What is the difference in agricultural population between Somalia and South Africa?

1.71 million FAO, number, with Somalia ahead.

How many years of comparable data are there for Somalia and South Africa?

33 years are reported by both, from 1980 to 2012.

Where does this data come from?

Food and Agriculture Organization, electronic files and web site, published as Agricultural population (FAO, number). Statizoid refreshes it automatically from the source and publishes the full history for both places.

Somalia vs South Africa: Agricultural population

Somalia

6.33 million FAO, number

in 2012

South Africa

4.62 million FAO, number

in 2012

Somalia rank

28th

South Africa rank

29th

Agricultural population over time

Somalia
South Africa

How they compare

Somalia currently reports 6.33 million FAO, number against 4.62 million FAO, number in South Africa, a difference of 1.71 million FAO, number.

That makes Somalia's figure about 1.4 times South Africa's.

The two have swapped places 1 time across 33 shared years of data; in 1980 it was South Africa ahead.

Somalia ranks 28th and South Africa ranks 29th of 53 countries.

Across the 4 decades both report, Somalia averaged higher in 1 and South Africa in 3.

Head to head by decade

Decade	Somalia	South Africa	Difference	Ahead
1980s	4.91 million FAO, number	7.20 million FAO, number	2.29 million FAO, number	South Africa
1990s	4.84 million FAO, number	6.78 million FAO, number	1.94 million FAO, number	South Africa
2000s	5.62 million FAO, number	5.63 million FAO, number	4,800 FAO, number	South Africa
2010s	6.22 million FAO, number	4.76 million FAO, number	1.46 million FAO, number	Somalia

Averages of every year both report within each decade.

Frequently asked questions

Which has higher agricultural population, Somalia or South Africa?: Somalia, at 6.33 million FAO, number against 4.62 million FAO, number in South Africa as of 2012.
What is the difference in agricultural population between Somalia and South Africa?: 1.71 million FAO, number, with Somalia ahead.
How many years of comparable data are there for Somalia and South Africa?: 33 years are reported by both, from 1980 to 2012.
How do Somalia and South Africa rank globally for agricultural population?: Somalia ranks 28th and South Africa ranks 29th of 53 countries.
Where does this data come from?: Food and Agriculture Organization, electronic files and web site, published as Agricultural population (FAO, number). Statizoid refreshes it automatically from the source and publishes the full history for both places.

Individual pages

Share, cite or embed this page

Cite this page

Somalia vs South Africa: Agricultural population. Statizoid, drawing on Food and Agriculture Organization, electronic files and web site. Retrieved 04 September 2026, from https://environment.statizoid.com/compare/agricultural-population-fao-number/somalia-fed-rep/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 4.0 (World Bank Open Data); please keep the attribution.

<a href="https://environment.statizoid.com/compare/agricultural-population-fao-number/somalia-fed-rep/south-africa/">Somalia vs South Africa: Agricultural population</a> — Statizoid

About this data

Indicator: Agricultural population (FAO, number)
Unit: FAO, number
Source: Food and Agriculture Organization, electronic files and web site
Licence: CC BY 4.0 (World Bank Open Data)
Coverage: 59 places, 1,934 data points, 1980–2012
Last refreshed: 21 August 2026

The Agricultural Population is defined as all persons depending for their livelihood on agriculture, hunting, fishing or forestry. This estimate comprises all persons actively engaged in agriculture and their non-working dependants. The Agricultural Population series are estimated by FAO based on the total population series obtained from UN Population Division ("World population prospects: The 2008 Revision") and the ratios of labour force in total population and agricultural labour force in total labour force from ILO: ("Economically active population, 1950-2010: The 4th Revision", ILO, Geneva, 1996). Direct information on agricultural population derived from national population censuses or surveys is scarce.