Countries by employment-population ratio, ages 15 and over

Qatar had the highest employment-population ratio, ages 15 and over of 186 countries in 2016, at 87.3%. São Tomé and Príncipe had the lowest, at 21.6%. The median was 56.9% and the figure for the World was 57.8%. Source: the World Bank.

Highest87.3Qatar

Lowest21.6São Tomé and Príncipe

Median56.9186 countries

World57.8History

Top 40 countries, 2016

%. Source: World Bank (modelled estimate), Employment to population ratio, 15+, total, %, modeled ILO estimate (SL.EMP.TOTL.SP.ZS). Retrieved 2026-10-11.

Full ranking

Rank	Countries	2016 (%)	Change on 2015
1	Qatar	87.3	+0.2 pts
2	Madagascar	84.2	-0.3 pts
3	Solomon Islands	83.7	-0.1 pts
4	Tanzania	82.3	0 pts
5	Cambodia	81.1	+1.9 pts
6	North Korea	79.1	-0.1 pts
7	Burundi	78.8	+0.5 pts
8	Nigeria	77.2	-0.2 pts
9	United Arab Emirates	77.2	+0.6 pts
10	Mozambique	76.1	-0.2 pts
11	Vietnam	75.5	-0.5 pts
12	Iceland	75.1	+1.5 pts
13	Burkina Faso	74.8	-0.3 pts
14	Liberia	74.6	-0.4 pts
15	Eritrea	74.5	-0.1 pts
16	Ethiopia	74.4	-1.7 pts
17	Niger	72.7	-0.2 pts
18	Benin	72.6	+0.4 pts
19	Peru	72.6	-0.9 pts
20	Kenya	72.4	+0.1 pts
21	Uganda	71.6	-2 pts
22	Kuwait	71.1	+0.4 pts
23	Bahrain	71.1	+0.6 pts
24	Central African Republic	69.2	-0 pts
25	Mali	68.9	-0.7 pts
26	Moldova	68.8	-0.2 pts
27	Macao	68.7	-0.8 pts
28	Oman	68	+0.9 pts
29	Thailand	67.8	-1 pts
30	Cameroon	67.7	-0.9 pts
31	Kazakhstan	66.8	-0.1 pts
32	Singapore	66.4	-0.5 pts
33	Paraguay	66.3	+1.5 pts
34	New Zealand	66	+1.3 pts
35	China	65.7	-0.3 pts
36	Côte d’Ivoire	65.6	+0.3 pts
37	Switzerland	65.3	+0.3 pts
38	Bolivia	65	-0.4 pts
39	Bahamas	64.6	-0.4 pts
40	Ecuador	64.6	+1.3 pts
41	Ghana	64.5	-0.1 pts
42	South Sudan	64.5	-0.2 pts
43	Timor-Leste	63.7	-0.7 pts
44	Indonesia	63.5	-0.1 pts
45	Angola	63.3	-0.3 pts
46	Norway	63.1	-0.6 pts
47	Panama	63.1	+0.3 pts
48	Malaysia	62.9	-0.3 pts
49	Myanmar	62.7	-1.5 pts
50	Nicaragua	62.7	+0.6 pts
51	Israel	62.5	+0.4 pts
52	Netherlands	62.3	+0.4 pts
53	Zimbabwe	62.2	-0.4 pts
54	Democratic Republic of the Congo	62.1	-0.3 pts
55	Malawi	62	-1.7 pts
56	Azerbaijan	61.4	+1 pts
57	Bhutan	61.3	-0.3 pts
58	Australia	61.2	+0.1 pts
59	Guinea-Bissau	61.1	-0.1 pts
60	Canada	61	-0.3 pts
61	Belarus	60.6	+0.1 pts
62	Barbados	60.6	+1.6 pts
63	Colombia	60.5	-0.8 pts
64	Chad	60.4	-0.6 pts
65	South Korea	60.3	-0 pts
66	Trinidad and Tobago	60.1	-1.5 pts
67	Philippines	59.9	+0.4 pts
68	Brunei	59.8	-0.8 pts
69	Belize	59.8	+0.7 pts
70	Sweden	59.6	+0.4 pts
71	Uruguay	59.5	-0.5 pts
72	United States	59.4	+0.4 pts
73	Russia	59.4	+0.2 pts
74	United Kingdom	59.3	+0.6 pts
75	Jamaica	59.3	-0.4 pts
76	Guatemala	59.1	0 pts
77	Honduras	59.1	-1.1 pts
78	Guam	59	+0.9 pts
79	Hong Kong	58.3	-0.1 pts
80	Estonia	58.3	+0.5 pts
81	Laos	58.3	-0.5 pts
82	Japan	58.1	+0.6 pts
83	Mexico	58.1	+0.2 pts
84	Denmark	58	+0.5 pts
85	Chile	58	-0.1 pts
86	Germany	57.9	+0.5 pts
87	Venezuela	57.9	0 pts
88	Dominican Republic	57.9	+0.6 pts
89	Czechia	57.5	+1.1 pts
90	Vanuatu	57.4	-0.6 pts
91	Saudi Arabia	57.3	+0.9 pts
92	Austria	57	+0.3 pts
93	Ireland	56.9	+1.3 pts
94	Brazil	56.8	-1.9 pts
95	Haiti	56.7	-0.1 pts
96	Kyrgyzstan	56.7	-0.4 pts
97	El Salvador	56.6	+0.3 pts
98	Equatorial Guinea	56.4	+0.2 pts
99	Togo	56.4	-0.5 pts
100	Zambia	55.6	+0.3 pts
101	Mauritius	55.6	-0.3 pts
102	Lithuania	55.6	+1.8 pts
103	Saint Lucia	55.5	+0.7 pts
104	Cyprus	55.5	+1 pts
105	Luxembourg	55.2	-0.6 pts
106	Fiji	55.1	-0.6 pts
107	Georgia	55.1	-0.2 pts
108	Costa Rica	54.9	-2.7 pts
109	Latvia	54.5	+0.4 pts
110	Cuba	54.5	+0.3 pts
111	Hungary	54.4	+2 pts
112	Republic of the Congo	54.3	-0.2 pts
113	Saint Vincent and the Grenadines	54.3	+0.2 pts
114	Argentina	54.2	-0.5 pts
115	Slovakia	54.2	+1.4 pts
116	Mongolia	54.2	-2.6 pts
117	Malta	53.9	+1.3 pts
118	Poland	53.8	+1 pts
119	New Caledonia	53.7	-0.5 pts
120	Bangladesh	53.7	-0.3 pts
121	Maldives	53.6	+1.1 pts
122	Tonga	53.6	-0.4 pts
123	Uzbekistan	53.5	+0.1 pts
124	Rwanda	53.4	-0 pts
125	Finland	53.4	+0.1 pts
126	Sierra Leone	53.1	-0.6 pts
127	Slovenia	52.3	-0.1 pts
128	Guinea	52.2	-0.6 pts
129	Cape Verde	52	-0.1 pts
130	Portugal	52	+0.7 pts
131	Suriname	51.7	+0.1 pts
132	Lesotho	51.6	-1 pts
133	U.S. Virgin Islands	51.5	-0.3 pts
134	Sri Lanka	51.4	+0.2 pts
135	Ukraine	51	-0.1 pts
136	Armenia	50.8	+0.5 pts
137	Pakistan	50.5	+0.3 pts
138	Botswana	50.4	-0 pts
139	France	49.8	-0 pts
140	Samoa	49.6	-0.3 pts
141	French Polynesia	49.3	-0 pts
142	Bulgaria	49.3	0 pts
143	Belgium	49	+0.2 pts
144	Papua New Guinea	48.8	+0.3 pts
145	India	48.8	-0.2 pts
146	Albania	48.5	+2.5 pts
147	Guyana	48.3	-0.2 pts
148	Romania	47.9	+0.2 pts
149	Senegal	47.9	+5.5 pts
150	Spain	46.9	+1.2 pts
151	Namibia	46.3	-1.7 pts
152	Türkiye	46.3	+0.3 pts
153	Comoros	45.7	+1.5 pts
154	Serbia	44.9	+2.7 pts
155	Gambia	44.8	+0.4 pts
156	Croatia	44.5	+0.4 pts
157	Italy	43.4	+0.6 pts
158	Montenegro	43.4	+0.2 pts
159	Lebanon	42.9	+0.2 pts
160	Afghanistan	42.5	-0.4 pts
161	Morocco	42.2	-0.8 pts
162	Turkmenistan	41.6	-0.2 pts
163	Egypt	40.8	-0 pts
164	Gabon	40.6	+0.1 pts
165	North Macedonia	40.4	+0.7 pts
166	Tunisia	40.3	0 pts
167	South Africa	40.2	-0.7 pts
168	Libya	39.7	0 pts
169	Eswatini	39.5	+0.3 pts
170	Greece	39.1	+0.7 pts
171	Iraq	38.5	+0.1 pts
172	Algeria	38	+0.3 pts
173	Iran	37.7	+0.5 pts
174	Sudan	37.6	-0.6 pts
175	Mauritania	37.3	-0.5 pts
176	Bosnia and Herzegovina	37	+1 pts
177	Tajikistan	36.9	-0.4 pts
178	Nepal	35.8	-0.1 pts
179	Puerto Rico	33.7	+0.2 pts
180	Palestine	33.3	-0.6 pts
181	Jordan	33	+0.3 pts
182	Syria	32.5	+0.2 pts
183	Somalia	27.8	-0.1 pts
184	Yemen	26.3	0 pts
185	Djibouti	24	-0.1 pts
186	São Tomé and Príncipe	21.6	+0.2 pts

Other periods

About this ranking

Employed people as a percentage of the population aged 15 and over. ILO modelled estimates published by the World Bank, annual.

A separate series from employment_population_ratio, which is the US civilian series for ages 16 and over from the Current Population Survey. This one covers ages 15 and over for countries and the World.

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

How to cite

World Bank, World Development Indicators, modelled estimate. Employment to population ratio, 15+, total, %, modeled ILO estimate (SL.EMP.TOTL.SP.ZS). https://data.worldbank.org/indicator/SL.EMP.TOTL.SP.ZS. Retrieved 2026-10-11.

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Rank Countries by employment-population ratio, ages 15 and over using official data, and cite the source.

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Questions

Which country has the highest employment-population ratio, ages 15 and over?

Qatar, with 87.3% in 2016, according to the World Bank.

Which country has the lowest employment-population ratio, ages 15 and over?

São Tomé and Príncipe, with 21.6% in 2016.

Where does this ranking come from?

Every value comes from one source and one period, so the places are comparable: World Bank, Employment to population ratio, 15+, total, %, modeled ILO estimate (SL.EMP.TOTL.SP.ZS). Retrieved 2026-10-11.

Employment-population ratio, ages 15 and over: other rankings

EU countries