Data / Rankings / Tourism share of employment / Countries

Countries by tourism share of employment

Iceland had the highest tourism share of employment of 44 countries in 2017, at 17.1%. Sweden had the lowest, at 2.4%. The median was 6.3%. Source: the Organisation for Economic Co-operation and Development.

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Highest17.1Iceland
Lowest2.4Sweden
Median6.344 countries

Map of countries, 2017

Argentina: 6.3 %Austria: 5 %Australia: 4 %Brazil: 4.6 %Canada: 3.6 %Switzerland: 4.2 %Chile: 6.5 %Colombia: 3.2 %Costa Rica: 6.8 %Czechia: 4.4 %Germany: 6.3 %Denmark: 7.5 %Estonia: 3.9 %Spain: 13.7 %Finland: 5.2 %France: 7.5 %United Kingdom: 4.4 %Greece: 14.7 %Croatia: 6.3 %Hungary: 9.6 %Ireland: 10.3 %Israel: 3.7 %Iceland: 17.1 %Italy: 8.8 %Japan: 9.3 %Lithuania: 4.9 %Luxembourg: 8.1 %Latvia: 8.4 %Morocco: 4.8 %Mexico: 6.6 %Netherlands: 6.1 %Norway: 7.2 %New Zealand: 8.3 %Peru: 3.9 %Portugal: 10.9 %Romania: 6.3 %Serbia: 6.2 %Saudi Arabia: 3.9 %Sweden: 2.4 %Slovenia: 7.7 %Slovakia: 7 %United States: 3.9 %South Africa: 3.6 %
  • Under 3.9
  • 3.9 to 4.8
  • 4.8 to 6.3
  • 6.3 to 7.2
  • 7.2 to 8.8
  • 8.8 and over
  • No data
%, 2017. Hatched areas have no value for this period. Source: OECD, OECD Key tourism economic indicators: tourism employment, percentage of total employment (DSD_TOURISM_KEY@DF_KEY_IND_PC, EMP_SH). Boundaries: Natural Earth (public domain).

All countries, 2017

Iceland: 17.1 %Iceland17.1Malta: 15 %Malta15Greece: 14.7 %Greece14.7Spain: 13.7 %Spain13.7Portugal: 10.9 %Portugal10.9Ireland: 10.3 %Ireland10.3Hungary: 9.6 %Hungary9.6Japan: 9.3 %Japan9.3Italy: 8.8 %Italy8.8Latvia: 8.4 %Latvia8.4New Zealand: 8.3 %New Zealand8.3Luxembourg: 8.1 %Luxembourg8.1Slovenia: 7.7 %Slovenia7.7Denmark: 7.5 %Denmark7.5France: 7.5 %France7.5Norway: 7.2 %Norway7.2Slovakia: 7 %Slovakia7Costa Rica: 6.8 %Costa Rica6.8Mexico: 6.6 %Mexico6.6Chile: 6.5 %Chile6.5Argentina: 6.3 %Argentina6.3Croatia: 6.3 %Croatia6.3Germany: 6.3 %Germany6.3Romania: 6.3 %Romania6.3Serbia: 6.2 %Serbia6.2Netherlands: 6.1 %Netherlands6.1Finland: 5.2 %Finland5.2Austria: 5 %Austria5Lithuania: 4.9 %Lithuania4.9Morocco: 4.8 %Morocco4.8Brazil: 4.6 %Brazil4.6Czechia: 4.4 %Czechia4.4United Kingdom: 4.4 %United Kingdom4.4Switzerland: 4.2 %Switzerland4.2Australia: 4 %Australia4Estonia: 3.9 %Estonia3.9Peru: 3.9 %Peru3.9Saudi Arabia: 3.9 %Saudi Arabia3.9United States: 3.9 %United States3.9Israel: 3.7 %Israel3.7Canada: 3.6 %Canada3.6South Africa: 3.6 %South Africa3.6Colombia: 3.2 %Colombia3.2Sweden: 2.4 %Sweden2.4Iceland: 17.1 %Iceland17.1Malta: 15 %Malta15Greece: 14.7 %Greece14.7Spain: 13.7 %Spain13.7Portugal: 10.9 %Portugal10.9Ireland: 10.3 %Ireland10.3Hungary: 9.6 %Hungary9.6Japan: 9.3 %Japan9.3Italy: 8.8 %Italy8.8Latvia: 8.4 %Latvia8.4New Zealand: 8.3 %New Zealand8.3Luxembourg: 8.1 %Luxembourg8.1Slovenia: 7.7 %Slovenia7.7Denmark: 7.5 %Denmark7.5France: 7.5 %France7.5Norway: 7.2 %Norway7.2Slovakia: 7 %Slovakia7Costa Rica: 6.8 %Costa Rica6.8Mexico: 6.6 %Mexico6.6Chile: 6.5 %Chile6.5Argentina: 6.3 %Argentina6.3Croatia: 6.3 %Croatia6.3Germany: 6.3 %Germany6.3Romania: 6.3 %Romania6.3Serbia: 6.2 %Serbia6.2Netherlands: 6.1 %Netherlands6.1Finland: 5.2 %Finland5.2Austria: 5 %Austria5Lithuania: 4.9 %Lithuania4.9Morocco: 4.8 %Morocco4.8Brazil: 4.6 %Brazil4.6Czechia: 4.4 %Czechia4.4United Kingdom: 4.4 %United Kingdom4.4Switzerland: 4.2 %Switzerland4.2Australia: 4 %Australia4Estonia: 3.9 %Estonia3.9Peru: 3.9 %Peru3.9Saudi Arabia: 3.9 %Saudi Arabia3.9United States: 3.9 %United States3.9Israel: 3.7 %Israel3.7Canada: 3.6 %Canada3.6South Africa: 3.6 %South Africa3.6Colombia: 3.2 %Colombia3.2Sweden: 2.4 %Sweden2.4
%. Source: OECD, OECD Key tourism economic indicators: tourism employment, percentage of total employment (DSD_TOURISM_KEY@DF_KEY_IND_PC, EMP_SH). Retrieved 2026-10-12.

Full ranking

RankCountries2017 (%)Change on 2016
1Iceland17.1+1.1 pts
2Malta15-0.5 pts
3Greece14.7+0.1 pts
4Spain13.7+0.4 pts
5Portugal10.9+1.1 pts
6Ireland10.3+0.1 pts
7Hungary9.6-0.4 pts
8Japan9.3-0.3 pts
9Italy8.8n/a
10Latvia8.4-0.5 pts
11New Zealand8.3+0.3 pts
12Luxembourg8.1-0.1 pts
13Slovenia7.70 pts
14Denmark7.5+0.1 pts
14France7.5+0.1 pts
16Norway7.20 pts
17Slovakia7+0.1 pts
18Costa Rica6.80 pts
19Mexico6.60 pts
20Chile6.5+0.1 pts
21Argentina6.3+0.1 pts
21Croatia6.3+0.3 pts
21Germany6.30 pts
21Romania6.3-0.1 pts
25Serbia6.2+0.1 pts
26Netherlands6.1+0.2 pts
27Finland5.20 pts
28Austria5+0.1 pts
29Lithuania4.9+0.1 pts
30Morocco Estimated4.80 pts
31Brazil4.60 pts
32Czechia4.40 pts
32United Kingdom4.40 pts
34Switzerland4.20 pts
35Australia4+0.2 pts
36Estonia3.9-0.2 pts
36Peru3.9+0.1 pts
36Saudi Arabia3.9-0.3 pts
36United States3.90 pts
40Israel3.7+0.1 pts
41Canada3.60 pts
41South Africa3.6-0.4 pts
43Colombia3.2+0.1 pts
44Sweden2.4-0.2 pts

Other periods

About this ranking

Employment in tourism as a percentage of total employment, as each country reports it to the OECD: for most countries, people employed or jobs in the tourism industries (accommodation, food and beverage serving, passenger transport, travel agencies and others); for some, the employment that serves visitors directly.

The OECD labels the measure direct, but most countries count everyone working in the tourism industries, including work that serves residents, so the share is usually well above tourism_direct_gdp_share (Spain 2023: 13.2% against 6.0%). Definitions differ between countries and break within some (flagged: Colombia 2015, Denmark 2019, Japan 2014), so compare countries with care.

Every value in the ranking comes from the same publisher and the same period, so the countries are compared on one definition. 4 countries with data in other periods have no value for 2017 and are left out rather than filled from another source. Equal values share a rank.

How to cite

OECD. OECD Key tourism economic indicators: tourism employment, percentage of total employment (DSD_TOURISM_KEY@DF_KEY_IND_PC, EMP_SH). https://data-explorer.oecd.org/vis?df[ds]=dsDisseminateFinalDMZ&df[id]=DSD_TOURISM_KEY%40DF_KEY_IND_PC&df[ag]=OECD.CFE.TOU. Accessed 2026-10-12. Data reuse terms and downstream attribution: https://www.oecd.org/en/about/terms-conditions.html

Citation styles

The publisher is the author. Invokely is named only as the place the figures were read, where a style asks for it.

APA 7

Organisation for Economic Co-operation and Development. (2026). OECD Key tourism economic indicators: tourism employment, percentage of total employment (DSD_TOURISM_KEY@DF_KEY_IND_PC, EMP_SH) (Countries by tourism share of employment, 2017) [Data set]. Retrieved October 12, 2026, from https://data-explorer.oecd.org/vis?df[ds]=dsDisseminateFinalDMZ&df[id]=DSD_TOURISM_KEY%40DF_KEY_IND_PC&df[ag]=OECD.CFE.TOU

MLA 9

OECD Key tourism economic indicators: tourism employment, percentage of total employment (DSD_TOURISM_KEY@DF_KEY_IND_PC, EMP_SH), Countries by tourism share of employment, 2017. Organisation for Economic Co-operation and Development, 12 Oct. 2026, https://data-explorer.oecd.org/vis?df[ds]=dsDisseminateFinalDMZ&df[id]=DSD_TOURISM_KEY%40DF_KEY_IND_PC&df[ag]=OECD.CFE.TOU. Invokely, https://invokely.ai/rankings/tourism-share-of-employment/countries?period=2017. Accessed 12 Oct. 2026.

Chicago (author-date)

Organisation for Economic Co-operation and Development. 2026. OECD Key tourism economic indicators: tourism employment, percentage of total employment (DSD_TOURISM_KEY@DF_KEY_IND_PC, EMP_SH). Countries by tourism share of employment, 2017. Dataset. Accessed October 12, 2026. https://data-explorer.oecd.org/vis?df[ds]=dsDisseminateFinalDMZ&df[id]=DSD_TOURISM_KEY%40DF_KEY_IND_PC&df[ag]=OECD.CFE.TOU. Also distributed by Invokely, https://invokely.ai/rankings/tourism-share-of-employment/countries?period=2017.

Harvard

Organisation for Economic Co-operation and Development (2026) OECD Key tourism economic indicators: tourism employment, percentage of total employment (DSD_TOURISM_KEY@DF_KEY_IND_PC, EMP_SH), Countries by tourism share of employment, 2017 [Dataset]. Available at: https://data-explorer.oecd.org/vis?df[ds]=dsDisseminateFinalDMZ&df[id]=DSD_TOURISM_KEY%40DF_KEY_IND_PC&df[ag]=OECD.CFE.TOU, via Invokely: https://invokely.ai/rankings/tourism-share-of-employment/countries?period=2017 (Accessed: 12 October 2026).

BibTeX
@misc{organisation_countries_by_tourism_share_2017,
  author = {{Organisation for Economic Co-operation and Development}},
  title = {{OECD Key tourism economic indicators: tourism employment, percentage of total employment (DSD\_TOURISM\_KEY@DF\_KEY\_IND\_PC, EMP\_SH): Countries by tourism share of employment, 2017}},
  year = {2026},
  howpublished = {Data set},
  url = {https://data-explorer.oecd.org/vis?df[ds]=dsDisseminateFinalDMZ&df[id]=DSD_TOURISM_KEY%40DF_KEY_IND_PC&df[ag]=OECD.CFE.TOU},
  urldate = {2026-10-12},
  note = {Accessed via Invokely, https://invokely.ai/rankings/tourism-share-of-employment/countries?period=2017. Publisher attribution: OECD. OECD Key tourism economic indicators: tourism employment, percentage of total employment (DSD\_TOURISM\_KEY@DF\_KEY\_IND\_PC, EMP\_SH). https://data-explorer.oecd.org/vis?df[ds]=dsDisseminateFinalDMZ\&df[id]=DSD\_TOURISM\_KEY\%40DF\_KEY\_IND\_PC\&df[ag]=OECD.CFE.TOU. Accessed 2026-10-12. Data reuse terms and downstream attribution: https://www.oecd.org/en/about/terms-conditions.html.},
}
RIS
TY  - DATA
AU  - Organisation for Economic Co-operation and Development
TI  - OECD Key tourism economic indicators: tourism employment, percentage of total employment (DSD_TOURISM_KEY@DF_KEY_IND_PC, EMP_SH): Countries by tourism share of employment, 2017
PY  - 2026
DA  - 2026/10/12
PB  - Organisation for Economic Co-operation and Development
DB  - Invokely
UR  - https://data-explorer.oecd.org/vis?df[ds]=dsDisseminateFinalDMZ&df[id]=DSD_TOURISM_KEY%40DF_KEY_IND_PC&df[ag]=OECD.CFE.TOU
L2  - https://invokely.ai/rankings/tourism-share-of-employment/countries?period=2017
Y2  - 2026/10/12
N1  - Accessed via Invokely, https://invokely.ai/rankings/tourism-share-of-employment/countries?period=2017.
N1  - Publisher attribution: OECD. OECD Key tourism economic indicators: tourism employment, percentage of total employment (DSD_TOURISM_KEY@DF_KEY_IND_PC, EMP_SH). https://data-explorer.oecd.org/vis?df[ds]=dsDisseminateFinalDMZ&df[id]=DSD_TOURISM_KEY%40DF_KEY_IND_PC&df[ag]=OECD.CFE.TOU. Accessed 2026-10-12. Data reuse terms and downstream attribution: https://www.oecd.org/en/about/terms-conditions.html.
ER  -
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Questions

Which country has the highest tourism share of employment?

Iceland, with 17.1% in 2017, according to the Organisation for Economic Co-operation and Development.

Which country has the lowest tourism share of employment?

Sweden, with 2.4% in 2017.

Where does this ranking come from?

Every value comes from one source and one period, so the places are comparable: Organisation for Economic Co-operation and Development, OECD Key tourism economic indicators: tourism employment, percentage of total employment (DSD_TOURISM_KEY@DF_KEY_IND_PC, EMP_SH). Retrieved 2026-10-12. 4 countries have no value for 2017 and are not ranked.

Tourism share of employment: other rankings

Countries: more rankings