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 2021, at 86.4%. São Tomé and Príncipe had the lowest, at 23.3%. The median was 60.7% and the figure for the World was 60.4%. Source: the World Bank.

Highest86.4Qatar

Lowest23.3São Tomé and Príncipe

Median60.7186 countries

World60.4History

Top 40 countries, 2021

%. 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	2021 (%)	Change on 2020
1	Qatar	86.4	-0.7 pts
2	Madagascar	85	+0.4 pts
3	Solomon Islands	83.9	+0.4 pts
4	Tanzania	83.7	+0.9 pts
5	North Korea	80.7	+0.1 pts
6	Nigeria	80.1	+0.8 pts
7	Cambodia	79.5	-2.7 pts
8	Uganda	79.3	+1.3 pts
9	Burundi	79.1	+0.5 pts
10	Mozambique	78.1	-0.1 pts
11	Eritrea	77.9	+0.4 pts
12	Bolivia	77.8	+5.5 pts
13	United Arab Emirates	77.1	-1.7 pts
14	Niger	76.5	+2.4 pts
15	Angola	76.4	+3.1 pts
16	Liberia	76.3	+0.2 pts
17	Benin	76.1	+1.3 pts
18	Burkina Faso	74	-1.2 pts
19	Vietnam	73.7	-0.6 pts
20	South Sudan	73.5	+0.3 pts
21	Iceland	73.4	-0.1 pts
22	Central African Republic	72.6	-0.1 pts
23	Moldova	72.5	+2.8 pts
24	Peru	71.9	+3 pts
25	Paraguay	71.9	+1.8 pts
26	Singapore	70.7	+2 pts
27	Kuwait	70.6	+1.4 pts
28	New Zealand	70.4	+0.5 pts
29	Bahamas	69.7	+1.6 pts
30	Kazakhstan	69.4	+0.2 pts
31	Bhutan	69.1	+1.3 pts
32	Bahrain	68.9	-0.3 pts
33	Macao	68.9	+0.3 pts
34	Ethiopia	68.3	-1.1 pts
35	Switzerland	67.7	-0.2 pts
36	Kenya	67.5	+0.4 pts
37	China	67.1	+1.4 pts
38	Thailand	67	-0.1 pts
39	Mali	66.8	+0.9 pts
40	Saint Vincent and the Grenadines	66.8	+0.2 pts
41	Netherlands	66.5	-0 pts
42	Cyprus	66.5	+0.7 pts
43	Timor-Leste	66.5	+0.6 pts
44	Côte d’Ivoire	66.2	+1.3 pts
45	Australia	66.1	+1.1 pts
46	Indonesia	65.9	-1.5 pts
47	Oman	65.8	-0.2 pts
48	Haiti	65.7	+0.5 pts
49	Jamaica	65.7	+0.9 pts
50	Ecuador	65.7	+5.7 pts
51	Norway	65.7	0 pts
52	Malaysia	65.6	+0.1 pts
53	Republic of the Congo	65.5	+0.6 pts
54	Saint Lucia	65.5	+11.8 pts
55	Zimbabwe	65.4	+0.7 pts
56	Cameroon	65.3	-0.6 pts
57	Nicaragua	65.3	+0.9 pts
58	Canada	65.2	+1.1 pts
59	Laos	64.6	+1.7 pts
60	Colombia	64.3	+0.9 pts
61	Sweden	64.2	0 pts
62	Belarus	64	-0 pts
63	Botswana	64	+2.7 pts
64	Brunei	63.9	-0.1 pts
65	Guinea-Bissau	63.8	+1.3 pts
66	Azerbaijan	63.7	-3.5 pts
67	Democratic Republic of the Congo	63.6	+0.2 pts
68	Ireland	63.5	+2.5 pts
69	Saudi Arabia	63.5	+1.1 pts
70	Israel	63.3	-0.1 pts
71	Estonia	63.2	+0.1 pts
72	Dominican Republic	63.2	+2.8 pts
73	Guatemala	62.9	+4.2 pts
74	Malawi	62.9	-5.3 pts
75	Uruguay	62.9	+1.8 pts
76	Panama	62.8	-3.6 pts
77	Denmark	62.7	+0.5 pts
78	South Korea	62.6	+0.3 pts
79	Brazil	62.5	+2 pts
80	Malta	62.4	+0.9 pts
81	Barbados	62.4	-0.7 pts
82	Lithuania	62.3	-0.4 pts
83	Japan	62.1	+0.1 pts
84	United Kingdom	62	-0.6 pts
85	Russia	62	+0.6 pts
86	Armenia	61.9	+0.7 pts
87	Costa Rica	61.8	+1.1 pts
88	United States	61.5	-0.1 pts
89	Luxembourg	61.5	+1.4 pts
90	Mongolia	61.2	-2.2 pts
91	Bangladesh	61.1	+1.3 pts
92	Georgia	61	-2.4 pts
93	Honduras	60.7	+1.2 pts
94	Austria	60.6	+0.3 pts
95	Germany	60.4	-0.1 pts
96	Ghana	60.4	-1.2 pts
97	Belize	60.4	+5.7 pts
98	Argentina	60.4	+4.3 pts
99	Slovakia	60.2	+1.3 pts
100	Zambia	60.1	-0.8 pts
101	Latvia	60.1	-1.5 pts
102	Mexico	59.9	+3.5 pts
103	Maldives	59.8	+1.5 pts
104	Finland	59.8	+0.9 pts
105	Albania	59.7	+0.3 pts
106	Guam	59.6	+0.5 pts
107	Czechia	59.5	-0 pts
108	Chad	59.3	-0 pts
109	El Salvador	59.2	+2.7 pts
110	Hungary	59.1	+0.7 pts
111	Kyrgyzstan	59	+1.7 pts
112	Hong Kong	58.7	-0.2 pts
113	Poland	58.7	+1.3 pts
114	Slovenia	58.4	+0.6 pts
115	Vanuatu	58.3	+0.2 pts
116	Rwanda	58.2	-4.5 pts
117	Togo	57.7	+0.3 pts
118	Equatorial Guinea	57.7	+0.7 pts
119	Trinidad and Tobago	57.6	-1 pts
120	Chile	57.6	+1.2 pts
121	New Caledonia	57.4	-0.3 pts
122	Spain	57.3	+0.9 pts
123	Portugal	56.8	-0.8 pts
124	Lesotho	56.8	-0.3 pts
125	Namibia	56.5	+0.5 pts
126	Philippines	56.5	+1.7 pts
127	Serbia	56.2	+2.8 pts
128	Uzbekistan	56	+0.5 pts
129	France	55.6	+1.3 pts
130	Bulgaria	55.4	-0.5 pts
131	Comoros	55.2	+1.7 pts
132	Myanmar	55.2	-5 pts
133	Ukraine	54.6	-0.4 pts
134	Fiji	54.5	+0.5 pts
135	French Polynesia	54.3	-0.2 pts
136	Cape Verde	54.2	+0.8 pts
137	Belgium	54	+0.7 pts
138	Sierra Leone	53.6	+0.3 pts
139	U.S. Virgin Islands	53.6	+1.1 pts
140	Suriname	53.2	+0.6 pts
141	Cuba	52.8	+0.2 pts
142	Pakistan	52.7	+1.1 pts
143	Guinea	52.6	+0.2 pts
144	Mauritius	52.6	-3.1 pts
145	India	52.5	+1 pts
146	Romania	52.5	+0.5 pts
147	Croatia	52	+1.1 pts
148	South Africa	52	+1.5 pts
149	Tonga	51.9	-0.5 pts
150	Senegal	51.7	+1 pts
151	Papua New Guinea	51.7	+0.7 pts
152	North Macedonia	51.6	-0.5 pts
153	Türkiye	51.4	+2 pts
154	Guyana	51.2	+0.4 pts
155	Greece	50.3	+0.3 pts
156	Sri Lanka	49.8	-0.7 pts
157	Eswatini	49.7	+0.2 pts
158	Venezuela	48.6	+0.4 pts
159	Gabon	48.5	+0.6 pts
160	Italy	48.4	+0.2 pts
161	Montenegro	48.1	-2.3 pts
162	Bosnia and Herzegovina	47.7	+0.2 pts
163	Gambia	47.6	-0 pts
164	Samoa	45.6	-2 pts
165	Lebanon	45.5	-1.9 pts
166	Libya	45.5	+0.4 pts
167	Morocco	45.3	+0.8 pts
168	Tunisia	45.2	-0.3 pts
169	Palestine	43.4	+2.4 pts
170	Egypt	43	+1.4 pts
171	Turkmenistan	41.7	+0.2 pts
172	Puerto Rico	41.3	+2 pts
173	Iran	41	-0.3 pts
174	Mauritania	40.7	+0.2 pts
175	Afghanistan	40.7	-0.9 pts
176	Iraq	39.7	-0.6 pts
177	Nepal	39.5	+0.1 pts
178	Jordan	38.7	-1.3 pts
179	Algeria	38.4	+0.4 pts
180	Sudan	38.4	-0.8 pts
181	Tajikistan	37.1	+0.3 pts
182	Syria	36.3	+0.4 pts
183	Somalia	33.7	0 pts
184	Yemen	32.3	-0.2 pts
185	Djibouti	31.8	+0.2 pts
186	São Tomé and Príncipe	23.3	+0.2 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 86.4% in 2021, according to the World Bank.

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

São Tomé and Príncipe, with 23.3% in 2021.

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