Share of employment by sex in industry: Total employment in agrifood in South Africa

South Africa: Share of employment by sex in industry: Total employment in agrifood was 59.53 % in 2023. ▲ Rising

Latest (2023)
59.53 %
Change on year
unchanged
World rank
83rd
of 174 countries
All-time high
61.26 %
in 2021
All-time low
51.9 %
in 2006
Years of data
24
2000–2023

Share of employment by sex in industry: Total employment in agrifood in South Africa, 2000–2023

02040602000201120232000: 57.7 %2001: 56.2 %2002: 56.5 %2003: 57.1 %2004: 56.1 %2005: 53.8 %2006: 51.9 %2007: 52.4 %2008: 57.3 %2009: 57.1 %2010: 57.5 %2011: 56.7 %2012: 57.1 %2013: 57.5 %2014: 58.2 %2015: 57.6 %2016: 58.3 %2017: 57.2 %2018: 56.8 %2019: 58 %2020: 58.9 %2021: 61.3 %2022: 59.5 %2023: 59.5 %

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

Analysis

South Africa recorded 59.53 % for share of employment by sex in industry: total employment in agrifood in 2023.

The figure is up 3.6% over ten years.

Over the whole period, share of employment by sex in industry: total employment in agrifood in South Africa peaked at 61.26 % in 2021 and was at its lowest, 51.9 %, in 2006.

South Africa ranks 83rd of 174 countries on this measure, in the middle of the range.

The long-run direction has been consistently rising across the 24 years of available data.

Share of employment by sex in industry: Total employment in agrifood in South Africa, year by year

Annual values for Share of employment by sex in industry: Total employment in agrifood systems — Value — Male — All age ranges or no breakdown by age — National — Agrifood systems in South Africa, 2000 to 2023.
Year % Change
2000 57.69 %
2001 56.25 % -2.5%
2002 56.5 % +0.4%
2003 57.09 % +1.0%
2004 56.08 % -1.8%
2005 53.83 % -4.0%
2006 51.9 % -3.6%
2007 52.43 % +1.0%
2008 57.29 % +9.3%
2009 57.08 % -0.4%
2010 57.53 % +0.8%
2011 56.68 % -1.5%
2012 57.12 % +0.8%
2013 57.47 % +0.6%
2014 58.17 % +1.2%
2015 57.6 % -1.0%
2016 58.33 % +1.3%
2017 57.22 % -1.9%
2018 56.81 % -0.7%
2019 58.04 % +2.2%
2020 58.94 % +1.6%
2021 61.26 % +3.9%
2022 59.53 % -2.8%
2023 59.53 % +0.0%

South Africa compared with similar countries

  • South Africa's 59.53 % is below the median for upper middle income countries, which is 62.72 %, 95% of the median. (48 countries reporting)
  • South Africa's 59.53 % is above the median for Sub-Saharan Africa, which is 51.24 %, 1.2× the median. (44 countries reporting)

Averages by decade

DecadeAverage LowestHighest Years
2000s 55.61 % 51.9 % 57.69 % 10
2010s 57.5 % 56.68 % 58.33 % 10
2020s 59.81 % 58.94 % 61.26 % 4

Countries ranked near South Africa

  1. 80 North Macedonia 61.18 % compare
  2. 81 Equatorial Guinea 59.75 % compare
  3. 82 Spain 59.68 % compare
  4. 84 Hungary 59.09 % compare
  5. 85 Finland 58.95 % compare
  6. 86 Argentina 58.93 % compare

See the full ranking of 224 places →

More agriculture & rural data for South Africa

All data for South Africa →

Frequently asked questions

What is share of employment by sex in industry: total employment in agrifood in South Africa?
Share of employment by sex in industry: total employment in agrifood in South Africa was 59.53 % in 2023, according to Food and Agriculture Organization of the United Nations.
What is the highest share of employment by sex in industry: total employment in agrifood recorded in South Africa?
The highest recorded value was 61.26 % in 2021.
What is the lowest share of employment by sex in industry: total employment in agrifood recorded in South Africa?
The lowest recorded value was 51.9 % in 2006.
How does South Africa rank for share of employment by sex in industry: total employment in agrifood?
South Africa ranks 83rd out of 174 countries with data for 2023.
Is share of employment by sex in industry: total employment in agrifood rising or falling in South Africa?
Over the last ten years it is up 3.6%. 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 employment by sex in industry: Total employment in agrifood systems — Value — Male — All age ranges or no breakdown by age — National — Agrifood systems. Statizoid updates them automatically from the source API.

Download this data

CSV · JSON — 24 observations, free to reuse under CC BY-NC-SA 3.0 IGO (FAO).

Share, cite or embed this page

Cite this page

Share of employment by sex in industry: Total employment in agrifood in South Africa. Statizoid, drawing on Food and Agriculture Organization of the United Nations. Retrieved 18 September 2026, from https://agriculture.statizoid.com/stat/share-of-employment-by-sex-in-industry-total-employment-in-agrifood-systems-value-male/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-employment-by-sex-in-industry-total-employment-in-agrifood-systems-value-male/south-africa/">Share of employment by sex in industry: Total employment in agrifood in South Africa</a> — Statizoid

About this data

Indicator
Share of employment by sex in industry: Total employment in agrifood systems — Value — Male — 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
224 places, 5,335 data points, 2000–2023
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.