Countries by employment-population ratio, ages 15 and over

Qatar had the highest employment-population ratio, ages 15 and over of 186 countries in 2020, at 87%. São Tomé and Príncipe had the lowest, at 20.9%. The median was 55.8% and the figure for the World was 55.7%. Source: the World Bank.

Highest87Qatar

Lowest20.9São Tomé and Príncipe

Median55.8186 countries

World55.7History

Top 40 countries, 2020

%. 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	2020 (%)	Change on 2019
1	Qatar	87	-0.4 pts
2	Solomon Islands	82.8	-0.9 pts
3	Cambodia	82.1	-0.2 pts
4	Madagascar	81.8	-1.4 pts
5	Tanzania	81.4	-1 pts
6	Burundi	77.7	-1.2 pts
7	North Korea	77.7	-1.7 pts
8	United Arab Emirates	75.4	-2.2 pts
9	Uganda	75	+0.1 pts
10	Nigeria	74.8	-2 pts
11	Mozambique	74.2	-1.2 pts
12	Niger	73.7	+1.7 pts
13	Benin	73.6	-0.5 pts
14	Liberia	73	-1.5 pts
15	Vietnam	72.8	-2.5 pts
16	Eritrea	72.6	-1.3 pts
17	Burkina Faso	71.7	-2.4 pts
18	Iceland	69.5	-3.5 pts
19	Moldova	68.8	+0.5 pts
20	Bahrain	68	-2.5 pts
21	Central African Republic	68	-1.1 pts
22	Macao	66.9	-1.7 pts
23	Kuwait	66.8	-4.9 pts
24	New Zealand	66.7	-0.6 pts
25	Ethiopia	66.6	-2.9 pts
26	Bolivia	66.6	-4.9 pts
27	Thailand	66.3	-0.2 pts
28	Singapore	65.9	-1 pts
29	Kazakhstan	65.8	-0.9 pts
30	Paraguay	64.8	-2.8 pts
31	Switzerland	64.7	-0.6 pts
32	Indonesia	64.5	-1.3 pts
33	Bhutan	64.4	-0.1 pts
34	Malawi	64.4	+4.2 pts
35	Timor-Leste	64.1	-0.3 pts
36	Oman	64	-4.3 pts
37	Netherlands	64	-0.5 pts
38	Peru	64	-10.8 pts
39	Mali	63.6	-1.6 pts
40	Cameroon	63.4	-1.6 pts
41	Kenya	63.3	-1.1 pts
42	Côte d’Ivoire	63.2	+0.1 pts
43	South Sudan	62.8	-1.8 pts
44	Norway	62.8	-0.7 pts
45	Malaysia	62.5	-1.2 pts
46	China	62.4	-1.9 pts
47	Azerbaijan	62.4	+0.4 pts
48	Belarus	61.4	-0.1 pts
49	Laos	61.4	+0.8 pts
50	Angola	61.1	-1.6 pts
51	Australia	60.9	-1.8 pts
52	Israel	60.8	-1.8 pts
53	Guinea-Bissau	60.7	0 pts
54	Cyprus	60.6	-0.7 pts
55	Jamaica	60.6	-3 pts
56	Nicaragua	60.4	-1.1 pts
57	Japan	60.2	-0.3 pts
58	Democratic Republic of the Congo	60	-1.3 pts
59	Bahamas	59.9	-7.6 pts
60	South Korea	59.8	-0.8 pts
61	United Kingdom	59.8	-0.6 pts
62	Ghana	59.7	-2.1 pts
63	Mongolia	59.4	-0.3 pts
64	Myanmar	59.3	-1 pts
65	Brunei	59.2	-1.3 pts
66	Zimbabwe	59.1	-1.9 pts
67	Sweden	58.8	-1.3 pts
68	Estonia	58.7	-1.7 pts
69	Denmark	58.6	-0.7 pts
70	Malta	58.5	+0.7 pts
71	Chad	58.4	-0.9 pts
72	Germany	58.1	-1.2 pts
73	Czechia	57.9	-1 pts
74	Russia	57.9	-1 pts
75	Canada	57.9	-4.2 pts
76	Ireland	57.7	-1.6 pts
77	Saudi Arabia	57.6	-0.1 pts
78	Lithuania	57.3	-0.8 pts
79	Austria	57.2	-0.9 pts
80	Zambia	57.2	+1 pts
81	Guatemala	57	-0.9 pts
82	Dominican Republic	56.7	-4.4 pts
83	Panama	56.7	-7.6 pts
84	United States	56.6	-3.9 pts
85	Latvia	56.6	-0.7 pts
86	Bangladesh	56.5	-0.3 pts
87	Barbados	56.4	-3 pts
88	Ecuador	56.4	-7.3 pts
89	Trinidad and Tobago	56.2	-2.4 pts
90	Togo	56.2	-0.7 pts
91	Luxembourg	56	-0.6 pts
92	Hungary	56	-0.5 pts
93	Georgia	56	+0.3 pts
94	Vanuatu	55.7	+0.3 pts
95	Poland	55.6	-0 pts
96	Hong Kong	55.6	-2.7 pts
97	Guam	55.5	-3.4 pts
98	Rwanda	55.2	+3.4 pts
99	Maldives	55.1	-5.6 pts
100	Haiti	55	-1.5 pts
101	Slovakia	54.9	-1.2 pts
102	Slovenia	54.9	-0.9 pts
103	Uruguay	54.7	-3.1 pts
104	Finland	54.3	-0.9 pts
105	Mexico	53.9	-5.1 pts
106	Kyrgyzstan	53.9	-1.8 pts
107	El Salvador	53.7	-3.7 pts
108	Portugal	53.6	-1.5 pts
109	Philippines	53.4	-4.8 pts
110	Colombia	53.3	-4.4 pts
111	Bulgaria	53.1	-1.2 pts
112	Honduras	53	-6.6 pts
113	Saint Vincent and the Grenadines	52.8	-1.7 pts
114	Uzbekistan	52.6	-1.3 pts
115	Albania	52.5	-0.9 pts
116	Brazil	52.2	-4.9 pts
117	Equatorial Guinea	52.1	-4.3 pts
118	Sierra Leone	51.4	-0.7 pts
119	Cuba	51.4	-3 pts
120	Fiji	51.3	-3.4 pts
121	Comoros	51.1	+0.8 pts
122	Tonga	51	-1.3 pts
123	Mauritius	50.9	-5.1 pts
124	Costa Rica	50.7	-6.7 pts
125	Republic of the Congo	50.5	-3.7 pts
126	Belgium	50.4	-0.6 pts
127	Chile	50.2	-8.1 pts
128	Armenia	50.1	+2.1 pts
129	France	49.9	-0.4 pts
130	Ukraine	49.9	-1.8 pts
131	New Caledonia	49.9	-1.5 pts
132	Argentina	49.6	-4.8 pts
133	Papua New Guinea	49.5	-0.3 pts
134	Romania	49.4	-0.6 pts
135	Guinea	49.2	-1 pts
136	Senegal	49	-0.3 pts
137	Belize	48.8	-14.6 pts
138	Serbia	48.6	+0.1 pts
139	Pakistan	48.5	-0.6 pts
140	Botswana	48.4	-2.3 pts
141	Suriname	47.9	-4 pts
142	Sri Lanka	47.8	-2 pts
143	Spain	47.6	-1.9 pts
144	India	47.5	-1.4 pts
145	French Polynesia	47.4	-1.6 pts
146	Croatia	47.2	-0.3 pts
147	Lesotho	46.6	-1.3 pts
148	Cape Verde	45.6	-4.9 pts
149	U.S. Virgin Islands	44.9	-1.2 pts
150	Gambia	44.9	-0.7 pts
151	Venezuela	44.6	-7.4 pts
152	Namibia	44.2	-3 pts
153	Samoa	44	-2.2 pts
154	Italy	43.8	-0.9 pts
155	North Macedonia	43.5	-0.3 pts
156	Guyana	43	-2.2 pts
157	Türkiye	42.8	-2.8 pts
158	Greece	42.1	-0.1 pts
159	Montenegro	41.4	-4.9 pts
160	Lebanon	41.2	-2.2 pts
161	Saint Lucia	40.2	-17.9 pts
162	Bosnia and Herzegovina	39.9	-1.2 pts
163	Turkmenistan	39.7	-1.3 pts
164	Morocco	39.6	-2.4 pts
165	Egypt	38.3	-0.6 pts
166	Gabon	37.7	-3.3 pts
167	Tunisia	37.5	-3.7 pts
168	Iran	37.4	-1.9 pts
169	Afghanistan	36.7	-2.2 pts
170	Libya	36.2	-3.6 pts
171	Mauritania	36.1	-0.7 pts
172	South Africa	35.8	-3.8 pts
173	Puerto Rico	35.8	+0.4 pts
174	Sudan	34.4	-1.2 pts
175	Nepal	34.3	-1.3 pts
176	Tajikistan	34	-0.5 pts
177	Iraq	34	-0.9 pts
178	Eswatini	33.2	-2.9 pts
179	Algeria	32.7	-4.3 pts
180	Jordan	32.3	-0.4 pts
181	Syria	30.5	-2.3 pts
182	Palestine	30.3	-2.7 pts
183	Somalia	27.2	-0.5 pts
184	Yemen	26.7	-0.4 pts
185	Djibouti	22.8	-0.7 pts
186	São Tomé and Príncipe	20.9	-0.7 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% in 2020, according to the World Bank.

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

São Tomé and Príncipe, with 20.9% in 2020.

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