A same-year comparison of real growth in agriculture, forestry and fishing value added shows a wide spread in 2025. Among 162 countries and areas with a 2025 observation, 131 record positive growth and 31 record a decline. The median is 2.92%, the simple average is 3.29%, and Korea records 1.45%, ranking 108th. At the extremes, Zambia grows by more than 50%, while Malta falls by more than 20%, so the sector did not move in one common direction across countries.
Table of Contents
This is a real growth rate, not agriculture’s share of GDP
The World Bank series is Agriculture, forestry, and fishing, value added (annual % growth), code NV.AGR.TOTL.KD.ZG. Under the WDI definition, agriculture, forestry and fishing correspond to ISIC Rev. 4 divisions 01–03, covering activities such as crop growing, livestock production, forestry and timber harvesting, fishing and related use of plant and animal natural resources. Value added is the contribution created after subtracting intermediate goods and services used in production from the value of output.
The indicator is the year-over-year percentage change in a constant-price series expressed in 2015-based U.S. dollars. It therefore aims to remove the direct effect of price changes from the growth calculation. A value of 5% does not mean the sector equals 5% of GDP, and it does not mean every crop or physical production volume increased by exactly 5%. It means the sector’s inflation-adjusted value added increased by 5% from the previous year.
Positive growth appears in 131 of the 162 same-year observations
The median 2025 growth rate is 2.92%. The first quartile is 0.81% and the third quartile is 5.27%, so the middle half of observations lies roughly between 0.8% and 5.3%. The largest single band is 0 to under 3%, containing 52 observations, followed by 3 to under 6% with 46. This concentration near low single-digit growth sits alongside a much thinner set of very large expansions and contractions.
| 2025 real growth rate | Countries/areas | Share of 162 |
|---|---|---|
| Below -10% | 3 | 1.9% |
| -10 to <-3% | 12 | 7.4% |
| -3 to <0% | 16 | 9.9% |
| 0 to <3% | 52 | 32.1% |
| 3 to <6% | 46 | 28.4% |
| 6 to <10% | 21 | 13.0% |
| 10 to <20% | 8 | 4.9% |
| 20% or more | 4 | 2.5% |
4 observations are at or above 20%, and another 8 are between 10% and 20%. On the negative side, 3 are below -10% and 12 fall between -10% and -3%. These class breaks are only visualization aids; they are not official World Bank policy thresholds or performance grades.
Zambia, Mongolia and Zimbabwe exceed 20% growth, but high growth is not the same as a large sector
Zambia has the highest 2025 observation at 51.13%, followed by Mongolia at 33.24%, Zimbabwe at 25.87%, and Maldives at 22.62%. South Africa records 17.43%, Micronesia 12.68%, Brazil 11.70%, Burkina Faso 11.64%, Guyana 11.53%, and Moldova 10.69%. This is a growth-rate ranking. It should not be confused with a ranking of the dollar value of agriculture, forestry and fishing output or value added.
| Highest-growth observations | 2025 real annual growth |
|---|---|
| Zambia | 51.13% |
| Mongolia | 33.24% |
| Zimbabwe | 25.87% |
| Maldives | 22.62% |
| South Africa | 17.43% |
| Micronesia, Fed. Sts. | 12.68% |
| Brazil | 11.70% |
| Burkina Faso | 11.64% |
| Guyana | 11.53% |
| Moldova | 10.69% |
That distinction matters when this article is read alongside Green Blog’s 2024 current-dollar value-added comparison. China and India are among the largest sectors by absolute current-dollar value added in that article, but their 2025 real growth rates here are 3.94% and 2.42%. A large sector does not have to be the fastest-growing one, and a smaller sector can post a large percentage change from a lower base. This growth series alone cannot identify whether weather, commodity conditions, policy, production volumes or another factor caused a country’s result.
Malta, Iraq and Estonia record some of the steepest declines
A negative growth rate does not mean agriculture, forestry and fishing produced negative value added. It means real value added was lower than in the previous year. Malta records -23.23%, Iraq -16.78%, Estonia -10.24%, Türkiye -8.80%, and Sweden -7.02%. Ukraine is -6.25%, Georgia -5.67%, Iran -5.58%, Hong Kong SAR, China -5.49%, and Haiti -4.76%.
| Lowest-growth observations | 2025 real annual growth |
|---|---|
| Malta | -23.23% |
| Iraq | -16.78% |
| Estonia | -10.24% |
| Turkiye | -8.80% |
| Sweden | -7.02% |
| Ukraine | -6.25% |
| Georgia | -5.67% |
| Iran, Islamic Rep. | -5.57% |
| Hong Kong SAR, China | -5.49% |
| Haiti | -4.76% |
A sharp one-year decline also does not establish that the sector is unimportant to the economy. Growth rates depend on the previous year’s level, and agriculture, forestry and fishing can be volatile from year to year. The indicator by itself does not identify the cause of the change. A causal explanation would require additional evidence such as crop and livestock output, fisheries data, forestry activity, weather, prices, trade and national statistical releases.
Korea records 1.45%, ranking 108th among the 162 observations
Korea’s 2025 real growth rate is 1.45%, placing it 108th when the 162 same-year observations are sorted from highest to lowest. Among selected economies, Brazil records 11.70%, Australia 8.90%, France 6.95%, Canada 6.36%, Indonesia 5.33%, Mexico 4.20%, China 3.94%, and Viet Nam 3.78%. The United Kingdom is 2.44%, India 2.42%, Spain 1.18%, Germany 0.55%, and Italy -0.14%.
| Selected economy | 2025 growth | Rank of 162 |
|---|---|---|
| Brazil | 11.70% | 7 |
| Australia | 8.90% | 15 |
| France | 6.95% | 29 |
| Canada | 6.36% | 33 |
| Indonesia | 5.33% | 40 |
| Mexico | 4.20% | 53 |
| China | 3.94% | 56 |
| Viet Nam | 3.78% | 58 |
| United Kingdom | 2.44% | 88 |
| India | 2.42% | 90 |
| Korea, Rep. | 1.45% | 108 |
| Spain | 1.18% | 117 |
| Germany | 0.55% | 129 |
| Italy | -0.14% | 134 |
Japan’s retained observation in the supplied data is dated 2024 at 0.92%, so it is not mixed into the 2025 map or ranking. The United States does not have a retained observation in this supplied latest-country table and is likewise omitted from the 2025 comparison. Keeping older observations out of a same-year map avoids turning temporal differences into apparent geographic differences.
Agricultural land, sector size and real growth answer different questions
Agricultural-land share describes how much of a country’s land area is used for agriculture. Current-dollar agriculture, forestry and fishing value added describes the sector’s monetary scale in a given year. The present series asks a third question: how quickly did inflation-adjusted value added change from the previous year? A country can have a large agricultural land share and low real growth, or a small land share and high growth. The measures are complementary rather than interchangeable.
The same caution applies to productivity, farm income, export growth and physical food production. NV.AGR.TOTL.KD.ZG is a national-accounts growth rate for the combined agriculture, forestry and fishing sector. It does not identify which subsector drove the result. Separating crops, livestock, forestry and fisheries requires more detailed datasets.
Data source and comparison method
The analysis uses World Bank World Development Indicators NV.AGR.TOTL.KD.ZG metadata and country observations. The World Bank lists official country statistics, national statistical organizations and central banks, OECD National Accounts files and World Bank staff estimates among the sources. Under the WDI definition, the indicator is the percentage change from the previous year in a constant-price U.S.-dollar series with 2015 as the base year. All map classes, distribution statistics and rankings in this article use only the 162 observations dated 2025.
Frequently Asked Questions
What does agriculture, forestry and fishing value-added growth measure?
It measures the year-over-year percentage change in inflation-adjusted value added for the combined agriculture, forestry and fishing sector. It is not the sector's share of GDP.
What was Korea’s growth rate in 2025?
Korea records 1.45% and ranks 108th among the 162 observations dated 2025.
Does a negative growth rate mean the sector has negative value added?
No. A negative rate means real value added fell from the previous year; it does not mean the level of value added itself is below zero.
Are the fastest-growing countries also the countries with the largest agriculture sectors?
Not necessarily. This is a percentage-change ranking. Absolute sector size is measured with a separate value-added level series.
Related Articles
- Agriculture, Forestry & Fishing Value Added by Country, 2024
- Global Agricultural Land Share Map by Country, 2023
- Global Forest Area Share Map 2023 by Country
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