EU countries by activity rate

Name: EU countries by activity rate, 2018
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 2018, at 82.7%. Romania had the lowest, at 62.4%. The median was 74.4% and the figure for the European Union (27) was 72.8%. Source: Eurostat, European Commission.

Highest82.7Netherlands

Lowest62.4Romania

Median74.427 EU countries

European Union (27)72.8History

All EU countries, 2018

CSV Chart (SVG)

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

Full ranking

Rank	EU countries	2018 (%)	Change on 2017
1	Netherlands	82.7	+0.5 pts
2	Sweden	82.5	+0.3 pts
3	Estonia	79.3	+0.1 pts
4	Denmark	78.2	+0.3 pts
5	Germany	77.6	+0.4 pts
5	Latvia	77.6	+0.7 pts
7	Lithuania	77.3	+1.4 pts
8	Austria	77.1	+0.3 pts
9	Finland	77	+1.2 pts
10	Czechia	76.6	+0.7 pts
11	Cyprus	75	+1.1 pts
12	Portugal	74.4	+0.6 pts
12	Slovakia	74.4	+0.3 pts
12	Slovenia	74.4	+0.8 pts
15	Hungary Series break	74.2	+1.1 pts
16	Malta	74.1	+1.9 pts
17	Spain	73.7	-0.2 pts
18	Ireland	72.8	+0.2 pts
19	France	72.6	+0.3 pts
20	Bulgaria	71.4	+0.2 pts
21	Luxembourg	71.1	+0.9 pts
22	Poland	69.4	+0.7 pts
23	Belgium	68.6	+0.6 pts
24	Greece	68.1	-0.1 pts
25	Croatia	66.1	-0.1 pts
26	Italy Series break	65.6	+0.3 pts
27	Romania	62.4	+0.6 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 82.7% in 2018, according to Eurostat, European Commission.

Which EU country has the lowest activity rate?

Romania, with 62.4% in 2018.

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.