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 35.97 % in 2024. ▼ Falling

Latest (2024)
35.97 %
Change on year
up 13.9%
World rank
38th
of 39 countries
All-time high
76.5 %
in 2003
All-time low
30.51 %
in 2021
Years of data
25
2000–2024

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

0204060802000201220242000: 76.5 %2001: 76.4 %2002: 76.3 %2003: 76.5 %2004: 74.5 %2005: 71.4 %2006: 71.6 %2007: 70 %2008: 39.8 %2009: 35.6 %2010: 36 %2011: 35.4 %2012: 39.4 %2013: 35.4 %2014: 35 %2015: 36.2 %2016: 33.3 %2017: 35.5 %2018: 36.2 %2019: 34.1 %2020: 32.8 %2021: 30.5 %2022: 31.7 %2023: 31.6 %2024: 36 %

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

Analysis

South Africa recorded 35.97 % for share of informal employment by industry and sex: agriculture — value in 2024.

The figure is up 13.9% on the previous year and up 2.8% over ten years.

Over the whole period, share of informal employment by industry and sex: agriculture — value in South Africa peaked at 76.5 % in 2003 and was at its lowest, 30.51 %, in 2021.

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 — Male — All age ranges or no breakdown by age — National — Agriculture in South Africa, 2000 to 2024.
Year % Change
2000 76.46 %
2001 76.4 % -0.1%
2002 76.27 % -0.2%
2003 76.5 % +0.3%
2004 74.54 % -2.6%
2005 71.42 % -4.2%
2006 71.59 % +0.2%
2007 70 % -2.2%
2008 39.79 % -43.2%
2009 35.63 % -10.5%
2010 35.99 % +1.0%
2011 35.44 % -1.5%
2012 39.4 % +11.2%
2013 35.39 % -10.2%
2014 34.98 % -1.2%
2015 36.22 % +3.5%
2016 33.34 % -8.0%
2017 35.51 % +6.5%
2018 36.22 % +2.0%
2019 34.1 % -5.9%
2020 32.83 % -3.7%
2021 30.51 % -7.1%
2022 31.71 % +3.9%
2023 31.58 % -0.4%
2024 35.97 % +13.9%

South Africa compared with similar countries

  • South Africa's 35.97 % is below the median for upper middle income countries, which is 90.42 %, 40% of the median. (20 countries reporting)
  • South Africa's 35.97 % is below the median for Sub-Saharan Africa, which is 96.08 %, 37% 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 -43.2% 70 % 39.79 %

Averages by decade

DecadeAverage LowestHighest Years
2000s 66.86 % 35.63 % 76.5 % 10
2010s 35.66 % 33.34 % 39.4 % 10
2020s 32.52 % 30.51 % 35.97 % 5

Countries ranked near South Africa

  1. 35 Kyrgyzstan 50.77 % compare
  2. 36 Uruguay 41.47 % compare
  3. 37 North Macedonia 40.61 % compare
  4. 39 Serbia 35.85 % 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 35.97 % 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 76.5 % in 2003.
What is the lowest share of informal employment by industry and sex: agriculture — value recorded in South Africa?
The lowest recorded value was 30.51 % in 2021.
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 up 2.8%. 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 — Male — 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-male-all-age-ranges-or/south-africa/

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About this data

Indicator
Share of informal employment by industry and sex: Agriculture — Value — Male — 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, 505 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.