Share of employment in agriculture in Malaysia
Malaysia: Share of employment in agriculture was 9.2% in 2025. ▼ Falling
Share of employment in agriculture in Malaysia, 1991–2025
Source: ILO Modelled Estimates, via World Bank (2026); Broadberry and Gardner (2013); International Labor Organization (via World Bank) (2013) – with major processing by Our World in Data. Measured in %.
Analysis
In 2025, share of employment in agriculture in Malaysia stood at 9.2%. That is the lowest value across all 35 years on record.
That represents a change of down 2.7% on the previous year and down 26.4% over ten years.
Over the whole period, share of employment in agriculture in Malaysia peaked at 18.9% in 1991 and was at its lowest, 9.2%, in 2025.
Malaysia ranks 113th of 186 countries on this measure, in the middle of the range.
The long-run direction has been consistently falling across the 35 years of available data.
Share of employment in agriculture in Malaysia, year by year
| Year | % | Change |
|---|---|---|
| 1991 | 18.9% | — |
| 1992 | 18.3% | -3.1% |
| 1993 | 17.7% | -3.1% |
| 1994 | 17.2% | -2.9% |
| 1995 | 16.7% | -3.1% |
| 1996 | 16.1% | -3.3% |
| 1997 | 14.3% | -11.4% |
| 1998 | 15.7% | +9.4% |
| 1999 | 15.3% | -2.4% |
| 2000 | 15.3% | -0.1% |
| 2001 | 15.1% | -0.9% |
| 2002 | 14.9% | -1.4% |
| 2003 | 14.3% | -4.4% |
| 2004 | 14.6% | +2.0% |
| 2005 | 14.6% | +0.6% |
| 2006 | 14.6% | -0.0% |
| 2007 | 14.7% | +0.7% |
| 2008 | 14.0% | -5.2% |
| 2009 | 13.5% | -3.3% |
| 2010 | 13.3% | -1.4% |
| 2011 | 11.9% | -10.7% |
| 2012 | 13.3% | +11.6% |
| 2013 | 12.7% | -4.2% |
| 2014 | 12.6% | -1.0% |
| 2015 | 12.5% | -0.8% |
| 2016 | 11.4% | -8.8% |
| 2017 | 11.3% | -0.6% |
| 2018 | 10.6% | -5.9% |
| 2019 | 10.2% | -3.8% |
| 2020 | 10.5% | +2.4% |
| 2021 | 10.3% | -1.7% |
| 2022 | 10.0% | -2.7% |
| 2023 | 9.7% | -2.6% |
| 2024 | 9.4% | -3.2% |
| 2025 | 9.2% | -2.7% |
Averages by decade
| Decade | Average | Lowest | Highest | Years |
|---|---|---|---|---|
| 1990s | 16.7% | 14.3% | 18.9% | 9 |
| 2000s | 14.6% | 13.5% | 15.3% | 10 |
| 2010s | 12.0% | 10.2% | 13.3% | 10 |
| 2020s | 9.9% | 9.2% | 10.5% | 6 |
Countries ranked near Malaysia
- 110 Algeria 9.5% compare
- 111 Belarus 9.5% compare
- 112 Cape Verde 9.2% compare
- 114 Saint Vincent and the Grenadines 9.1% compare
- 115 Venezuela 8.9% compare
- 116 North Macedonia 8.5% compare
More agriculture & rural data for Malaysia
- Agriculture, forestry, and fishing, value added (current US$), annual 13.04 % change on previous year (2025)
- Agriculture, forestry, and fishing, value added (current US$), per 0.0822 current US$ per US$ of GDP (2025)
- Agriculture, forestry, and fishing, value added (current US$), per 1,078 current US$ per person (2025)
- Rural population, annual growth rate -0.913 % change on previous year (2025)
- Rural population, per unit of GDP 0 units per US$ of GDP (2025)
- Rural population, per capita 0.2261 units per person (2025)
- Share of GDP from agriculture 8.2% (2025)
- Agriculture as a share of GDP vs. GDP per capita 8.2% (2025)
- Agricultural raw materials exports 1.1% (2025)
- Agricultural raw materials imports 1.3% (2025)
Frequently asked questions
- What is share of employment in agriculture in Malaysia?
- Share of employment in agriculture in Malaysia was 9.2% in 2025, according to ILO Modelled Estimates, via World Bank (2026); Broadberry and Gardner (2013); International Labor Organization (via World Bank) (2013) – with major processing by Our World in Data.
- What is the highest share of employment in agriculture recorded in Malaysia?
- The highest recorded value was 18.9% in 1991.
- What is the lowest share of employment in agriculture recorded in Malaysia?
- The lowest recorded value was 9.2% in 2025.
- How does Malaysia rank for share of employment in agriculture?
- Malaysia ranks 113th out of 186 countries with data for 2025.
- Is share of employment in agriculture rising or falling in Malaysia?
- Over the last ten years it is down 26.4%. The long-run trend across the full record is falling.
- Where does this Malaysia data come from?
- The figures come from ILO Modelled Estimates, via World Bank (2026); Broadberry and Gardner (2013); International Labor Organization (via World Bank) (2013) – with major processing by Our World in Data, published as part of Share of employment in agriculture. Statizoid updates them automatically from the source API.
Download this data
CSV · JSON — 35 observations, free to reuse under CC BY 4.0 (Our World in Data).
About this data
Share of working people employed in agriculture, including hunting, forestry and fishing.