Employment to population ratio, 15+, male (%) (modeled ILO estimate) - Country Ranking

Definition: Employment to population ratio is the proportion of a country's population that is employed. Employment is defined as persons of working age who, during a short reference period, were engaged in any activity to produce goods or provide services for pay or profit, whether at work during the reference period (i.e. who worked in a job for at least one hour) or not at work due to temporary absence from a job, or to working-time arrangements. Ages 15 and older are generally considered the working-age population.

Source: International Labour Organization, ILOSTAT database. Data retrieved in September 2019.

See also: Thematic map, Time series comparison

Find indicator:
Rank Country Value Year
1 Qatar 95.27 2021
2 Solomon Islands 86.54 2021
3 United Arab Emirates 85.91 2021
4 Cambodia 85.48 2021
5 Madagascar 85.40 2021
6 Tanzania 85.36 2021
7 Zimbabwe 84.81 2021
8 Dem. People's Rep. Korea 83.99 2021
9 Oman 83.59 2021
10 Niger 83.58 2021
11 Bahrain 82.72 2021
12 Ethiopia 82.30 2021
13 Kuwait 82.12 2021
14 Rwanda 81.04 2021
15 Paraguay 79.27 2021
16 Peru 78.54 2021
17 Bolivia 78.16 2021
18 Cameroon 78.06 2021
19 Indonesia 77.82 2021
19 Guatemala 77.82 2021
21 Eritrea 77.69 2021
22 Vietnam 77.66 2021
23 Saudi Arabia 77.17 2021
24 Lao PDR 77.08 2021
25 Nepal 76.57 2021
26 Nicaragua 76.56 2021
27 Vanuatu 76.18 2021
28 Mozambique 76.10 2021
29 Liberia 75.94 2021
30 Malawi 75.77 2021
31 Burundi 75.69 2021
32 Bangladesh 75.57 2021
33 Central African Republic 74.90 2021
34 Pakistan 74.84 2021
35 Singapore 74.23 2021
36 Mali 74.19 2021
37 Malaysia 74.10 2021
38 Thailand 73.96 2021
39 Guinea-Bissau 73.72 2021
40 Honduras 73.69 2021
41 Angola 72.78 2021
42 Ecuador 72.34 2021
43 Belize 72.25 2021
44 Kazakhstan 72.22 2021
45 New Zealand 72.21 2021
46 Mexico 72.03 2021
47 Fiji 71.85 2021
48 Benin 71.66 2021
49 Kenya 71.48 2021
50 Dominican Republic 70.84 2021
51 China 70.38 2021
52 Macao SAR, China 70.01 2021
53 Korea 69.90 2021
54 Uganda 69.73 2021
55 Timor-Leste 69.58 2021
56 Burkina Faso 69.28 2021
57 Switzerland 69.03 2021
58 Colombia 69.02 2021
59 Ghana 69.00 2021
60 Japan 68.90 2021
61 Malta 68.69 2021
62 Myanmar 68.58 2021
63 Netherlands 68.50 2021
64 El Salvador 68.47 2021
65 Chad 68.39 2021
66 Zambia 68.28 2021
67 Norway 68.26 2021
68 Brunei 67.59 2021
69 Belarus 67.34 2021
70 Iceland 67.21 2021
71 Mauritius 66.99 2021
72 Philippines 66.78 2021
73 Australia 66.75 2021
74 Cuba 66.66 2021
75 Czech Republic 66.51 2021
76 Kyrgyz Republic 66.28 2021
77 Russia 66.24 2021
78 Sri Lanka 65.84 2021
79 Uzbekistan 65.78 2021
80 Panama 65.71 2021
81 India 65.64 2021
82 Estonia 65.55 2021
83 Syrian Arab Republic 65.31 2021
84 Cyprus 65.08 2021
85 Argentina 65.08 2021
86 Bhutan 65.05 2021
87 Dem. Rep. Congo 64.89 2021
88 Trinidad and Tobago 64.73 2021
89 Jamaica 64.70 2021
90 Hungary 64.57 2021
91 Canada 64.38 2021
92 Ireland 64.03 2021
93 United Kingdom 63.92 2021
94 Venezuela 63.89 2021
95 Azerbaijan 63.64 2021
96 Iraq 63.63 2021
97 Denmark 63.54 2021
98 Germany 63.49 2021
99 Uruguay 63.34 2021
100 Poland 63.33 2021
101 Egypt 63.13 2021
102 Côte d'Ivoire 62.95 2021
103 United States 62.69 2021
104 Israel 62.68 2021
105 Luxembourg 62.43 2021
106 Sweden 62.25 2021
107 Lithuania 62.20 2021
108 The Bahamas 62.17 2021
109 St. Lucia 62.15 2021
110 Slovak Republic 62.11 2021
111 Austria 62.08 2021
112 Mongolia 61.71 2021
113 Hong Kong SAR, China 61.68 2021
114 Costa Rica 61.42 2021
115 São Tomé and Principe 61.40 2021
116 Iran 61.35 2021
117 Latvia 61.27 2021
118 Turkey 60.86 2021
119 The Gambia 60.67 2021
120 Suriname 60.21 2021
121 Georgia 60.19 2021
122 Haiti 60.17 2021
123 Brazil 60.12 2021
124 Slovenia 60.01 2021
125 Chile 59.70 2021
126 Romania 59.53 2021
127 Yemen 59.22 2021
128 Bulgaria 59.18 2021
129 Finland 58.89 2021
130 Morocco 58.86 2021
131 Afghanistan 58.50 2021
132 Albania 58.39 2021
133 Guinea 58.35 2021
134 Portugal 58.26 2021
135 Tunisia 57.95 2021
136 Sudan 57.90 2021
137 Ukraine 57.80 2021
138 New Caledonia 57.76 2021
139 Algeria 57.75 2021
140 St. Vincent and the Grenadines 57.75 2021
141 Togo 56.49 2021
142 Barbados 56.41 2021
143 Lebanon 55.88 2021
144 Mauritania 55.49 2021
145 Serbia 55.43 2021
146 Belgium 55.10 2021
147 France 54.84 2021
148 Guyana 54.82 2021
149 Senegal 54.72 2021
150 Spain 54.35 2021
151 Lesotho 53.89 2021
152 Croatia 53.61 2021
153 Equatorial Guinea 53.56 2021
154 Tonga 53.36 2021
155 Nigeria 53.30 2021
156 North Macedonia 53.28 2021
157 Congo 53.17 2021
158 Sierra Leone 52.56 2021
159 Italy 52.54 2021
160 Turkmenistan 52.12 2021
161 Cabo Verde 52.00 2021
162 Libya 51.49 2021
163 Jordan 51.38 2021
164 Greece 51.36 2021
165 Montenegro 50.96 2021
166 Armenia 50.56 2021
167 Comoros 50.23 2021
168 Botswana 49.73 2021
169 Samoa 49.40 2021
170 Namibia 48.07 2021
171 Gabon 47.40 2021
172 Papua New Guinea 46.37 2021
173 Tajikistan 46.19 2021
174 Bosnia and Herzegovina 45.24 2021
175 Puerto Rico 44.98 2021
176 Moldova 42.11 2021
177 Eswatini 40.88 2021
178 South Africa 40.82 2021
179 Somalia 38.94 2021
180 Djibouti 33.31 2021

More rankings: Africa | Asia | Central America & the Caribbean | Europe | Middle East | North America | Oceania | South America | World |

Development Relevance: Four targets were added to the UN Millennium Declaration at the 2005 World Summit High-Level Plenary Meeting of the 60th Session of the UN General Assembly. One was full and productive employment and decent work for all, which is seen as the main route for people to escape poverty. Employment to population ratio is a key measure to monitor whether a country is on track to achieve the Millennium Development Goal of eradicating extreme poverty and hunger by 2015. And it continues to be a priority in the Sustainable Development Goal of promoting sustained, inclusive and sustainable economic growth, full and productive employment and decent work for all.

Limitations and Exceptions: Data on employment by status are drawn from labor force surveys and household surveys, supplemented by official estimates and censuses for a small group of countries. The labor force survey is the most comprehensive source for internationally comparable employment, but there are still some limitations for comparing data across countries and over time even within a country. Comparability of employment ratios across countries is affected by variations in definitions of employment and population. The biggest difference results from the age range used to define labor force activity. The population base for employment ratios can also vary. Most countries use the resident, non-institutionalized population of working age living in private households, which excludes members of the armed forces and individuals residing in mental, penal, or other types of institutions. But some countries include members of the armed forces in the population base of their employment ratio while excluding them from employment data. The reference period of a census or survey is another important source of differences: in some countries data refer to people's status on the day of the census or survey or during a specific period before the inquiry date, while in others data are recorded without reference to any period. Employment ratios tend to vary during the year as seasonal workers enter and leave. This indicator also has a gender bias because women who do not consider their work employment or who are not perceived as working tend to be undercounted. This bias has different effects across countries and reflects demographic, social, legal, and cultural trends and norms.

Statistical Concept and Methodology: The employment to population ratio indicates how efficiently an economy provides jobs for people who want to work. A high ratio means that a large proportion of the population is employed. But a lower employment to population ratio can be seen as a positive sign, especially for young people, if it is caused by an increase in their education. The series is part of the ILO estimates and is harmonized to ensure comparability across countries and over time by accounting for differences in data source, scope of coverage, methodology, and other country-specific factors. The estimates are based mainly on nationally representative labor force surveys, with other sources (population censuses and nationally reported estimates) used only when no survey data are available.

Aggregation method: Weighted average

Periodicity: Annual

General Comments: National estimates are also available in the WDI database. Caution should be used when comparing ILO estimates with national estimates.