EU countries by self-employed workers
Greece had the highest self-employed workers of 27 EU countries in 2021, at 31.8%. Denmark had the lowest, at 8.8%. The median was 14.2%. Source: the World Bank.
Map of EU countries, 2021
- Under 12
- 12 to 13
- 13 to 15
- 15 to 16
- 16 and over
All EU countries, 2021
Full ranking
| Rank | EU countries | 2021 (%) | Change on 2020 |
|---|---|---|---|
| 1 | Greece | 31.8 | -0.2 pts |
| 2 | Poland | 22.8 | -1.5 pts |
| 3 | Italy | 21.8 | -0.7 pts |
| 4 | Spain | 16.1 | -0 pts |
| 5 | Czechia | 16 | -0.9 pts |
| 6 | Netherlands | 15.8 | -0.1 pts |
| 7 | Portugal | 15.6 | -0.1 pts |
| 8 | Romania | 15.1 | -0.4 pts |
| 9 | Slovakia | 14.9 | -0.3 pts |
| 10 | Croatia | 14.9 | +0.1 pts |
| 11 | Slovenia | 14.5 | -0.3 pts |
| 12 | Belgium | 14.5 | -0.9 pts |
| 13 | Malta | 14.2 | -0.4 pts |
| 14 | Ireland | 14.2 | -0.4 pts |
| 15 | Finland | 13.9 | +0.5 pts |
| 16 | Latvia | 13.1 | -0.4 pts |
| 17 | Austria | 12.7 | -0.1 pts |
| 18 | France | 12.6 | +0.2 pts |
| 19 | Hungary | 12.6 | +0.6 pts |
| 20 | Estonia | 12 | -0.1 pts |
| 21 | Luxembourg | 11.9 | +2.4 pts |
| 22 | Cyprus | 11.9 | -1.9 pts |
| 23 | Lithuania | 11.6 | -0.1 pts |
| 24 | Bulgaria | 11.2 | +0.5 pts |
| 25 | Sweden | 10.6 | -0.1 pts |
| 26 | Germany | 9 | +0.1 pts |
| 27 | Denmark | 8.8 | +0.3 pts |
Other periods
About this ranking
Employers, own-account workers, members of producers' cooperatives and contributing family workers, whose pay depends directly on the profits of what they produce, as a percentage of total employment. ILO modelled estimates, ages 15 and over.
ILO modelled estimates: model outputs that fill years without a survey, not survey results. The latest year is a nowcast and is revised as surveys arrive. Includes unpaid family workers, so it is high where small farms dominate and is not a measure of entrepreneurship.
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
World Bank, World Development Indicators, modelled estimate. Self-employed, total (% of total employment) (modeled ILO estimate) (SL.EMP.SELF.ZS). https://data.worldbank.org/indicator/SL.EMP.SELF.ZS. Retrieved 2026-10-18. Licensed under CC BY 4.0.Citation styles
APA 7
World Bank. (2026). Self-employed, total (% of total employment) (modeled ILO estimate) (SL.EMP.SELF.ZS) (EU countries by self-employed workers, 2021) [Data set]. Retrieved October 18, 2026, from https://data.worldbank.org/indicator/SL.EMP.SELF.ZS
MLA 9
Self-employed, total (% of total employment) (modeled ILO estimate) (SL.EMP.SELF.ZS), EU countries by self-employed workers, 2021. World Bank, 8 Oct. 2026, https://data.worldbank.org/indicator/SL.EMP.SELF.ZS. Invokely, https://invokely.ai/rankings/self-employed-share/eu-countries?period=2021. Accessed 18 Oct. 2026.
Chicago (author-date)
World Bank. 2026. Self-employed, total (% of total employment) (modeled ILO estimate) (SL.EMP.SELF.ZS). EU countries by self-employed workers, 2021. Dataset. Accessed October 18, 2026. https://data.worldbank.org/indicator/SL.EMP.SELF.ZS. Also distributed by Invokely, https://invokely.ai/rankings/self-employed-share/eu-countries?period=2021.
Harvard
World Bank (2026) Self-employed, total (% of total employment) (modeled ILO estimate) (SL.EMP.SELF.ZS), EU countries by self-employed workers, 2021 [Dataset]. Available at: https://data.worldbank.org/indicator/SL.EMP.SELF.ZS, via Invokely: https://invokely.ai/rankings/self-employed-share/eu-countries?period=2021 (Accessed: 18 October 2026).
BibTeX
@misc{world_eu_countries_by_self_2021,
author = {{World Bank}},
title = {{Self-employed, total (\% of total employment) (modeled ILO estimate) (SL.EMP.SELF.ZS): EU countries by self-employed workers, 2021}},
year = {2026},
howpublished = {Data set},
url = {https://data.worldbank.org/indicator/SL.EMP.SELF.ZS},
urldate = {2026-10-18},
note = {Accessed via Invokely, https://invokely.ai/rankings/self-employed-share/eu-countries?period=2021. Publisher attribution: World Bank, World Development Indicators, modelled estimate. Self-employed, total (\% of total employment) (modeled ILO estimate) (SL.EMP.SELF.ZS). https://data.worldbank.org/indicator/SL.EMP.SELF.ZS. Retrieved 2026-10-18. Licensed under CC BY 4.0.},
}
RIS
TY - DATA
AU - World Bank
TI - Self-employed, total (% of total employment) (modeled ILO estimate) (SL.EMP.SELF.ZS): EU countries by self-employed workers, 2021
PY - 2026
DA - 2026/10/08
PB - World Bank
DB - Invokely
UR - https://data.worldbank.org/indicator/SL.EMP.SELF.ZS
L2 - https://invokely.ai/rankings/self-employed-share/eu-countries?period=2021
Y2 - 2026/10/18
N1 - Accessed via Invokely, https://invokely.ai/rankings/self-employed-share/eu-countries?period=2021.
N1 - Publisher attribution: World Bank, World Development Indicators, modelled estimate. Self-employed, total (% of total employment) (modeled ILO estimate) (SL.EMP.SELF.ZS). https://data.worldbank.org/indicator/SL.EMP.SELF.ZS. Retrieved 2026-10-18. Licensed under CC BY 4.0.
ER -
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 EU countries by self-employed workers using official data, and cite the source.
rank_places {"indicator":"self_employed_share","level":"country","within":"European Union (27)","limit":10}
GET https://invokely.ai/api/v1/rank?indicator=self_employed_share&level=country&within=European%20Union%20(27)&limit=10Questions
Which EU country has the highest self-employed workers?
Greece, with 31.8% in 2021, according to the World Bank.
Which EU country has the lowest self-employed workers?
Denmark, with 8.8% in 2021.
Where does this ranking come from?
Every value comes from one source and one period, so the places are comparable: World Bank, Self-employed, total (% of total employment) (modeled ILO estimate) (SL.EMP.SELF.ZS). Retrieved 2026-10-18.