For readers interested specifically in agriculture and food production, here are some useful resources.

According to World Bank data, 45 percent of the world’s population is rural.  This is higher in low income countries (68%) and less in high income countries (18%). In terms of the percentage of gross domestic product (GDP) derived from Agriculture, forestry, and fishing (value added), the average world-wide is 3.6 percent: an average of 1.3 percent in high income countries and 25.1 percent in low income countries. These two World Bank links are particularly useful, allowing you to download the data tables but also see the data depicted on a map of the world.

As countries have industrialised, the proportion of people employed in agriculture has fallen. Another useful link is to Max Roser’s Our world in data data and analysis, which provides graphical representations of data for people employed in agriculture including women in agriculture, as well as agricultural productivity. Roser notes that “[t]he importance of the agricultural sector declines as the economy grows”.

You can compare this data with self-reported happiness and life-satisfaction data, compiled by Esteban Ortiz-Ospina and Max Roser.

Do you have other great online data links which would be of interest to people studying rural crime and scoeity? Send them to us to share!