Countries by labor force participation rate, ages 15 and over
Qatar had the highest labor force participation rate, ages 15 and over of 186 countries in 2016, at 87.5%. São Tomé and Príncipe had the lowest, at 24%. The median was 61.2% and the figure for the World was 61.5%. Source: the World Bank.
Top 40 countries, 2016
Full ranking
| Rank | Countries | 2016 (%) | Change on 2015 |
|---|---|---|---|
| 1 | Qatar | 87.5 | +0.2 pts |
| 2 | Madagascar | 85.8 | -0.2 pts |
| 3 | Solomon Islands | 84.3 | -0.1 pts |
| 4 | Tanzania | 83.9 | -0 pts |
| 5 | North Korea | 82 | -0.1 pts |
| 6 | Cambodia | 81.7 | +2.1 pts |
| 7 | Nigeria | 80.8 | 0 pts |
| 8 | Burundi | 79.9 | +0.4 pts |
| 9 | Eritrea | 79.1 | -0.1 pts |
| 10 | Mozambique | 79 | -0 pts |
| 11 | United Arab Emirates | 78.4 | +0.4 pts |
| 12 | Burkina Faso | 78.4 | -0.2 pts |
| 13 | Iceland | 77.4 | +0.7 pts |
| 14 | Vietnam | 77 | -0.5 pts |
| 15 | Liberia | 76.9 | -0 pts |
| 16 | Ethiopia | 76.4 | -1.6 pts |
| 17 | Angola | 75.9 | -0.3 pts |
| 18 | Peru | 75.4 | -0.5 pts |
| 19 | Kenya | 74.4 | +0.1 pts |
| 20 | Bahamas | 74 | +0.1 pts |
| 21 | South Sudan | 74 | +0.1 pts |
| 22 | Benin | 73.9 | +0.4 pts |
| 23 | Uganda | 73.8 | -1.8 pts |
| 24 | Central African Republic | 73.4 | -0 pts |
| 25 | Niger | 73.1 | -0.2 pts |
| 26 | Kuwait | 72.7 | +0.4 pts |
| 27 | Bahrain | 72 | +0.6 pts |
| 28 | Kazakhstan | 70.3 | -0.1 pts |
| 29 | Oman | 70.3 | +0.8 pts |
| 30 | Cameroon | 70.2 | -0.9 pts |
| 31 | Macao | 70.1 | -0.7 pts |
| 32 | Paraguay | 70 | +2 pts |
| 33 | Moldova | 69.9 | -0.3 pts |
| 34 | Mali | 69.9 | -0.7 pts |
| 35 | New Zealand | 69.5 | +1.1 pts |
| 36 | Saint Lucia | 69.3 | 0 pts |
| 37 | Singapore | 69.2 | -0.3 pts |
| 38 | China | 68.9 | -0.4 pts |
| 39 | Switzerland | 68.7 | +0.4 pts |
| 40 | Thailand | 68.3 | -1 pts |
| 41 | Republic of the Congo | 68.1 | 0 pts |
| 42 | Ghana | 68.1 | -1.2 pts |
| 43 | Ecuador | 67.7 | +2 pts |
| 44 | Bolivia | 67.4 | -0.2 pts |
| 45 | Saint Vincent and the Grenadines | 67 | +0.1 pts |
| 46 | Côte d’Ivoire | 66.8 | -0.1 pts |
| 47 | Timor-Leste | 66.8 | -0.1 pts |
| 48 | Colombia | 66.4 | -0.6 pts |
| 49 | Indonesia | 66.3 | -0.3 pts |
| 50 | Netherlands | 66.3 | -0.2 pts |
| 51 | Norway | 66.2 | -0.4 pts |
| 52 | Panama | 66.2 | +0.5 pts |
| 53 | Zimbabwe | 66.1 | -0.1 pts |
| 54 | Barbados | 66.1 | +0.6 pts |
| 55 | Georgia | 66 | -0.1 pts |
| 56 | Haiti | 65.9 | 0 pts |
| 57 | Canada | 65.6 | -0.2 pts |
| 58 | Israel | 65.6 | +0.1 pts |
| 59 | Brunei | 65.4 | -0.3 pts |
| 60 | Malawi | 65.2 | -1.7 pts |
| 61 | Nicaragua | 65.2 | +0.1 pts |
| 62 | Malaysia | 65.1 | -0.1 pts |
| 63 | Democratic Republic of the Congo | 65 | -0.3 pts |
| 64 | Australia | 65 | -0.1 pts |
| 65 | Jamaica | 64.9 | -0.6 pts |
| 66 | Azerbaijan | 64.7 | +1.1 pts |
| 67 | Uruguay | 64.6 | -0.3 pts |
| 68 | Belarus | 64.4 | +0.1 pts |
| 69 | Brazil | 64.3 | 0 pts |
| 70 | Belize | 64.2 | +0.4 pts |
| 71 | Sweden | 64.1 | +0.2 pts |
| 72 | Cyprus | 63.8 | -0.4 pts |
| 73 | Myanmar | 63.4 | -1.3 pts |
| 74 | Honduras | 63.3 | -0.8 pts |
| 75 | Guinea-Bissau | 63.1 | -0.1 pts |
| 76 | Bhutan | 63 | -0.2 pts |
| 77 | Russia | 62.9 | +0.2 pts |
| 78 | Estonia | 62.6 | +0.8 pts |
| 79 | South Korea | 62.6 | 0 pts |
| 80 | Botswana | 62.5 | +0.3 pts |
| 81 | Dominican Republic | 62.5 | +0.4 pts |
| 82 | United States | 62.4 | +0.2 pts |
| 83 | United Kingdom | 62.4 | +0.2 pts |
| 84 | Guam | 62.4 | -0 pts |
| 85 | Chile | 62.3 | +0.1 pts |
| 86 | Ireland | 62.1 | +0.3 pts |
| 87 | Trinidad and Tobago | 62 | -1 pts |
| 88 | Denmark | 61.7 | +0.3 pts |
| 89 | Armenia | 61.6 | +0.1 pts |
| 90 | Philippines | 61.6 | +0.2 pts |
| 91 | Lesotho | 61.5 | -1.3 pts |
| 92 | New Caledonia | 61.5 | -1.2 pts |
| 93 | Equatorial Guinea | 61.2 | +0.2 pts |
| 94 | Venezuela | 61.2 | -0.5 pts |
| 95 | Chad | 61 | -0.5 pts |
| 96 | Austria | 60.7 | +0.5 pts |
| 97 | Guatemala | 60.7 | +0.1 pts |
| 98 | Saudi Arabia | 60.7 | +0.9 pts |
| 99 | Vanuatu | 60.6 | -0.6 pts |
| 100 | Rwanda | 60.6 | -0.1 pts |
| 101 | Namibia | 60.5 | -0.2 pts |
| 102 | Mexico | 60.4 | -0.1 pts |
| 103 | Germany | 60.4 | +0.2 pts |
| 104 | Hong Kong | 60.4 | -0.1 pts |
| 105 | Latvia | 60.3 | +0.3 pts |
| 106 | Lithuania | 60.3 | +1.2 pts |
| 107 | Slovakia | 60 | +0.4 pts |
| 108 | Japan | 60 | +0.5 pts |
| 109 | Laos | 59.9 | -0.1 pts |
| 110 | Czechia | 59.8 | +0.4 pts |
| 111 | Costa Rica | 59.7 | -3.1 pts |
| 112 | Mauritius | 59.7 | -0.7 pts |
| 113 | El Salvador | 59.3 | +0.6 pts |
| 114 | Kyrgyzstan | 59.2 | -0.3 pts |
| 115 | Cape Verde | 59.2 | 0 pts |
| 116 | Luxembourg | 59.1 | -0.8 pts |
| 117 | Argentina | 59 | -0.2 pts |
| 118 | Zambia | 58.7 | -0.1 pts |
| 119 | Finland | 58.5 | -0.2 pts |
| 120 | Portugal | 58.4 | -0.1 pts |
| 121 | Mongolia | 58.4 | -1.3 pts |
| 122 | Spain | 58.3 | -0.3 pts |
| 123 | U.S. Virgin Islands | 58.3 | -0.3 pts |
| 124 | Togo | 58.1 | -0 pts |
| 125 | Fiji | 57.6 | -0.7 pts |
| 126 | Albania | 57.3 | +1.8 pts |
| 127 | Poland | 57.3 | +0.2 pts |
| 128 | Hungary | 57.3 | +1.1 pts |
| 129 | Maldives | 56.9 | +0.7 pts |
| 130 | Slovenia | 56.8 | -0.7 pts |
| 131 | Malta | 56.6 | +0.9 pts |
| 132 | Uzbekistan | 56.4 | +0.2 pts |
| 133 | Ukraine | 56.3 | 0 pts |
| 134 | Suriname | 56.1 | +0.6 pts |
| 135 | Bangladesh | 56.1 | -0.4 pts |
| 136 | French Polynesia | 55.9 | -0.1 pts |
| 137 | Guyana | 55.7 | -0.1 pts |
| 138 | Cuba | 55.6 | 0 pts |
| 139 | Sierra Leone | 55.4 | -0.8 pts |
| 140 | France | 55.4 | -0.2 pts |
| 141 | Guinea | 55 | -0.7 pts |
| 142 | South Africa | 54.7 | +0.1 pts |
| 143 | Tonga | 54.7 | -0.4 pts |
| 144 | Samoa | 54.5 | -0.2 pts |
| 145 | Sri Lanka | 53.7 | +0.1 pts |
| 146 | North Macedonia | 53.4 | -0.6 pts |
| 147 | Bulgaria | 53.3 | -0.9 pts |
| 148 | Belgium | 53.2 | -0.2 pts |
| 149 | Serbia | 53 | +1.8 pts |
| 150 | India | 52.9 | -0.2 pts |
| 151 | Montenegro | 52.7 | +0.4 pts |
| 152 | Türkiye | 52 | +0.7 pts |
| 153 | Pakistan | 51.7 | -0.3 pts |
| 154 | Croatia | 51.2 | -1.4 pts |
| 155 | Greece | 51.1 | -0.1 pts |
| 156 | Eswatini | 51.1 | -0.1 pts |
| 157 | Romania | 50.9 | -0.3 pts |
| 158 | Gabon | 50.8 | +0.3 pts |
| 159 | Senegal | 50.1 | +4.6 pts |
| 160 | Papua New Guinea | 50.1 | +0.3 pts |
| 161 | Bosnia and Herzegovina | 49.6 | -0.2 pts |
| 162 | Libya | 49.4 | -0 pts |
| 163 | Italy | 49.2 | +0.5 pts |
| 164 | Gambia | 47.8 | -0 pts |
| 165 | Tunisia | 47.7 | +0.2 pts |
| 166 | Comoros | 47.7 | +1.6 pts |
| 167 | Lebanon | 47.5 | +0.5 pts |
| 168 | Afghanistan | 47.2 | +0.1 pts |
| 169 | Egypt | 46.6 | -0.3 pts |
| 170 | Morocco | 46.6 | -0.9 pts |
| 171 | Palestine | 43.8 | -0.2 pts |
| 172 | Sudan | 43.5 | -1.1 pts |
| 173 | Turkmenistan | 43.3 | -0.2 pts |
| 174 | Iran | 43.2 | +1.2 pts |
| 175 | Iraq | 43.2 | +0.1 pts |
| 176 | Algeria | 42.3 | -0.1 pts |
| 177 | Mauritania | 41.6 | -0.5 pts |
| 178 | Nepal | 40.1 | -0.1 pts |
| 179 | Tajikistan | 39.7 | -0.4 pts |
| 180 | Jordan | 38.9 | +1.3 pts |
| 181 | Puerto Rico | 38.2 | +0.1 pts |
| 182 | Syria | 37.7 | 0 pts |
| 183 | Somalia | 34.1 | -0 pts |
| 184 | Djibouti | 32.4 | -0.2 pts |
| 185 | Yemen | 32.3 | +0.2 pts |
| 186 | São Tomé and Príncipe | 24 | -0 pts |
Other periods
About this ranking
The labor force, comprising employed and unemployed people, as a percentage of the population aged 15 and over. ILO modelled estimates published by the World Bank, annual.
A separate series from labor_force_participation_rate, 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. Labor force participation rate, total, % of total population ages 15+, modeled ILO estimate (SL.TLF.CACT.ZS). https://data.worldbank.org/indicator/SL.TLF.CACT.ZS. Retrieved 2026-10-11.Use this data in your AI agent
Invokely serves this figure to AI assistants through MCP and to code through a REST API, with the source and citation attached. Ask your assistant:
Rank Countries by labor force participation rate, ages 15 and over using official data, and cite the source.
rank_places {"indicator":"labor_force_participation_rate_15_plus","level":"country","limit":10}
GET https://invokely.ai/api/v1/rank?indicator=labor_force_participation_rate_15_plus&level=country&limit=10Questions
Which country has the highest labor force participation rate, ages 15 and over?
Qatar, with 87.5% in 2016, according to the World Bank.
Which country has the lowest labor force participation rate, ages 15 and over?
São Tomé and Príncipe, with 24% in 2016.
Where does this ranking come from?
Every value comes from one source and one period, so the places are comparable: World Bank, Labor force participation rate, total, % of total population ages 15+, modeled ILO estimate (SL.TLF.CACT.ZS). Retrieved 2026-10-11.