More Vietnamese now work in industry than on farms
Share of jobs by sector, Viet Nam, ILO modelled estimates, 2000–2024. Industry includes factories, construction and mining.
Of Viet Nam's workers had industrial jobs in 2024 (19.1 million), against 25.9% in farming (14.4 million).
Was farming's share of jobs in 2000; farm jobs have since fallen from 24.3 million to 14.4 million.
Industrial jobs grew fourfold from 4.6 million in 2000: Viet Nam's workforce has moved from fields to factory floors and building sites.
the numbers & method
| Industry (M) | Agriculture (M) | Services (M) | |
|---|---|---|---|
| 2000 | 4.6 | 24.3 | 9.0 |
| 2010 | 10.8 | 24.2 | 14.7 |
| 2020 | 16.8 | 17.6 | 19.6 |
| 2024 | 19.2 | 14.4 | 22.2 |
Claim types Estimate · Interpretation
ILOSTAT, indicator EMP_2EMP_SEX_ECO_NB_A 'Employment by sex and economic activity — ILO modelled estimates' (thousands), sex total, classification ECO_SECTOR (agriculture / industry / services), read on the ILOSTAT API (rplumber.ilo.org/data/indicator, ref_area VNM) on 3 Nov 2026; source code XA:2184 (ILO modelled estimates). Shown in millions; shares = sector / ECO_SECTOR_TOTAL (progrss calculation). Values, thousands (agriculture / industry / services / total): 2000: 24,343.4 / 4,574.8 / 8,995.9 / 37,914.1; 2010: 24,228.1 / 10,783.4 / 14,730.7 / 49,742.3; 2020: 17,607.4 / 16,774.6 / 19,607.9 / 53,989.9; 2021: 15,670.1 / 17,881.9 / 20,430.2 / 53,982.2; 2022: 18,601.2 / 17,056.0 / 19,931.2 / 55,588.4; 2023: 14,963.1 / 18,559.5 / 21,932.0 / 55,454.6; 2024: 14,436.7 / 19,148.9 / 22,210.3 / 55,795.8. Industry first passed agriculture in 2021, fell back behind it in 2022 (a jump in farm employment in the series) and has led since 2023. ILO 'industry' = mining, manufacturing, utilities and construction (ISIC Rev.4 B–F), not manufacturing alone. The API also returns 2025 (agriculture 14,067.6, industry 19,562.9); it is not charted because the ILO's latest modelled years can be projections. ILO modelled estimates are harmonised from Viet Nam's Labour Force Survey and may differ from the General Statistics Office's own published shares. Lead replaced: the brief proposed India, but India's farm share fell below half in 2011 (49.1%, an old turn) and has risen since 2019 (40.7% to 42.4% in 2024), with no new crossover; Viet Nam has the freshest sector crossover among large Global South economies in the same ILO series. Edition: ILO modelled estimates, November 2025 (2025 is a projection year and is not shown).
Published 4 Nov 2026
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