Share of informal employment by industry and sex: Agriculture — Value in South Africa

South Africa: Share of informal employment by industry and sex: Agriculture — Value was 34.27 % in 2024. ▼ Falling

Latest (2024)
34.27 %
Change on year
up 17.0%
World rank
38th
of 39 countries
All-time high
85.92 %
in 2000
All-time low
29.3 %
in 2023
Years of data
25
2000–2024

Share of informal employment by industry and sex: Agriculture — Value in South Africa, 2000–2024

204060802000201220242000: 85.9 %2001: 82.9 %2002: 84 %2003: 83.2 %2004: 83.4 %2005: 79.3 %2006: 75.7 %2007: 73.5 %2008: 44.8 %2009: 45.9 %2010: 41.3 %2011: 44.9 %2012: 40.1 %2013: 40.1 %2014: 37.7 %2015: 38.4 %2016: 38.8 %2017: 37.3 %2018: 41.6 %2019: 38.6 %2020: 36.5 %2021: 34.6 %2022: 32.8 %2023: 29.3 %2024: 34.3 %

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

Analysis

South Africa recorded 34.27 % for share of informal employment by industry and sex: agriculture — value in 2024.

The figure is up 17.0% on the previous year and down 9.0% over ten years.

Over the whole period, share of informal employment by industry and sex: agriculture — value in South Africa peaked at 85.92 % in 2000 and was at its lowest, 29.3 %, in 2023.

South Africa ranks 38th of 39 countries on this measure, in the bottom quarter.

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

Share of informal employment by industry and sex: Agriculture — Value in South Africa, year by year

Annual values for Share of informal employment by industry and sex: Agriculture — Value — Female — All age ranges or no breakdown by age — National — Agriculture in South Africa, 2000 to 2024.
Year % Change
2000 85.92 %
2001 82.9 % -3.5%
2002 83.99 % +1.3%
2003 83.25 % -0.9%
2004 83.38 % +0.2%
2005 79.33 % -4.9%
2006 75.74 % -4.5%
2007 73.55 % -2.9%
2008 44.82 % -39.1%
2009 45.91 % +2.4%
2010 41.28 % -10.1%
2011 44.85 % +8.6%
2012 40.12 % -10.5%
2013 40.07 % -0.1%
2014 37.67 % -6.0%
2015 38.37 % +1.9%
2016 38.83 % +1.2%
2017 37.28 % -4.0%
2018 41.63 % +11.7%
2019 38.6 % -7.3%
2020 36.55 % -5.3%
2021 34.63 % -5.3%
2022 32.84 % -5.2%
2023 29.3 % -10.8%
2024 34.27 % +17.0%

South Africa compared with similar countries

  • South Africa's 34.27 % is below the median for upper middle income countries, which is 87.74 %, 39% of the median. (20 countries reporting)
  • South Africa's 34.27 % is below the median for Sub-Saharan Africa, which is 97.97 %, 35% of the median. (10 countries reporting)

Biggest year-on-year movements

Years where Share of informal employment by industry and sex: Agriculture — Value 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.

YearChange FromTo
2008 -39.1% 73.55 % 44.82 %

Averages by decade

DecadeAverage LowestHighest Years
2000s 73.88 % 44.82 % 85.92 % 10
2010s 39.87 % 37.28 % 44.85 % 10
2020s 33.52 % 29.3 % 36.55 % 5

Countries ranked near South Africa

  1. 35 Mongolia 60.22 % compare
  2. 36 Brunei Darussalam 55.85 % compare
  3. 37 Uruguay 53.1 % compare
  4. 39 Thailand 0.01 % compare

See the full ranking of 42 places →

More agriculture & rural data for South Africa

All data for South Africa →

Frequently asked questions

What is share of informal employment by industry and sex: agriculture — value in South Africa?
Share of informal employment by industry and sex: agriculture — value in South Africa was 34.27 % in 2024, according to Food and Agriculture Organization of the United Nations.
What is the highest share of informal employment by industry and sex: agriculture — value recorded in South Africa?
The highest recorded value was 85.92 % in 2000.
What is the lowest share of informal employment by industry and sex: agriculture — value recorded in South Africa?
The lowest recorded value was 29.3 % in 2023.
How does South Africa rank for share of informal employment by industry and sex: agriculture — value?
South Africa ranks 38th out of 39 countries with data for 2024.
Is share of informal employment by industry and sex: agriculture — value rising or falling in South Africa?
Over the last ten years it is down 9.0%. 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 Share of informal employment by industry and sex: Agriculture — Value — Female — All age ranges or no breakdown by age — National — Agriculture. Statizoid updates them automatically from the source API.

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Share of informal employment by industry and sex: Agriculture — Value 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-informal-employment-by-industry-and-sex-agriculture-value-female-all-age-ranges/south-africa/

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About this data

Indicator
Share of informal employment by industry and sex: Agriculture — Value — Female — All age ranges or no breakdown by age — National — Agriculture
Unit
%
Source
Food and Agriculture Organization of the United Nations
Licence
CC BY-NC-SA 3.0 IGO (FAO)
Coverage
42 places, 503 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.