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 2018, at 87.5%. São Tomé and Príncipe had the lowest, at 23.8%. The median was 61.3% and the figure for the World was 61.2%. Source: the World Bank.

Highest87.5Qatar

Lowest23.8São Tomé and Príncipe

Median61.3186 countries

World61.2History

Top 40 countries, 2018

%. Source: World Bank (modelled estimate), Labor force participation rate, total, % of total population ages 15+, modeled ILO estimate (SL.TLF.CACT.ZS). Retrieved 2026-10-11.

Full ranking

Rank	Countries	2018 (%)	Change on 2017
1	Qatar	87.5	0 pts
2	Madagascar	85.5	-0.2 pts
3	Solomon Islands	84.3	-0 pts
4	Tanzania	83.8	-0 pts
5	North Korea	82.2	+0.1 pts
6	Cambodia	81.9	+0.5 pts
7	Nigeria	81	+0.1 pts
8	Burundi	80	-0 pts
9	United Arab Emirates	79.1	+0.3 pts
10	Mozambique	78.9	-0 pts
11	Eritrea	78.7	-0.3 pts
12	Burkina Faso	77.9	-0.3 pts
13	Vietnam	77.5	+0.3 pts
14	Peru	77.2	+0.2 pts
15	Liberia	76.9	-0 pts
16	Iceland	76	-0.9 pts
17	Angola	75.3	-0.3 pts
18	Uganda	74.8	+3 pts
19	Benin	74.7	+0.4 pts
20	Bahamas	74.3	+0.1 pts
21	South Sudan	74.2	-0 pts
22	Kuwait	73.6	+0.2 pts
23	Central African Republic	73.4	0 pts
24	Ethiopia	73.2	-1.6 pts
25	Niger	72.7	-0.2 pts
26	Bahrain	72.1	-0.3 pts
27	Paraguay	71.9	+0.8 pts
28	Bolivia	71.8	+3.2 pts
29	Oman	70.5	-0.2 pts
30	New Zealand	70.5	0 pts
31	Kazakhstan	70.1	-0.1 pts
32	Kenya	70.1	-2.2 pts
33	Macao	70.1	+0.2 pts
34	Saint Lucia	69.9	+0.5 pts
35	Singapore	68.6	-0.4 pts
36	Switzerland	68.6	0 pts
37	Cameroon	68.4	-0.9 pts
38	Mali	68.3	-0.9 pts
39	Republic of the Congo	68.1	-0 pts
40	China	67.8	-0.5 pts
41	Thailand	67.8	+0.3 pts
42	Indonesia	67.7	+1 pts
43	Panama	67.6	+1.7 pts
44	Belize	67.3	+3.3 pts
45	Saint Vincent and the Grenadines	67.3	+0.2 pts
46	Timor-Leste	67.2	+0.1 pts
47	Moldova	67.1	-1.3 pts
48	Ecuador	66.7	-1.5 pts
49	Honduras	66.5	+2.1 pts
50	Brunei	66.4	+1.2 pts
51	Netherlands	66.4	+0.3 pts
52	Haiti	65.9	0 pts
53	Norway	65.9	+0.3 pts
54	Zimbabwe	65.9	-0.1 pts
55	Australia	65.8	+0.6 pts
56	Barbados	65.7	-0.5 pts
57	Malaysia	65.6	+0.4 pts
58	Canada	65.5	-0.2 pts
59	Jamaica	65.5	-0.2 pts
60	Israel	65.4	-0.1 pts
61	Côte d’Ivoire	65.4	-0.7 pts
62	Azerbaijan	65.4	+0.4 pts
63	Cyprus	65.4	+1 pts
64	Ghana	65.3	-1.6 pts
65	Colombia	65.2	-0.8 pts
66	Nicaragua	65.2	-0.2 pts
67	Democratic Republic of the Congo	64.5	-0.2 pts
68	Brazil	64.5	-0 pts
69	Sweden	64.5	+0.1 pts
70	Belarus	64.4	-0.1 pts
71	Georgia	63.9	-1.9 pts
72	Dominican Republic	63.8	+1.4 pts
73	Uruguay	63.7	-0.4 pts
74	Estonia	63.5	+0.3 pts
75	Malawi	63.4	-0.1 pts
76	Chile	63.2	+0.3 pts
77	Botswana	63.1	+0.3 pts
78	Guinea-Bissau	62.9	-0.1 pts
79	South Korea	62.8	-0.2 pts
80	United Kingdom	62.6	+0.2 pts
81	Bhutan	62.6	-0.2 pts
82	United States	62.6	0 pts
83	Russia	62.4	-0.1 pts
84	Guam	62.4	0 pts
85	Myanmar	62.4	+0.3 pts
86	Costa Rica	62.2	+2.4 pts
87	Ireland	62.1	+0.2 pts
88	Denmark	61.9	+0.1 pts
89	Lithuania	61.5	+0.9 pts
90	Japan	61.4	+1 pts
91	Maldives	61.4	+2.3 pts
92	Latvia	61.3	+0.6 pts
93	Armenia	61.3	-0.1 pts
94	Equatorial Guinea	61.3	0 pts
95	Trinidad and Tobago	61.1	-0.4 pts
96	Laos	61	+1.2 pts
97	Austria	60.9	+0.3 pts
98	Germany	60.9	+0.2 pts
99	Hong Kong	60.6	+0.2 pts
100	Guatemala	60.5	-0.4 pts
101	Mexico	60.4	+0.2 pts
102	Rwanda	60.4	-0.1 pts
103	Czechia	60.4	+0.3 pts
104	Chad	60	-0.5 pts
105	Mongolia	59.7	+0.6 pts
106	Slovakia	59.7	-0.2 pts
107	Argentina	59.6	+0.8 pts
108	Saudi Arabia	59.4	+0.4 pts
109	Finland	59.3	+0.6 pts
110	Albania	59.3	+1.2 pts
111	Luxembourg	59.3	+0.6 pts
112	Mauritius	59.3	-0.6 pts
113	Malta	59.3	+1.6 pts
114	Vanuatu	59.3	-0.7 pts
115	Philippines	59	-0.2 pts
116	Lesotho	59	-1.3 pts
117	Portugal	59	+0.1 pts
118	Slovenia	58.9	+0.4 pts
119	New Caledonia	58.9	-1.3 pts
120	Bangladesh	58.9	+0.6 pts
121	Namibia	58.9	-0.8 pts
122	El Salvador	58.7	-0.3 pts
123	Zambia	58.5	-0.1 pts
124	Kyrgyzstan	58.5	+1.6 pts
125	Hungary	58.3	+0.5 pts
126	Venezuela	58.2	-1.7 pts
127	Togo	58	-0 pts
128	Spain	57.6	-0.4 pts
129	Poland	57.5	-0 pts
130	Fiji	57.4	-0.1 pts
131	Uzbekistan	56.6	+0.1 pts
132	Ukraine	56.3	0 pts
133	Suriname	56.3	+0.2 pts
134	Guyana	55.8	+0.2 pts
135	French Polynesia	55.6	-0.2 pts
136	Cape Verde	55.6	-3.6 pts
137	Cuba	55.5	-0.1 pts
138	Bulgaria	55.3	-0.1 pts
139	France	55.3	0 pts
140	South Africa	55.2	-0.2 pts
141	U.S. Virgin Islands	55.1	-4.1 pts
142	Tonga	54	-0.4 pts
143	Serbia	54	+0.4 pts
144	Sierra Leone	53.9	-0.8 pts
145	Belgium	53.7	+0.3 pts
146	Guinea	53.6	-0.7 pts
147	Montenegro	53.6	+0.9 pts
148	Türkiye	53.2	+0.4 pts
149	North Macedonia	52.8	-0.4 pts
150	India	52.5	-0.2 pts
151	Samoa	52.3	-2.1 pts
152	Romania	51.8	-0 pts
153	Sri Lanka	51.7	-2.3 pts
154	Gabon	51.3	+0.2 pts
155	Pakistan	51	-0.3 pts
156	Croatia	50.9	-0.5 pts
157	Papua New Guinea	50.8	+0.4 pts
158	Greece	50.8	-0.2 pts
159	Comoros	50.8	+1.5 pts
160	Eswatini	50.5	-0.3 pts
161	Italy	49.6	+0.1 pts
162	Libya	49.3	-0.1 pts
163	Bosnia and Herzegovina	49.1	-0.3 pts
164	Tunisia	48.6	+1.1 pts
165	Lebanon	48.4	+0.5 pts
166	Senegal	48.4	+2.4 pts
167	Gambia	47.8	-0 pts
168	Morocco	45.8	+0.3 pts
169	Afghanistan	45.6	-1.7 pts
170	Iran	44.4	+0.2 pts
171	Palestine	43.5	-0.6 pts
172	Egypt	43.3	-1.7 pts
173	Turkmenistan	42.9	-0.2 pts
174	Algeria	42.3	-0 pts
175	Sudan	41.4	-1.1 pts
176	Iraq	41.2	-0.6 pts
177	Mauritania	41.1	-0 pts
178	Nepal	39.7	-0.2 pts
179	Jordan	39.2	-1 pts
180	Puerto Rico	38.6	+0.3 pts
181	Tajikistan	38	-0.9 pts
182	Syria	37.8	0 pts
183	Somalia	34.1	-0 pts
184	Yemen	32.6	+0.1 pts
185	Djibouti	32.1	-0.2 pts
186	São Tomé and Príncipe	23.8	-0.1 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.

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Rank Countries by labor force participation rate, ages 15 and over using official data, and cite the source.

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Questions

Which country has the highest labor force participation rate, ages 15 and over?

Qatar, with 87.5% in 2018, according to the World Bank.

Which country has the lowest labor force participation rate, ages 15 and over?

São Tomé and Príncipe, with 23.8% in 2018.

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.

Labor force participation rate, ages 15 and over: other rankings

EU countries