The sectors of the economy

Where do people work, and what does a country produce? Choose a country to see its three sectors, how they changed since 1991 and where it stands compared with the others.

The three sectors

A country’s activities are usually divided into three sectors:

  • Agriculture (primary sector): farming, raising animals, forestry, fishing.
  • Industry (secondary sector): mining, manufacturing, energy, construction.
  • Services (tertiary sector): trade, transport, banking, education, health, tourism, public offices.

As a country develops, work moves: first from the fields to the factories, then from the factories to offices and services (the three-sector model of Fisher and Clark). In the poorest countries most people still work in agriculture; in the richest almost everyone works in services.

Who works and what they produce

The first bar shows where people work, the second how much of GDP each sector produces. If many people work in agriculture but produce little, each person produces little: it happens where farming is done by hand, with few machines.

Employment: International Labour Organization (ILO) estimates. GDP: value added of each sector. The GDP shares do not add up to 100% because the World Bank leaves out taxes on products (in grey). Source: World Bank (CC BY 4.0).

Employment over time

    The share of workers in each sector since 1991 (ILO estimates, World Bank). With a country to compare, its lines are thinner.

    All countries in a triangle (2025)

    Each dot is a country. The closer it is to a corner, the more people work in that sector: agriculture at the top, industry on the right, services on the left. The colour is the Human Development Index group: poor countries are at the top, rich ones at the bottom left.

    • Low
    • Medium
    • High
    • Very high
    • No HDI

    Hover over a dot to see whose it is; a click chooses it. The diamond is the World. For each country the latest year of the ILO estimates.

    Employment in agriculture and income in the bubble chart →

    The countries

    Country Employment (%) GDP (%)
    Agriculture Industry Services Agriculture Industry Services
    Afghanistan 51.6 18.9 29.5 (2025) 34.3 14.5 45.2 (2024)
    Albania 30.8 22.0 47.2 (2025) 14.8 21.8 49.7 (2025)
    Algeria 9.5 32.3 58.3 (2025) 14.5 34.8 45.7 (2025)
    Andorra – – – 0.5 12.8 77.8 (2025)
    Angola 51.9 7.2 40.9 (2025) 25.2 27.1 46.8 (2025)
    Antigua and Barbuda – – – 1.5 18.2 68.7 (2025)
    Argentina 7.0 21.2 71.8 (2025) 5.5 22.9 56.2 (2025)
    Armenia 27.0 21.3 51.7 (2025) 7.9 23.1 61.3 (2025)
    Australia 2.2 19.3 78.5 (2025) 2.3 23.9 67.5 (2025)
    Austria 2.8 24.6 72.6 (2025) 1.3 24.0 64.1 (2025)
    Azerbaijan 34.2 15.5 50.2 (2025) 5.9 39.5 45.3 (2025)
    Bahrain 0.8 34.9 64.3 (2025) 0.2 41.2 54.3 (2025)
    Bangladesh 44.3 18.0 37.7 (2025) 11.4 34.0 52.1 (2025)
    Barbados 1.2 16.2 82.6 (2025) 1.6 12.2 75.8 (2024)
    Belarus 9.5 31.1 59.5 (2025) 6.9 31.6 50.0 (2025)
    Belgium 1.0 19.2 79.8 (2025) 0.7 18.6 71.2 (2025)
    Belize 16.1 15.3 68.5 (2025) 7.9 14.6 62.4 (2024)
    Benin 40.2 18.3 41.4 (2025) 22.9 17.5 50.1 (2025)
    Bhutan 42.4 15.9 41.8 (2025) 13.7 33.2 53.2 (2025)
    Bolivia 24.7 19.8 55.5 (2025) 8.8 31.3 53.4 (2024)
    Bosnia and Herzegovina 16.7 30.6 52.7 (2025) 4.4 21.5 57.7 (2025)
    Botswana 18.0 15.8 66.2 (2025) 1.8 27.9 64.6 (2025)
    Brazil 7.6 20.2 72.2 (2025) 6.1 20.1 59.7 (2025)
    Brunei 1.2 20.4 78.4 (2025) 1.2 60.0 40.2 (2025)
    Bulgaria 4.7 27.9 67.4 (2025) 2.5 21.2 63.3 (2025)
    Burkina Faso 51.8 16.7 31.6 (2025) 19.9 30.1 41.5 (2025)
    Burundi 85.3 3.1 11.6 (2025) 34.3 18.2 42.1 (2025)
    Cambodia 33.4 28.9 37.7 (2025) 16.1 43.1 35.0 (2025)
    Cameroon 41.9 14.6 43.5 (2025) 16.8 24.8 50.4 (2025)
    Canada 1.1 18.7 80.1 (2025) 1.9 27.4 64.1 (2022)
    Cape Verde 9.2 23.1 67.7 (2025) 5.0 10.7 67.9 (2025)
    Central African Republic 66.1 13.4 20.5 (2025) 27.6 21.2 41.4 (2025)
    Chad 71.7 8.5 19.8 (2025) 36.3 26.7 33.9 (2025)
    Chile 6.1 21.5 72.4 (2025) 3.5 31.4 55.5 (2025)
    China 21.7 31.8 46.5 (2025) 6.7 35.6 57.7 (2025)
    Colombia 14.2 20.0 65.8 (2025) 9.9 21.8 58.5 (2025)
    Comoros 33.6 14.8 51.6 (2025) 36.6 9.9 48.8 (2025)
    Costa Rica 11.5 18.5 70.0 (2025) 3.4 19.9 69.2 (2025)
    Croatia 4.3 26.4 69.3 (2025) 2.8 19.0 60.9 (2025)
    Cuba 15.5 16.9 67.6 (2025) 1.2 23.8 73.4 (2024)
    Cyprus 2.2 16.3 81.6 (2025) 1.1 11.1 76.8 (2025)
    Czech Republic 2.7 34.9 62.4 (2025) 1.9 28.7 60.8 (2025)
    Democratic Republic of the Congo 58.5 8.0 33.5 (2025) 8.9 39.7 48.0 (2025)
    Denmark 1.6 18.8 79.6 (2025) 1.2 24.8 62.7 (2025)
    Djibouti 1.2 6.7 92.2 (2025) 2.3 16.6 75.7 (2025)
    Dominica – – – 12.1 14.1 57.2 (2025)
    Dominican Republic 7.0 19.0 74.0 (2025) 4.6 28.4 60.1 (2025)
    East Timor 46.0 3.8 50.2 (2025) 20.2 11.8 71.6 (2024)
    Ecuador 32.5 16.6 50.9 (2025) 9.7 25.7 57.0 (2025)
    Egypt 17.5 29.4 53.1 (2025) 16.6 32.1 47.3 (2025)
    El Salvador 13.9 23.1 63.0 (2025) 4.4 24.5 58.9 (2025)
    Equatorial Guinea 55.3 9.9 34.7 (2025) 3.2 41.4 55.5 (2025)
    Eritrea 55.5 12.7 31.8 (2025) – – –
    Estonia 3.0 26.0 71.0 (2025) 1.6 19.7 65.8 (2025)
    Eswatini 14.5 26.7 58.7 (2025) 6.4 33.6 52.4 (2025)
    Ethiopia 60.1 6.4 33.4 (2025) 32.8 27.8 36.6 (2025)
    Federated States of Micronesia – – – 24.2 5.3 65.3 (2025)
    Fiji 35.6 12.7 51.7 (2025) 14.0 13.9 57.0 (2025)
    Finland 3.5 20.8 75.7 (2025) 2.6 22.5 62.1 (2025)
    France 2.3 19.3 78.3 (2025) 1.4 16.8 70.9 (2025)
    Gabon 28.9 18.9 52.3 (2025) 6.8 47.2 42.3 (2025)
    Georgia 34.0 16.6 49.5 (2025) 5.2 18.6 63.9 (2025)
    Germany 1.1 26.0 73.0 (2025) 0.9 25.2 64.5 (2025)
    Ghana 34.6 18.3 47.2 (2025) 21.3 29.3 42.9 (2025)
    Greece 10.7 16.3 73.0 (2025) 3.6 15.2 67.4 (2025)
    Grenada – – – 2.5 15.5 64.9 (2025)
    Guatemala 29.1 22.7 48.2 (2025) 9.6 21.8 62.1 (2025)
    Guinea 47.4 14.2 38.5 (2025) 31.3 25.4 35.7 (2025)
    Guinea-Bissau 61.1 9.7 29.2 (2025) 40.6 15.7 39.1 (2025)
    Guyana 12.2 31.1 56.7 (2025) 7.7 75.1 14.8 (2025)
    Haiti 46.6 8.8 44.6 (2025) 15.8 27.5 54.2 (2025)
    Honduras 22.4 21.6 55.9 (2025) 13.3 25.4 57.6 (2025)
    Hungary 4.1 30.5 65.4 (2025) 2.7 23.0 60.1 (2025)
    Iceland 3.6 18.2 78.1 (2025) 3.7 20.1 66.2 (2025)
    India 41.6 25.8 32.6 (2025) 16.2 25.2 49.3 (2025)
    Indonesia 27.3 22.5 50.2 (2025) 13.1 38.7 43.9 (2025)
    Iran 13.6 34.7 51.7 (2025) 10.6 39.6 47.1 (2025)
    Iraq 8.2 26.5 65.3 (2025) 3.4 45.4 52.3 (2025)
    Ireland 3.9 18.2 77.9 (2025) 1.1 37.8 56.7 (2025)
    Israel 0.8 15.1 84.1 (2025) 1.3 17.2 72.8 (2024)
    Italy 3.3 26.4 70.2 (2025) 2.1 22.6 64.5 (2025)
    Ivory Coast 45.4 14.3 40.3 (2025) 16.8 23.9 51.2 (2025)
    Jamaica 13.9 17.1 68.9 (2025) 8.7 16.3 59.8 (2025)
    Japan 2.8 23.2 74.0 (2025) 1.0 26.8 71.4 (2024)
    Jordan 3.1 16.1 80.8 (2025) 5.6 27.4 56.8 (2025)
    Kazakhstan 11.3 19.9 68.8 (2025) 3.7 32.3 57.7 (2025)
    Kenya 45.8 12.5 41.7 (2025) 23.2 16.3 55.1 (2025)
    Kiribati – – – 23.2 11.8 70.3 (2024)
    Kuwait 1.9 24.6 73.5 (2025) 0.5 54.1 59.6 (2025)
    Kyrgyzstan 15.4 26.8 57.7 (2025) 8.0 26.5 51.2 (2025)
    Laos 68.6 7.4 24.0 (2025) 16.6 29.2 43.6 (2025)
    Latvia 6.7 21.8 71.5 (2025) 4.0 18.7 64.2 (2025)
    Lebanon 3.5 20.1 76.4 (2023) 1.0 2.6 35.7 (2024)
    Lesotho 30.9 33.0 36.1 (2025) 6.5 25.2 55.6 (2025)
    Liberia 41.1 8.3 50.5 (2025) 32.7 24.5 40.0 (2025)
    Libya 10.0 18.6 71.4 (2025) 1.5 73.2 26.9 (2025)
    Liechtenstein – – – 0.2 39.1 57.4 (2023)
    Lithuania 4.7 25.9 69.4 (2025) 2.3 22.1 64.8 (2025)
    Luxembourg 0.9 7.6 91.5 (2025) 0.2 8.9 81.4 (2025)
    Madagascar 69.2 9.9 20.9 (2025) 21.7 23.9 48.8 (2025)
    Malawi 65.0 7.3 27.7 (2025) 30.0 14.3 48.7 (2025)
    Malaysia 9.2 26.0 64.9 (2025) 8.2 35.7 54.8 (2025)
    Maldives 11.3 16.9 71.8 (2025) 4.6 9.3 69.9 (2025)
    Mali 63.0 8.6 28.4 (2025) 33.0 23.4 36.6 (2025)
    Malta 0.9 17.7 81.4 (2025) 0.5 10.1 81.3 (2025)
    Marshall Islands – – – 19.9 13.4 68.2 (2024)
    Mauritania 32.1 15.0 52.8 (2025) 20.0 29.7 42.4 (2025)
    Mauritius 4.7 20.6 74.7 (2025) 4.6 17.7 63.9 (2025)
    Mexico 11.4 24.5 64.1 (2025) 3.9 30.6 58.9 (2025)
    Moldova 50.5 12.6 36.9 (2025) 7.4 16.9 61.5 (2025)
    Mongolia 27.0 23.1 49.9 (2025) 8.9 37.2 44.3 (2025)
    Montenegro 4.2 18.2 77.6 (2025) 3.4 11.3 63.4 (2025)
    Morocco 27.9 23.8 48.3 (2025) 10.5 25.2 52.3 (2025)
    Mozambique 73.0 6.4 20.6 (2025) 25.6 22.1 42.0 (2025)
    Myanmar 45.0 18.2 36.9 (2025) 25.3 36.2 38.5 (2025)
    Namibia 22.3 16.5 61.1 (2025) 7.0 28.9 55.0 (2025)
    Nepal 22.9 31.3 45.8 (2025) 21.6 12.1 54.4 (2025)
    Netherlands 1.7 13.8 84.5 (2025) 1.7 17.7 70.4 (2025)
    New Zealand 5.4 19.9 74.6 (2025) 4.0 19.4 68.2 (2023)
    Nicaragua 30.5 16.9 52.6 (2025) 14.5 29.3 45.2 (2025)
    Niger 73.0 9.3 17.7 (2025) 47.6 18.7 31.1 (2025)
    Nigeria 33.5 17.0 49.5 (2025) 23.0 16.4 58.2 (2025)
    North Korea 54.1 22.4 23.5 (2025) – – –
    North Macedonia 8.5 30.6 60.9 (2025) 6.0 24.1 57.0 (2025)
    Norway 2.5 17.8 79.7 (2025) 1.6 34.5 55.0 (2025)
    Oman 5.9 39.4 54.6 (2025) 2.8 52.7 47.2 (2025)
    Pakistan 36.2 25.3 38.5 (2025) 23.0 20.1 50.9 (2025)
    Palau – – – 2.7 13.0 73.1 (2024)
    Palestine 6.3 29.9 63.8 (2022) 5.5 16.3 60.2 (2024)
    Panama 16.0 17.0 67.0 (2025) 2.6 24.9 70.0 (2025)
    Papua New Guinea 36.9 7.9 55.3 (2025) 17.0 36.5 42.0 (2024)
    Paraguay 16.0 19.0 65.1 (2025) 11.6 32.3 48.1 (2025)
    Peru 23.1 16.8 60.1 (2025) 7.5 34.3 50.9 (2024)
    Philippines 20.5 20.0 59.5 (2025) 8.6 27.0 64.4 (2025)
    Poland 6.2 30.0 63.8 (2025) 2.5 25.8 59.7 (2025)
    Portugal 2.8 24.6 72.7 (2025) 2.0 18.3 66.6 (2025)
    Qatar 1.6 38.0 60.4 (2025) 0.3 57.0 47.0 (2025)
    Republic of the Congo 36.4 19.5 44.2 (2025) 10.1 35.6 54.3 (2025)
    Romania 10.9 32.6 56.5 (2025) 3.0 25.3 61.7 (2025)
    Russia 5.1 25.8 69.1 (2025) 3.1 29.7 58.9 (2025)
    Rwanda 35.1 18.4 46.5 (2025) 20.3 22.0 52.3 (2025)
    Saint Kitts and Nevis – – – 1.3 20.8 66.2 (2025)
    Saint Lucia 7.5 16.2 76.3 (2025) 1.7 10.7 73.8 (2025)
    Saint Vincent and the Grenadines 9.1 21.1 69.8 (2025) 3.4 15.1 66.4 (2025)
    Samoa 26.9 15.9 57.2 (2025) 9.1 10.2 72.1 (2025)
    San Marino – – – 0.0 35.8 56.9 (2023)
    Saudi Arabia 2.5 23.1 74.4 (2025) 2.6 43.0 48.9 (2025)
    Senegal 29.6 22.5 47.9 (2025) 17.1 26.1 46.3 (2025)
    Serbia 18.0 27.1 54.9 (2025) 3.3 22.3 59.7 (2025)
    Seychelles – – – 2.6 14.3 67.9 (2025)
    Sierra Leone 44.5 11.5 44.0 (2025) 29.5 25.7 41.6 (2025)
    Singapore 0.1 14.0 85.9 (2025) 0.0 22.7 71.6 (2025)
    Slovakia 2.2 34.5 63.3 (2025) 1.6 28.1 59.8 (2025)
    Slovenia 3.7 32.0 64.4 (2025) 1.6 28.3 58.6 (2025)
    Solomon Islands 42.5 7.6 50.0 (2025) 29.7 23.4 46.9 (2024)
    Somalia 30.0 17.8 52.2 (2025) – – –
    South Africa 5.4 20.8 73.8 (2025) 2.8 24.1 63.1 (2025)
    South Korea 5.1 23.4 71.5 (2025) 1.5 34.3 57.2 (2025)
    South Sudan 63.8 1.7 34.6 (2023) 10.4 33.1 56.6 (2015)
    Spain 3.4 19.9 76.8 (2025) 2.7 19.6 68.4 (2025)
    Sri Lanka 25.9 26.3 47.8 (2025) 8.4 25.4 54.6 (2025)
    Sudan 39.8 14.0 46.2 (2022) 29.4 33.6 37.0 (2025)
    Suriname 7.0 26.1 66.9 (2025) 6.8 35.1 50.8 (2024)
    Sweden 1.8 16.8 81.4 (2025) 1.5 21.0 67.0 (2025)
    Switzerland 2.2 19.6 78.2 (2025) 0.6 25.0 71.7 (2025)
    Syria 16.3 25.2 58.5 (2025) 42.9 11.9 44.7 (2022)
    São Tomé and Príncipe 12.1 22.5 65.4 (2025) 12.2 2.2 81.4 (2025)
    Tajikistan 43.3 17.7 39.1 (2025) 23.1 32.4 36.5 (2024)
    Tanzania 64.6 8.1 27.3 (2025) 22.9 29.8 28.8 (2025)
    Thailand 28.6 22.2 49.2 (2025) 8.7 31.1 60.2 (2025)
    The Bahamas 0.8 14.8 84.4 (2025) 0.5 9.6 77.2 (2024)
    The Gambia 27.6 18.8 53.6 (2025) 23.8 15.8 53.1 (2025)
    Togo 37.6 18.2 44.2 (2025) 20.3 21.0 61.7 (2025)
    Tonga 23.6 23.3 53.0 (2025) 18.6 17.7 49.5 (2024)
    Trinidad and Tobago 4.5 24.2 71.3 (2025) 0.8 34.6 59.2 (2024)
    Tunisia 12.5 33.3 54.3 (2025) 10.3 22.0 62.7 (2025)
    Turkey 14.2 27.3 58.5 (2025) 5.2 24.0 59.4 (2025)
    Turkmenistan 21.9 28.6 49.5 (2025) 12.4 36.0 48.9 (2025)
    Uganda 64.9 7.3 27.9 (2025) 26.1 24.3 42.1 (2025)
    Ukraine 14.1 25.2 60.7 (2021) 7.6 17.9 61.0 (2025)
    United Arab Emirates 1.4 30.6 68.0 (2025) 0.8 44.3 54.9 (2024)
    United Kingdom 0.9 15.9 83.2 (2025) 0.6 16.5 73.1 (2025)
    United States of America 1.5 18.9 79.6 (2025) 0.9 17.6 76.3 (2021)
    Uruguay 8.1 18.8 73.2 (2025) 6.4 16.9 65.2 (2025)
    Uzbekistan 25.2 24.6 50.2 (2025) 16.6 32.5 46.5 (2025)
    Vanuatu 44.5 10.0 45.4 (2025) 26.6 10.1 56.8 (2024)
    Venezuela 8.9 16.8 74.4 (2025) 0.0 0.0 0.0 (2011)
    Vietnam 25.0 34.8 40.1 (2025) 11.6 37.6 42.7 (2025)
    Yemen 31.6 11.1 57.3 (2025) 28.7 25.4 41.8 (2018)
    Zambia 54.5 10.3 35.2 (2025) 4.1 35.3 57.0 (2025)
    Zimbabwe 54.3 11.5 34.2 (2025) 9.5 37.1 48.2 (2025)

    For each country the latest year with the three sectors (in brackets). Source: World Bank; employment: ILO estimates.

    The indicators

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