EU countries by activity rate

Name: EU countries by activity rate, 2017
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 2017, at 82.2%. Romania had the lowest, at 61.8%. The median was 73.8% and the figure for the European Union (27) was 72.4%. Source: Eurostat, European Commission.

Highest82.2Netherlands

Lowest61.8Romania

Median73.827 EU countries

European Union (27)72.4History

All EU countries, 2017

CSV Chart (SVG)

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

Full ranking

Rank	EU countries	2017 (%)	Change on 2016
1	Netherlands	82.2	0 pts
1	Sweden	82.2	+0.4 pts
3	Estonia	79.2	+1.3 pts
4	Denmark Series break	77.9	+0.4 pts
5	Germany	77.2	+0.4 pts
6	Latvia	76.9	+0.7 pts
7	Austria	76.8	+0.2 pts
8	Czechia	75.9	+0.9 pts
8	Lithuania	75.9	+0.4 pts
10	Finland	75.8	+0.8 pts
11	Slovakia	74.1	+0.2 pts
12	Cyprus	73.9	+0.5 pts
12	Spain	73.9	-0.3 pts
14	Portugal	73.8	+1.1 pts
15	Slovenia	73.6	+2.5 pts
16	Hungary	73.1	+1 pts
17	Ireland	72.6	0 pts
18	France	72.3	+0.1 pts
19	Malta	72.2	+1.6 pts
20	Bulgaria	71.2	+2.6 pts
21	Luxembourg	70.2	+0.2 pts
22	Poland	68.7	+0.9 pts
23	Greece	68.2	0 pts
24	Belgium Series break	68	+0.3 pts
25	Croatia	66.2	+0.7 pts
26	Italy	65.3	+0.5 pts
27	Romania	61.8	+1.6 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 2017, according to Eurostat, European Commission.

Which EU country has the lowest activity rate?

Romania, with 61.8% in 2017.

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.