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 2019, at 87.4%. São Tomé and Príncipe had the lowest, at 23.7%. The median was 61.3% and the figure for the World was 61%. Source: the World Bank.

Highest87.4Qatar

Lowest23.7São Tomé and Príncipe

Median61.3186 countries

World61History

Top 40 countries, 2019

%. 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	2019 (%)	Change on 2018
1	Qatar	87.4	-0.1 pts
2	Madagascar	85.4	-0.1 pts
3	Solomon Islands	84.3	0 pts
4	Tanzania	83.8	-0 pts
5	Cambodia	82.4	+0.5 pts
6	North Korea	82.2	0 pts
7	Nigeria	81	0 pts
8	Burundi	79.7	-0.3 pts
9	United Arab Emirates	79.5	+0.4 pts
10	Mozambique	78.9	-0 pts
11	Eritrea	78.4	-0.3 pts
12	Burkina Faso	77.6	-0.3 pts
13	Peru	77.4	+0.2 pts
14	Uganda	77.2	+2.4 pts
15	Liberia	76.8	-0.1 pts
16	Vietnam	76.6	-0.9 pts
17	Iceland	75.7	-0.3 pts
18	Benin	75.1	+0.4 pts
19	Angola	75	-0.3 pts
20	Bahamas	74.4	+0.1 pts
21	Bolivia	74.2	+2.4 pts
22	South Sudan	73.9	-0.3 pts
23	Central African Republic	73.4	-0 pts
24	Kuwait	73.3	-0.2 pts
25	Niger	72.4	-0.2 pts
26	Paraguay	72.4	+0.5 pts
27	Ethiopia	71.6	-1.6 pts
28	Bahrain	71.4	-0.7 pts
29	New Zealand	70.2	-0.3 pts
30	Kazakhstan	70.1	-0 pts
31	Macao	69.8	-0.3 pts
32	Oman	69.8	-0.7 pts
33	Belize	69.7	+2.4 pts
34	Moldova	69.3	+2.3 pts
35	Singapore	69	+0.4 pts
36	Saint Lucia	68.8	-1.1 pts
37	Panama	68.5	+0.9 pts
38	Switzerland	68.3	-0.3 pts
39	Indonesia	68.2	+0.6 pts
40	Republic of the Congo	68.1	-0 pts
41	Kenya	67.8	-2.3 pts
42	Cameroon	67.5	-0.9 pts
43	Saint Vincent and the Grenadines	67.4	+0.1 pts
44	Mali	67.4	-0.9 pts
45	China	67.4	-0.4 pts
46	Jamaica	67	+1.5 pts
47	Thailand	66.9	-0.9 pts
48	Netherlands	66.7	+0.3 pts
49	Timor-Leste	66.5	-0.7 pts
50	Bhutan	66.4	+3.8 pts
51	Ecuador	66.2	-0.5 pts
52	Cyprus	66.1	+0.7 pts
53	Australia	66.1	+0.3 pts
54	Norway	65.9	0 pts
55	Malaysia	65.9	+0.3 pts
56	Haiti	65.8	-0.1 pts
57	Canada	65.8	+0.3 pts
58	Zimbabwe	65.8	-0.1 pts
59	Mongolia	65.6	+5.9 pts
60	Azerbaijan	65.2	-0.2 pts
61	Dominican Republic	65.2	+1.4 pts
62	Israel	65	-0.4 pts
63	Nicaragua	65	-0.2 pts
64	Barbados	64.9	-0.8 pts
65	Brazil	64.9	+0.4 pts
66	Brunei	64.8	-1.6 pts
67	Côte d’Ivoire	64.7	-0.7 pts
68	Sweden	64.6	+0.1 pts
69	Colombia	64.3	-0.9 pts
70	Democratic Republic of the Congo	64.3	-0.2 pts
71	Costa Rica	64.3	+2.1 pts
72	Belarus	64.3	-0.2 pts
73	Ghana	63.7	-1.6 pts
74	Maldives	63.6	+2.2 pts
75	Uruguay	63.5	-0.2 pts
76	Botswana	63.5	+0.4 pts
77	Malawi	63.3	-0.1 pts
78	Honduras	63.2	-3.3 pts
79	Estonia	63.2	-0.3 pts
80	Chile	63.1	-0.1 pts
81	South Korea	63	+0.2 pts
82	Georgia	62.9	-1 pts
83	United States	62.8	+0.3 pts
84	United Kingdom	62.6	0 pts
85	Denmark	62.4	+0.5 pts
86	Ireland	62.3	+0.2 pts
87	Guam	62.3	-0.1 pts
88	Laos	62.2	+1.2 pts
89	Guinea-Bissau	62.2	-0.7 pts
90	Lithuania	62.1	+0.5 pts
91	Japan	62	+0.6 pts
92	Russia	61.7	-0.7 pts
93	Germany	61.3	+0.4 pts
94	Saudi Arabia	61.2	+1.8 pts
95	Equatorial Guinea	61.2	-0.1 pts
96	Mexico	61.1	+0.7 pts
97	Latvia	61.1	-0.3 pts
98	Austria	60.9	-0 pts
99	Trinidad and Tobago	60.7	-0.5 pts
100	Myanmar	60.5	-1.9 pts
101	Albania	60.3	+1 pts
102	Argentina	60.3	+0.7 pts
103	Malta	60.3	+1 pts
104	Czechia	60.1	-0.3 pts
105	Luxembourg	60	+0.8 pts
106	Hong Kong	60	-0.7 pts
107	Chad	59.9	-0 pts
108	El Salvador	59.9	+1.2 pts
109	Mauritius	59.7	+0.5 pts
110	Slovakia	59.6	-0.2 pts
111	Zambia	59.5	+1.1 pts
112	Bangladesh	59.5	+0.6 pts
113	Philippines	59.4	+0.5 pts
114	Finland	59.2	-0.1 pts
115	Guatemala	59.2	-1.3 pts
116	Portugal	59	0 pts
117	Namibia	58.9	0 pts
118	Kyrgyzstan	58.9	+0.4 pts
119	Armenia	58.8	-2.6 pts
120	Vanuatu	58.6	-0.7 pts
121	Hungary	58.5	+0.2 pts
122	Rwanda	58.5	-1.9 pts
123	Slovenia	58.4	-0.6 pts
124	Togo	58	-0 pts
125	Lesotho	57.7	-1.3 pts
126	New Caledonia	57.6	-1.3 pts
127	Spain	57.6	-0 pts
128	Poland	57.5	-0.1 pts
129	Cape Verde	57.4	+1.9 pts
130	Fiji	57.4	0 pts
131	Bulgaria	56.7	+1.3 pts
132	Uzbekistan	56.6	+0.1 pts
133	Ukraine	56.3	0 pts
134	Suriname	56.3	0 pts
135	French Polynesia	55.4	-0.2 pts
136	Cuba	55.3	-0.2 pts
137	South Africa	55.3	+0.1 pts
138	Venezuela	55.2	-3 pts
139	France	54.9	-0.4 pts
140	Montenegro	54.6	+1 pts
141	Serbia	54.1	+0.1 pts
142	Belgium	53.9	+0.2 pts
143	Sierra Leone	53.8	-0.1 pts
144	Tonga	53.5	-0.5 pts
145	North Macedonia	53	+0.2 pts
146	Türkiye	53	-0.3 pts
147	Guinea	52.9	-0.7 pts
148	Comoros	52.3	+1.5 pts
149	U.S. Virgin Islands	52.3	-2.8 pts
150	India	52.3	-0.2 pts
151	Sri Lanka	52.2	+0.5 pts
152	Guyana	52.1	-3.7 pts
153	Romania	52	+0.2 pts
154	Pakistan	51.6	+0.6 pts
155	Gabon	51.4	+0.1 pts
156	Papua New Guinea	51.1	+0.3 pts
157	Croatia	50.9	-0.1 pts
158	Greece	50.9	+0.1 pts
159	Senegal	50.7	+2.4 pts
160	Eswatini	50.2	-0.3 pts
161	Samoa	50.1	-2.2 pts
162	Tunisia	49.7	+1.1 pts
163	Italy	49.6	-0 pts
164	Libya	49.2	-0.1 pts
165	Lebanon	48.9	+0.5 pts
166	Bosnia and Herzegovina	48.8	-0.3 pts
167	Gambia	47.8	-0 pts
168	Morocco	46.2	+0.3 pts
169	Palestine	44.3	+0.8 pts
170	Iran	44	-0.4 pts
171	Afghanistan	43.8	-1.8 pts
172	Turkmenistan	42.8	-0.2 pts
173	Algeria	42.2	-0.1 pts
174	Egypt	42.2	-1.1 pts
175	Mauritania	41	-0 pts
176	Iraq	40.5	-0.7 pts
177	Sudan	40.4	-1 pts
178	Nepal	39.8	0 pts
179	Jordan	39.2	+0.1 pts
180	Puerto Rico	38.6	0 pts
181	Syria	37.8	+0.1 pts
182	Tajikistan	37.1	-0.8 pts
183	Somalia	34	-0 pts
184	Yemen	32.7	+0.1 pts
185	Djibouti	32	-0.2 pts
186	São Tomé and Príncipe	23.7	-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 87.4% in 2019, according to the World Bank.

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

São Tomé and Príncipe, with 23.7% in 2019.

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