share-of-employees-in-industry-out-of-total-employment-in-industry-by-sex-total-afs-2/south-africa/">Share of Employees in [industry] out of total employment in in South Africa</a> — Statizoid

About this data

Indicator
Share of Employees in [industry] out of total employment in [industry] by [sex]: Total AFS employment — Value — Female — All age ranges or no breakdown by age — National — Agrifood systems
Unit
%
Source
Food and Agriculture Organization of the United Nations
Licence
CC BY-NC-SA 3.0 IGO (FAO)
Coverage
77 places, 1,154 data points, 2000–2025
Last refreshed

The Suite of Gender Indicators presents a set of indicators relevant to agrifood systems that are disaggregated by sex, with the aim of highlighting gender differences across agrifood systems. The initial set of indicators is based on those used in FAO’s 2023 Status of Women in Agrifood Systems (SWAFS) report and on the recommendations of an expert consultation held in December 2023, and covers key dimensions including economic participation, governance, agency, social norms, assets and services, education, health, and nutrition. Indicator selection was informed by expert judgment and by the availability of data with sufficient geographic and temporal coverage to enable meaningful comparisons across regions and over time. While most indicators are produced and published by FAO and other international organizations, the objective of this domain is to provide a one-stop shop for sex-disaggregated data on agrifood systems.