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Occupation group 6

Where are farmers and fishery workers most common?

Skilled agricultural, forestry and fishery workers (ISCO-08 group 6): AI exposure 3/10, and the countries where they make up the biggest share of jobs.

The short version

  • AI exposure score: 3/10. Robotics risk 6.5/10; work-from-home potential 1/10. These come from our model-estimated scoring of ISCO-08 group 6, the same score in every country (see methodology).
  • Share of jobs varies a lot by country: from 0.1% in Singapore to 82.2% in Burundi. The typical country sits at 9.6%.
  • Worldwide, 22.3% of workers in the 147 ranked countries do this kind of work.

Countries where farmers and fishery workers are the biggest share of jobs

Share of workers who are farmers and fishery workers, top 10 countriesBar chart of the ten countries where farmers and fishery workers are the largest share of all jobs.Burundi82.2%DR Congo73.9%Niger73.0%Mozambique72.9%Chad67.9%Laos64.4%Uganda60.4%Zambia56.1%Timor-Leste55.8%Sierra Leone55.7%

Share of all employed people, latest year per country (ILO ILOSTAT and national statistics). Only countries and territories that report all nine ISCO-08 major groups and have at least 200,000 workers are ranked.

CountryShare of jobsWorkersAI exposure (whole economy)
Burundi82.2%4.1M3.05
DR Congo73.9%22.6M3.35
Niger73.0%6.8M3.12
Mozambique72.9%8.9M3.15
Chad67.9%2.7M3.15
Laos64.4%2.3M3.20
Uganda60.4%10.9M3.14
Zambia56.1%4.0M3.24
Timor-Leste55.8%199K3.32
Sierra Leone55.7%1.8M3.21
Mali55.7%3.9M3.33
Madagascar52.7%6.2M2.91

Countries with the most farmers and fishery workers in absolute numbers

CountryWorkersShare of jobs
India161.9M34.0%
Indonesia30.1M21.6%
Bangladesh29.1M42.2%
Nigeria27.0M37.8%
Pakistan22.9M29.5%
DR Congo22.6M73.9%
Ethiopia18.8M51.4%
Tanzania16.0M51.6%
Uganda10.9M60.4%
Thailand10.1M25.6%

How the share changes with national income

Grouping countries by the UNDP Human Development Index shows whether this kind of work grows or shrinks as economies develop.

HDI groupCountriesMedian share of jobs
Very high (0.800+)562.4%
High (0.700-0.799)3012.2%
Medium (0.550-0.699)3336.3%
Low (below 0.550)2243.0%

The fewest: Singapore (0.1%), Argentina (0.2%), United States (0.6%), Israel (0.7%), Malta (0.8%).

What this means

A country's AI exposure depends on how many of its workers sit in high-score groups. Skilled agricultural, forestry and fishery workers score 3/10, so a country with a bigger share of this group pulls its national average down. Compare any country in the explore tool, or check a specific job with the job risk calculator.

Related reading

Method: scores are model-estimated and describe job groups, not individual jobs. Data year differs by country. See methodology. Page updated 2026-10-28.

Frequently asked questions

Which countries have the most farmers and fishery workers?

Measured as a share of all jobs, the top three are Burundi (82%), DR Congo (74%), Niger (73%). Across the 147 countries ranked here, the typical country has 9.6% of its workers in this group.

How exposed are farmers and fishery workers to AI?

Skilled agricultural, forestry and fishery workers score 3/10 for AI exposure in our model-estimated scoring, with 6.5/10 for robotics risk and 1/10 for work-from-home potential. These are estimates, not forecasts.

Does the share of farmers and fishery workers change with national income?

Yes. Using the UNDP Human Development Index to group countries, the median share is 2.4% in very high HDI countries and 43.0% in low HDI countries.

Where does this data come from?

Employment by occupation comes from ILO ILOSTAT and national statistics offices, using the latest year each country reports. Only the 147 countries and territories with all nine ISCO-08 major groups and at least 200,000 workers are ranked.