EU countries by activity rate

Name: EU countries by activity rate, 2016
Creator: Eurostat, European Commission
License: Eurostat reuse policy (commercial and non-commercial reuse, attribution required)

The Netherlands had the highest activity rate of 27 EU countries in 2016, at 82.2%. Romania had the lowest, at 60.2%. The median was 72.7% and the figure for the European Union (27) was 71.9%. Source: Eurostat, European Commission.

Highest82.2Netherlands

Lowest60.2Romania

Median72.727 EU countries

European Union (27)71.9History

All EU countries, 2016

CSV Chart (SVG)

%. Source: Eurostat. Retrieved 2026-10-08.

Full ranking

Rank	EU countries	2016 (%)	Change on 2015
1	Netherlands	82.2	+0.1 pts
2	Sweden	81.8	+0.3 pts
3	Estonia	77.9	+0.9 pts
4	Denmark Series break	77.5	+0.6 pts
5	Germany	76.8	+0.3 pts
6	Austria	76.6	+0.8 pts
7	Latvia	76.2	+0.5 pts
8	Lithuania	75.5	+1.4 pts
9	Czechia	75	+1 pts
9	Finland	75	+0.2 pts
11	Spain	74.2	-0.1 pts
12	Slovakia	73.9	+1 pts
13	Cyprus	73.4	-0.5 pts
14	Portugal	72.7	+0.5 pts
15	Ireland	72.6	+0.6 pts
16	France	72.2	+0.1 pts
17	Hungary	72.1	+1.6 pts
18	Slovenia	71.1	-0.1 pts
19	Malta	70.6	+1.8 pts
20	Luxembourg	70	-0.9 pts
21	Bulgaria	68.6	-0.6 pts
22	Greece	68.2	+0.5 pts
23	Poland	67.8	+1 pts
24	Belgium	67.7	0 pts
25	Croatia	65.5	-1.4 pts
26	Italy	64.8	+1 pts
27	Romania	60.2	+0.3 pts

Other periods

About this ranking

Labour force (employed plus unemployed) as a percentage of the population aged 16 and over (Spain, EPA) or 15 to 64 (EU).

Every value in the ranking comes from the same publisher and the same period, so the EU countries are compared on one definition. Equal values share a rank.

How to cite

Eurostat. Employment and activity by sex and age, annual data, activity rate 15 to 64 (lfsi_emp_a). https://ec.europa.eu/eurostat/databrowser/view/lfsi_emp_a/default/table. Retrieved 2026-10-08.

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Questions

Which EU country has the highest activity rate?

The Netherlands, with 82.2% in 2016, according to Eurostat, European Commission.

Which EU country has the lowest activity rate?

Romania, with 60.2% in 2016.

Where does this ranking come from?

Every value comes from one source and one period, so the places are comparable: Eurostat, European Commission, Employment and activity by sex and age, annual data, activity rate 15 to 64 (lfsi_emp_a). Retrieved 2026-10-08.