Agriculture is still about a fifth of Philippine jobs and under a tenth of GDP — while FAO undernourishment looks low at 3%, but moderate-or-severe food insecurity sits near a third of people.
PoU and FIES are different measures — keep separate panels. Don’t invent FAO <2.5 for empty cells. Malaysia fertilizer intensity is an arable-land artefact. Singapore is a ceiling on VA, a gap on cereal yield.
What the comparison shows
Agriculture still accounts for about a fifth of Philippine employment and under a tenth of GDP. Undernourishment (PoU) looks low among peers, while moderate-or-severe food insecurity (FIES) is much higher. Cereal yields sit mid-pack behind Vietnam and Indonesia. Those findings describe structure, dietary-energy deprivation and lived food access as separate dimensions.
Key findings from this pack
- The Philippine PoU estimate is low while FIES food insecurity affects about a third of the population; the measures answer different questions.
- Vietnam and Indonesia lead the supplied cereal yields; Singapore has a gap.
- Laos has the highest agricultural employment share and a missing PoU observation.
- Timor-Leste’s FIES reading is older; absent observations are never replaced with zeros or threshold estimates.
The evidence: Philippines and peers
Philippines, Malaysia, Thailand, Vietnam and Indonesia. Values retain their individual years; missing observations are shown as —.
| Indicator / unit | Philippines | Malaysia | Thailand | Vietnam | Indonesia |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| Employment in agriculture% of total employment | 20.52025 | 9.22025 | 28.62025 | 252025 | 27.32025 |
| Cereal yieldkg per hectare | 3,8692023 | 3,5242023 | 3,0722023 | 5,9952023 | 5,8292023 |
| Moderate or severe food insecurity% of population · FIES | 32.92023 | 16.72023 | 5.42023 | 10.72023 | 4.52023 |
| Prevalence of undernourishment% of population · PoU | 32023 | 2.52023 | 4.62023 | 5.32023 | 6.32023 |
| Agriculture value added% of GDP | 8.62025 | 8.22025 | 8.72025 | 11.62025 | 13.12025 |
How to interpret the findings
PoU and FIES are different FAO instruments and must stay on separate panels. Empty PoU cells for Brunei, Laos and Singapore are gaps — FAO “<2.5” threshold labels must not be invented as point estimates. Singapore has no cereal-yield observation. Malaysia’s extreme fertiliser intensity is an arable-land denominator artefact and should not be read as peer intensity. Observation years are mixed across indicators.
Coverage and context
Read row years and coverage notes; missing observations are not zero.
The table is a comparison of observations, not a combined ranking. The topic guide includes the wider SEA-11 coverage, interactive charts and full methodology.
Open agriculture & food →All sources and observation years
S1 · World Bank WDI SL.AGR.EMPL.ZS (modeled ILO estimate) · year 2025 · as_of 2026-09-06
S2 · World Bank WDI AG.YLD.CREL.KG (FAO) · year 2023 · as_of 2026-09-06
S3 · World Bank WDI SN.ITK.MSFI.ZS (FAO FIES) · year unavailable · as_of 2026-09-06
S4 · World Bank WDI SN.ITK.DEFC.ZS (FAO) · year unavailable · as_of 2026-09-06
S5 · World Bank WDI NV.AGR.TOTL.ZS (FAO/national accounts via WDI) · year 2025 · as_of 2026-09-06
S6 · World Bank WDI SL.AGR.EMPL.ZS (modeled ILO estimate) · year 2025 · as_of 2026-09-06
S7 · World Bank WDI AG.YLD.CREL.KG (FAO) · year 2023 · as_of 2026-09-06
S8 · World Bank WDI SN.ITK.MSFI.ZS (FAO FIES) · year 2023 · as_of 2026-09-06
S9 · World Bank WDI SN.ITK.DEFC.ZS (FAO) · year 2023 · as_of 2026-09-06
S10 · World Bank WDI NV.AGR.TOTL.ZS (FAO/national accounts via WDI) · year 2025 · as_of 2026-09-06
S11 · World Bank WDI SL.AGR.EMPL.ZS (modeled ILO estimate) · year 2025 · as_of 2026-09-06
S12 · World Bank WDI AG.YLD.CREL.KG (FAO) · year 2023 · as_of 2026-09-06
S13 · World Bank WDI SN.ITK.MSFI.ZS (FAO FIES) · year 2023 · as_of 2026-09-06
S14 · World Bank WDI SN.ITK.DEFC.ZS (FAO) · year 2023 · as_of 2026-09-06
S15 · World Bank WDI NV.AGR.TOTL.ZS (FAO/national accounts via WDI) · year 2025 · as_of 2026-09-06
S16 · World Bank WDI SL.AGR.EMPL.ZS (modeled ILO estimate) · year 2025 · as_of 2026-09-06
S17 · World Bank WDI AG.YLD.CREL.KG (FAO) · year 2024 · as_of 2026-09-06
S18 · World Bank WDI SN.ITK.MSFI.ZS (FAO FIES) · year 2023 · as_of 2026-09-06
S19 · World Bank WDI SN.ITK.DEFC.ZS (FAO) · year unavailable · as_of 2026-09-06
S20 · World Bank WDI NV.AGR.TOTL.ZS (FAO/national accounts via WDI) · year 2025 · as_of 2026-09-06
S21 · World Bank WDI SL.AGR.EMPL.ZS (modeled ILO estimate) · year 2025 · as_of 2026-09-06
S22 · World Bank WDI AG.YLD.CREL.KG (FAO) · year 2023 · as_of 2026-09-06
S23 · World Bank WDI SN.ITK.MSFI.ZS (FAO FIES) · year 2023 · as_of 2026-09-06
S24 · World Bank WDI SN.ITK.DEFC.ZS (FAO) · year 2023 · as_of 2026-09-06
S25 · World Bank WDI NV.AGR.TOTL.ZS (FAO/national accounts via WDI) · year 2025 · as_of 2026-09-06
S26 · World Bank WDI SL.AGR.EMPL.ZS (modeled ILO estimate) · year 2025 · as_of 2026-09-06
S27 · World Bank WDI AG.YLD.CREL.KG (FAO) · year 2024 · as_of 2026-09-06
S28 · World Bank WDI SN.ITK.MSFI.ZS (FAO FIES) · year 2023 · as_of 2026-09-06
S29 · World Bank WDI SN.ITK.DEFC.ZS (FAO) · year 2023 · as_of 2026-09-06
S30 · World Bank WDI NV.AGR.TOTL.ZS (FAO/national accounts via WDI) · year 2025 · as_of 2026-09-06
S31 · World Bank WDI SL.AGR.EMPL.ZS (modeled ILO estimate) · year 2025 · as_of 2026-09-06
S32 · World Bank WDI AG.YLD.CREL.KG (FAO) · year 2023 · as_of 2026-09-06
S33 · World Bank WDI SN.ITK.MSFI.ZS (FAO FIES) · year 2023 · as_of 2026-09-06
S34 · World Bank WDI SN.ITK.DEFC.ZS (FAO) · year 2023 · as_of 2026-09-06
S35 · World Bank WDI NV.AGR.TOTL.ZS (FAO/national accounts via WDI) · year 2025 · as_of 2026-09-06
S36 · World Bank WDI SL.AGR.EMPL.ZS (modeled ILO estimate) · year 2025 · as_of 2026-09-06
S37 · World Bank WDI AG.YLD.CREL.KG (FAO) · year unavailable · as_of 2026-09-06
S38 · World Bank WDI SN.ITK.MSFI.ZS (FAO FIES) · year 2023 · as_of 2026-09-06
S39 · World Bank WDI SN.ITK.DEFC.ZS (FAO) · year unavailable · as_of 2026-09-06
S40 · World Bank WDI NV.AGR.TOTL.ZS (FAO/national accounts via WDI) · year 2025 · as_of 2026-09-06
S41 · World Bank WDI SL.AGR.EMPL.ZS (modeled ILO estimate) · year 2025 · as_of 2026-09-06
S42 · World Bank WDI AG.YLD.CREL.KG (FAO) · year 2023 · as_of 2026-09-06
S43 · World Bank WDI SN.ITK.MSFI.ZS (FAO FIES) · year 2023 · as_of 2026-09-06
S44 · World Bank WDI SN.ITK.DEFC.ZS (FAO) · year 2023 · as_of 2026-09-06
S45 · World Bank WDI NV.AGR.TOTL.ZS (FAO/national accounts via WDI) · year 2025 · as_of 2026-09-06
S46 · World Bank WDI SL.AGR.EMPL.ZS (modeled ILO estimate) · year 2025 · as_of 2026-09-06
S47 · World Bank WDI AG.YLD.CREL.KG (FAO) · year 2023 · as_of 2026-09-06
S48 · World Bank WDI SN.ITK.MSFI.ZS (FAO FIES) · year 2023 · as_of 2026-09-06
S49 · World Bank WDI SN.ITK.DEFC.ZS (FAO) · year 2023 · as_of 2026-09-06
S50 · World Bank WDI NV.AGR.TOTL.ZS (FAO/national accounts via WDI) · year 2025 · as_of 2026-09-06
S51 · World Bank WDI SL.AGR.EMPL.ZS (modeled ILO estimate) · year 2025 · as_of 2026-09-06
S52 · World Bank WDI AG.YLD.CREL.KG (FAO) · year 2023 · as_of 2026-09-06
S53 · World Bank WDI SN.ITK.MSFI.ZS (FAO FIES) · year 2021 · as_of 2026-09-06
S54 · World Bank WDI SN.ITK.DEFC.ZS (FAO) · year 2023 · as_of 2026-09-06
S55 · World Bank WDI NV.AGR.TOTL.ZS (FAO/national accounts via WDI) · year 2024 · as_of 2026-09-06
Cite this page
ASEAN in Data (2026). Agriculture is still about a fifth of Philippine jobs and under a tenth of GDP — while FAO undernourishment looks low at 3%, but moderate-or-severe food insecurity sits near a third of people. /insights/agriculture-food