Countries by employment-population ratio, ages 15 and over

Qatar had the highest employment-population ratio, ages 15 and over of 186 countries in 2021, at 86.2%. São Tomé and Príncipe had the lowest, at 21.1%. The median was 56.2% and the figure for the World was 56.7%. Source: the World Bank.

Highest86.2Qatar

Lowest21.1São Tomé and Príncipe

Median56.2186 countries

World56.7History

Top 40 countries, 2021

%. 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	2021 (%)	Change on 2020
1	Qatar	86.2	-0.7 pts
2	Solomon Islands	83.2	+0.4 pts
3	Tanzania	82.2	+0.8 pts
4	Madagascar	82.1	+0.3 pts
5	Cambodia	79.2	-2.9 pts
6	Burundi	78.2	+0.5 pts
7	North Korea	77.7	0 pts
8	Uganda	76.6	+1.6 pts
9	Niger	75.9	+2.2 pts
10	Nigeria	75.8	+1 pts
11	Benin	74.7	+1 pts
12	United Arab Emirates	74.7	-0.7 pts
13	Mozambique	73.8	-0.4 pts
14	Bolivia	73.8	+7.3 pts
15	Liberia	73.4	+0.4 pts
16	Eritrea	72.9	+0.3 pts
17	Vietnam	72	-0.8 pts
18	Moldova	71.9	+3.1 pts
19	Burkina Faso	70.6	-1.1 pts
20	Iceland	69	-0.5 pts
21	Kuwait	68.5	+1.7 pts
22	Peru	68.3	+4.3 pts
23	Bahrain	67.9	-0.1 pts
24	Central African Republic	67.8	-0.2 pts
25	New Zealand	67.7	+1.1 pts
26	Singapore	67.4	+1.5 pts
27	Macao	67.4	+0.5 pts
28	Paraguay	66.7	+1.8 pts
29	Thailand	66.1	-0.1 pts
30	Bhutan	65.8	+1.4 pts
31	Ethiopia	65.6	-1.1 pts
32	Kazakhstan	65.5	-0.3 pts
33	Timor-Leste	64.9	+0.8 pts
34	Oman	64.5	+0.5 pts
35	Côte d’Ivoire	64.5	+1.3 pts
36	Switzerland	64.3	-0.4 pts
37	Angola	64.3	+3.2 pts
38	Mali	64.1	+0.5 pts
39	China	64.1	+1.6 pts
40	Netherlands	63.7	-0.3 pts
41	Kenya	63.6	+0.3 pts
42	Indonesia	63.3	-1.2 pts
43	Laos	63.3	+1.8 pts
44	South Sudan	63.2	+0.4 pts
45	Australia	62.8	+2 pts
46	Norway	62.8	0 pts
47	Ecuador	62.7	+6.4 pts
48	Cameroon	62.7	-0.6 pts
49	Malaysia	62.6	+0.1 pts
50	Jamaica	62.3	+1.7 pts
51	Bahamas	61.9	+2 pts
52	Guinea-Bissau	61.8	+1.1 pts
53	Guatemala	61.6	+4.6 pts
54	Belarus	61.5	+0.1 pts
55	Cyprus	61.5	+0.8 pts
56	Nicaragua	61.3	+0.9 pts
57	Brunei	60.8	+1.5 pts
58	Japan	60.3	+0.1 pts
59	Canada	60.3	+2.4 pts
60	South Korea	60.3	+0.4 pts
61	Israel	60.3	-0.5 pts
62	Democratic Republic of the Congo	60.3	+0.2 pts
63	Malta	60.1	+1.6 pts
64	Azerbaijan	59.9	-2.5 pts
65	Ireland	59.5	+1.9 pts
66	Denmark	59.5	+0.9 pts
67	Malawi	59.4	-5 pts
68	Saudi Arabia	59.3	+1.7 pts
69	Estonia	59.3	+0.6 pts
70	Zimbabwe	59.2	+0.1 pts
71	Russia	59	+1.1 pts
72	United Kingdom	59	-0.8 pts
73	Sweden	58.5	-0.3 pts
74	Ghana	58.5	-1.2 pts
75	Chad	58.4	+0.1 pts
76	Dominican Republic	58.3	+1.6 pts
77	Germany	58.2	+0.1 pts
78	United States	58.2	+1.6 pts
79	Luxembourg	58.1	+2 pts
80	Lithuania	57.9	+0.5 pts
81	Czechia	57.8	-0.2 pts
82	Bangladesh	57.8	+1.3 pts
83	Mexico	57.5	+3.6 pts
84	Uruguay	57	+2.3 pts
85	Zambia	57	-0.2 pts
86	Maldives	56.8	+1.6 pts
87	Poland	56.8	+1.2 pts
88	Hungary	56.7	+0.8 pts
89	Austria	56.7	-0.5 pts
90	El Salvador	56.6	+2.9 pts
91	Panama	56.4	-0.3 pts
92	Mongolia	56.4	-3 pts
93	Togo	56.4	+0.2 pts
94	Guam	56.1	+0.6 pts
95	Slovakia	56.1	+1.1 pts
96	Kyrgyzstan	56	+2.1 pts
97	Hong Kong	55.7	+0.2 pts
98	Haiti	55.7	+0.6 pts
99	Slovenia	55.6	+0.7 pts
100	Latvia	55.6	-1 pts
101	Honduras	55.5	+2.6 pts
102	Barbados	55.5	-0.9 pts
103	Vanuatu	55.5	-0.2 pts
104	Colombia	55.4	+2.1 pts
105	Finland	55.2	+0.9 pts
106	Argentina	55.1	+5.5 pts
107	Trinidad and Tobago	55.1	-1.1 pts
108	Philippines	54.6	+1.2 pts
109	Brazil	54.2	+2 pts
110	Belize	54.1	+5.3 pts
111	Georgia	53.8	-2.1 pts
112	Saint Vincent and the Grenadines	53.2	+0.4 pts
113	Uzbekistan	53	+0.4 pts
114	Portugal	53	-0.6 pts
115	Albania	52.8	+0.4 pts
116	Myanmar	52.8	-6.5 pts
117	Comoros	52.8	+1.7 pts
118	Equatorial Guinea	52.6	+0.5 pts
119	Bulgaria	52.5	-0.5 pts
120	Costa Rica	52.4	+1.8 pts
121	Armenia	52.4	+2.2 pts
122	Chile	52.2	+2 pts
123	Saint Lucia	52.1	+11.9 pts
124	Sierra Leone	51.7	+0.3 pts
125	Cuba	51.7	+0.3 pts
126	Fiji	51.6	+0.3 pts
127	France	51.2	+1.3 pts
128	Republic of the Congo	51.1	+0.7 pts
129	Tonga	50.8	-0.1 pts
130	New Caledonia	50.7	+0.9 pts
131	Belgium	50.7	+0.2 pts
132	Serbia	50.6	+2.1 pts
133	Papua New Guinea	50.1	+0.6 pts
134	Senegal	49.9	+0.9 pts
135	Guinea	49.6	+0.3 pts
136	Romania	49.5	+0.2 pts
137	Pakistan	49.4	+0.9 pts
138	Ukraine	49.3	-0.6 pts
139	Botswana	49.2	+0.8 pts
140	India	49.2	+1.7 pts
141	Rwanda	49	-6.2 pts
142	Spain	48.7	+1.1 pts
143	Suriname	48.6	+0.7 pts
144	Mauritius	48.5	-2.4 pts
145	Croatia	48.1	+0.9 pts
146	French Polynesia	47.4	0 pts
147	Sri Lanka	47.4	-0.4 pts
148	Cape Verde	46.6	+1.1 pts
149	Lesotho	46.5	-0.2 pts
150	U.S. Virgin Islands	46.3	+1.4 pts
151	Türkiye	45.2	+2.4 pts
152	Venezuela	45.2	+0.6 pts
153	Gambia	44.7	-0.2 pts
154	Namibia	44.7	+0.4 pts
155	Italy	43.8	+0.1 pts
156	Guyana	43.7	+0.8 pts
157	North Macedonia	43.5	-0 pts
158	Greece	43	+0.9 pts
159	Samoa	42.6	-1.5 pts
160	Bosnia and Herzegovina	40.6	+0.7 pts
161	Morocco	40.5	+1 pts
162	Montenegro	40.1	-1.2 pts
163	Turkmenistan	39.8	+0.2 pts
164	Egypt	39.8	+1.5 pts
165	Lebanon	39.7	-1.4 pts
166	Gabon	38.2	+0.5 pts
167	Puerto Rico	38	+2.3 pts
168	Tunisia	37.7	+0.2 pts
169	Iran	37.2	-0.1 pts
170	Libya	36.5	+0.3 pts
171	Mauritania	36.2	+0.1 pts
172	Afghanistan	35.8	-0.9 pts
173	Nepal	34.7	+0.4 pts
174	South Africa	34.3	-1.4 pts
175	Tajikistan	34.2	+0.2 pts
176	Sudan	34.1	-0.3 pts
177	Iraq	33.2	-0.7 pts
178	Algeria	33.2	+0.5 pts
179	Eswatini	32.7	-0.5 pts
180	Palestine	31.9	+1.6 pts
181	Jordan	31	-1.3 pts
182	Syria	30.9	+0.5 pts
183	Somalia	27.1	-0.1 pts
184	Yemen	26.4	-0.3 pts
185	Djibouti	23	+0.2 pts
186	São Tomé and Príncipe	21.1	+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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Questions

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

Qatar, with 86.2% in 2021, according to the World Bank.

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

São Tomé and Príncipe, with 21.1% in 2021.

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