EU countries by employment rate

Name: EU countries by employment rate, 2018
Creator: Eurostat, European Commission
License: Eurostat reuse policy (commercial and non-commercial reuse, attribution required)

Sweden had the highest employment rate of 27 EU countries in 2018, at 82%. Greece had the lowest, at 59%. The median was 74.6% and the figure for the European Union (27) was 71.9%. Source: Eurostat, European Commission.

Highest82Sweden

Lowest59Greece

Median74.627 EU countries

European Union (27)71.9History

All EU countries, 2018

CSV Chart (SVG)

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

Full ranking

Rank	EU countries	2018 (%)	Change on 2017
1	Sweden	82	+0.6 pts
2	Netherlands	80	+1.1 pts
3	Czechia	79.9	+1.4 pts
4	Estonia	79.7	+0.5 pts
5	Germany	79	+0.7 pts
6	Lithuania	77.8	+1.8 pts
7	Denmark	77.5	+0.9 pts
8	Hungary Series break	76.8	+1.4 pts
8	Latvia	76.8	+2.2 pts
10	Austria	76.2	+0.8 pts
11	Finland	75.3	+2.1 pts
12	Malta	74.9	+1.9 pts
12	Slovenia	74.9	+2 pts
14	Portugal	74.6	+2.1 pts
15	Slovakia	74.5	+1.3 pts
16	Ireland	74	+1.1 pts
17	Cyprus	73.9	+3.1 pts
18	Luxembourg	72.1	+0.6 pts
19	France	71.9	+0.7 pts
20	Bulgaria	71.7	+1.1 pts
21	Poland	71.4	+1.4 pts
22	Belgium	69.7	+1.2 pts
23	Spain	67	+1.5 pts
24	Croatia	64.9	+1.7 pts
25	Romania	63.9	+1.2 pts
26	Italy Series break	63	+0.7 pts
27	Greece	59	+1.6 pts

Other periods

About this ranking

Employed people as a percentage of the population aged 16 and over (Spain, EPA) or 20 to 64 (EU headline indicator).

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, employment rate 20 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 employment rate?

Sweden, with 82% in 2018, according to Eurostat, European Commission.

Which EU country has the lowest employment rate?

Greece, with 59% 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, employment rate 20 to 64 (lfsi_emp_a). Retrieved 2026-10-08.