Countries by employment-population ratio, ages 15 and over

Qatar had the highest employment-population ratio, ages 15 and over of 183 countries in 2023, at 87.4%. São Tomé and Príncipe had the lowest, at 21.3%. The median was 58.2% and the figure for the World was 58.2%. Source: the World Bank.

Highest87.4Qatar

Lowest21.3São Tomé and Príncipe

Median58.2183 countries

World58.2History

Top 40 countries, 2023

%. 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	2023 (%)	Change on 2022
1	Qatar	87.4	-0 pts
2	Solomon Islands	83.1	0 pts
3	Madagascar	82.9	+0.1 pts
4	Tanzania	82.5	0 pts
5	Cambodia	82.1	0 pts
6	Nigeria	80	+1.9 pts
7	North Korea	79.3	0 pts
8	Niger	79.2	-0.1 pts
9	Burundi	78.1	-0.3 pts
10	Uganda	77.8	+0.1 pts
11	United Arab Emirates	76.7	+1.7 pts
12	Bolivia	76	+0.5 pts
13	Benin	75	0 pts
14	Liberia	74.4	0 pts
15	Eritrea	73.7	+0.1 pts
16	Mozambique	73.6	+0.1 pts
17	Kuwait	72.4	-0.3 pts
18	Vietnam	72.3	-1 pts
19	Iceland	72.1	+0.5 pts
20	Bahrain	70	+0.6 pts
21	Moldova	69.7	-2.2 pts
22	Peru	69.1	-2.2 pts
23	Central African Republic	68.9	+0.1 pts
24	New Zealand	68.8	+0.2 pts
25	Burkina Faso	68.6	-0.9 pts
26	Bahamas	67.7	+0.4 pts
27	Jamaica	67.4	+2.5 pts
28	Thailand	67.3	+0.8 pts
29	Singapore	67	-0.2 pts
30	Kazakhstan	67	+0.2 pts
31	Paraguay	66.7	+0.8 pts
32	Macao	66.5	+1.5 pts
33	Oman	66.2	+0.2 pts
34	Ethiopia	66.1	-0 pts
35	Indonesia	65.7	+1 pts
36	Côte d’Ivoire	65.6	0 pts
37	Timor-Leste	65.6	0 pts
38	Netherlands	65.3	+0.5 pts
39	Mali	65.2	-0.4 pts
40	Laos	65.2	0 pts
41	Switzerland	64.7	+0.4 pts
42	Australia	64.6	+0.2 pts
43	Angola	64.4	-0.3 pts
44	South Sudan	64.3	-0 pts
45	Cyprus	64	+1 pts
46	Kenya	63.8	+0.1 pts
47	Malaysia	63.6	0 pts
48	Norway	63.6	-0.2 pts
49	Ireland	63.4	+1.8 pts
50	Cameroon	63.2	0 pts
51	Guinea-Bissau	63.1	-0 pts
52	Bhutan	63	+3.6 pts
53	Israel	62.9	+0.5 pts
54	Nicaragua	62.8	+0.4 pts
55	China	62.8	+0.2 pts
56	Saudi Arabia	62.7	+2.5 pts
57	South Korea	62.5	+0.6 pts
58	Ecuador	62.2	-1.2 pts
59	Malta	62	+0.3 pts
60	Canada	61.8	0 pts
61	Democratic Republic of the Congo	61.5	+0.1 pts
62	Zimbabwe	61.4	+2.8 pts
63	Estonia	61.4	-0.1 pts
64	Belarus	61.4	-0.4 pts
65	Brunei	61.3	+0.5 pts
66	Japan	61.3	+0.4 pts
67	Panama	60.9	-0.1 pts
68	Maldives	60.8	+0.1 pts
69	Barbados	60.8	+0.2 pts
70	Azerbaijan	60.7	-0.4 pts
71	Dominican Republic	60.7	+1 pts
72	Denmark	60.5	-0.2 pts
73	Saint Lucia	60.3	+2.1 pts
74	Russia	60.2	+0.7 pts
75	Philippines	60.1	+0.2 pts
76	Mexico	60	+1.1 pts
77	Sweden	60	+0.2 pts
78	Malawi	59.8	-0.1 pts
79	United States	59.8	+0.3 pts
80	El Salvador	59.7	+1.4 pts
81	United Kingdom	59.3	-0.3 pts
82	Uruguay	59.2	+1 pts
83	Germany	59.2	+0.2 pts
84	Chad	59.1	-0.1 pts
85	Guam	59	+0.1 pts
86	Czechia	58.9	+0.3 pts
87	Bangladesh	58.8	-0.2 pts
88	Lithuania	58.6	-0.4 pts
89	Argentina	58.5	+1.2 pts
90	Luxembourg	58.3	+0.2 pts
91	Zambia	58.3	+2.4 pts
92	Guatemala	58.2	-0.2 pts
93	Hungary	58.1	+0.4 pts
94	Brazil	57.9	+0.3 pts
95	Mongolia	57.7	-1.2 pts
96	Austria	57.6	-0.2 pts
97	Colombia	57.6	+1.1 pts
98	Poland	57.6	+0.3 pts
99	Slovakia	57.6	+0.2 pts
100	Ghana	57.4	-0 pts
101	Trinidad and Tobago	57.3	+1.5 pts
102	Albania	57.1	+1.6 pts
103	Latvia	57	+0.3 pts
104	Togo	56.8	-0 pts
105	Georgia	56.6	+0.4 pts
106	Equatorial Guinea	56.1	+0.1 pts
107	Chile	56	+0.8 pts
108	Finland	56	-0.4 pts
109	Slovenia	55.9	-0.7 pts
110	Rwanda	55.8	+4.7 pts
111	Mauritius	55.7	+3.7 pts
112	Hong Kong	55.5	+0.2 pts
113	Vanuatu	55.5	0 pts
114	Saint Vincent and the Grenadines	55.4	+0.9 pts
115	Uzbekistan	55.2	+0.1 pts
116	Haiti	55.2	-0.2 pts
117	Kyrgyzstan	54.9	-1.4 pts
118	Portugal	54.8	+0.5 pts
119	Bulgaria	54.4	+0.1 pts
120	Republic of the Congo	54.4	+0.1 pts
121	Fiji	54.2	+0.1 pts
122	Myanmar	53.5	0 pts
123	Comoros	53.3	-0 pts
124	Serbia	53.3	+1 pts
125	Honduras	53.1	-0.4 pts
126	Belize	52.9	-0.4 pts
127	Armenia	52.5	+1.6 pts
128	India	52.4	+1.4 pts
129	Botswana	52.3	+3 pts
130	Cuba	52.2	-0.4 pts
131	Costa Rica	52.1	-2.4 pts
132	Sierra Leone	52	-0 pts
133	France	51.8	+0.1 pts
134	Belgium	51.4	-0.1 pts
135	New Caledonia	51	-0.4 pts
136	Montenegro	50.9	+3.6 pts
137	Papua New Guinea	50.6	-0 pts
138	Spain	50.6	+0.5 pts
139	Senegal	50.4	-0 pts
140	Cape Verde	50.3	+0.1 pts
141	Guinea	50.1	0 pts
142	Tonga	49.8	-0.6 pts
143	Pakistan	49.6	-0 pts
144	Suriname	49.5	+0.3 pts
145	Croatia	49.1	+0.1 pts
146	Romania	48.8	-0.8 pts
147	Venezuela	48.6	+0.6 pts
148	U.S. Virgin Islands	48.4	+0.4 pts
149	Türkiye	48.3	+0.8 pts
150	Guyana	48.2	+0.6 pts
151	Lesotho	48.1	+0.1 pts
152	Namibia	47.6	+0.3 pts
153	French Polynesia	47.2	-0.4 pts
154	Greece	46.1	+0.7 pts
155	Italy	46	+0.9 pts
156	Sri Lanka	45.3	-2.2 pts
157	North Macedonia	44.9	-0.3 pts
158	Gambia	44.5	-0.2 pts
159	Bosnia and Herzegovina	44.2	+1.5 pts
160	Egypt	41.7	+1.6 pts
161	Samoa	41.3	-0.2 pts
162	Gabon	41.1	0 pts
163	Turkmenistan	40.3	-0.2 pts
164	Morocco	40.3	+0.2 pts
165	Puerto Rico	39.7	+0.4 pts
166	Libya	39.4	+0.1 pts
167	Tunisia	38.9	-0.4 pts
168	Lebanon	38.7	+0.1 pts
169	Iran	38.1	+1.3 pts
170	South Africa	37.4	+1.7 pts
171	Mauritania	36.7	+0.1 pts
172	Algeria	36.7	+0.1 pts
173	Tajikistan	35.4	+0.3 pts
174	Iraq	35.3	+0.2 pts
175	Nepal	35.3	0 pts
176	Eswatini	33.5	+1.5 pts
177	Jordan	33.5	+1.9 pts
178	Afghanistan	32.3	-0 pts
179	Syria	32.2	-0.2 pts
180	Yemen	27.5	+0.2 pts
181	Somalia	27.5	0 pts
182	Djibouti	23.5	+0.1 pts
183	São Tomé and Príncipe	21.3	-0.1 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. 3 countries with data in other periods have no value for 2023 and are left out rather than filled from another source. 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 87.4% in 2023, according to the World Bank.

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

São Tomé and Príncipe, with 21.3% in 2023.

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. 3 countries have no value for 2023 and are not ranked.

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

EU countries