Data / Rankings / Tourism share of employment / Countries

Countries by tourism share of employment

Malta had the highest tourism share of employment of 43 countries in 2020, at 16.6%. South Korea had the lowest, at 0.8%. The median was 5.1%. Source: the Organisation for Economic Co-operation and Development.

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Highest16.6Malta
Lowest0.8South Korea
Median5.143 countries

Map of countries, 2020

Argentina: 5.2 %Austria: 3.7 %Australia: 2.9 %Brazil: 3.7 %Canada: 2.7 %Switzerland: 3.6 %Chile: 5.9 %Colombia: 2.1 %Costa Rica: 5.3 %Czechia: 4.1 %Germany: 4.8 %Denmark: 2.7 %Estonia: 3.6 %Spain: 12.2 %Finland: 4.8 %United Kingdom: 2.6 %Greece: 14.1 %Croatia: 5.9 %Hungary: 9 %Ireland: 8.7 %Israel: 3 %Iceland: 12.1 %Japan: 9.2 %South Korea: 0.8 %Lithuania: 4.6 %Luxembourg: 8 %Latvia: 7.6 %Mexico: 6.3 %Netherlands: 5.1 %Norway: 6.7 %New Zealand: 5.4 %Peru: 2.2 %Portugal: 10.6 %Romania: 6.1 %Serbia: 6.7 %Saudi Arabia: 5.1 %Sweden: 2.4 %Slovenia: 7 %Slovakia: 7.1 %Türkiye: 2.5 %United States: 2.5 %South Africa: 3 %
  • Under 2.7
  • 2.7 to 3.7
  • 3.7 to 5.1
  • 5.1 to 6.2
  • 6.2 to 8.1
  • 8.1 and over
  • No data
%, 2020. 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, 2020

Malta: 16.6 %Malta16.6Greece: 14.1 %Greece14.1Spain: 12.2 %Spain12.2Iceland: 12.1 %Iceland12.1Portugal: 10.6 %Portugal10.6Japan: 9.2 %Japan9.2Hungary: 9 %Hungary9Ireland: 8.7 %Ireland8.7Luxembourg: 8 %Luxembourg8Latvia: 7.6 %Latvia7.6Slovakia: 7.1 %Slovakia7.1Slovenia: 7 %Slovenia7Norway: 6.7 %Norway6.7Serbia: 6.7 %Serbia6.7Mexico: 6.3 %Mexico6.3Romania: 6.1 %Romania6.1Chile: 5.9 %Chile5.9Croatia: 5.9 %Croatia5.9New Zealand: 5.4 %New Zealand5.4Costa Rica: 5.3 %Costa Rica5.3Argentina: 5.2 %Argentina5.2Netherlands: 5.1 %Netherlands5.1Saudi Arabia: 5.1 %Saudi Arabia5.1Finland: 4.8 %Finland4.8Germany: 4.8 %Germany4.8Lithuania: 4.6 %Lithuania4.6Czechia: 4.1 %Czechia4.1Austria: 3.7 %Austria3.7Brazil: 3.7 %Brazil3.7Estonia: 3.6 %Estonia3.6Switzerland: 3.6 %Switzerland3.6Israel: 3 %Israel3South Africa: 3 %South Africa3Australia: 2.9 %Australia2.9Canada: 2.7 %Canada2.7Denmark: 2.7 %Denmark2.7United Kingdom: 2.6 %United Kingdom2.6Türkiye: 2.5 %Türkiye2.5United States: 2.5 %United States2.5Sweden: 2.4 %Sweden2.4Peru: 2.2 %Peru2.2Colombia: 2.1 %Colombia2.1South Korea: 0.8 %South Korea0.8Malta: 16.6 %Malta16.6Greece: 14.1 %Greece14.1Spain: 12.2 %Spain12.2Iceland: 12.1 %Iceland12.1Portugal: 10.6 %Portugal10.6Japan: 9.2 %Japan9.2Hungary: 9 %Hungary9Ireland: 8.7 %Ireland8.7Luxembourg: 8 %Luxembourg8Latvia: 7.6 %Latvia7.6Slovakia: 7.1 %Slovakia7.1Slovenia: 7 %Slovenia7Norway: 6.7 %Norway6.7Serbia: 6.7 %Serbia6.7Mexico: 6.3 %Mexico6.3Romania: 6.1 %Romania6.1Chile: 5.9 %Chile5.9Croatia: 5.9 %Croatia5.9New Zealand: 5.4 %New Zealand5.4Costa Rica: 5.3 %Costa Rica5.3Argentina: 5.2 %Argentina5.2Netherlands: 5.1 %Netherlands5.1Saudi Arabia: 5.1 %Saudi Arabia5.1Finland: 4.8 %Finland4.8Germany: 4.8 %Germany4.8Lithuania: 4.6 %Lithuania4.6Czechia: 4.1 %Czechia4.1Austria: 3.7 %Austria3.7Brazil: 3.7 %Brazil3.7Estonia: 3.6 %Estonia3.6Switzerland: 3.6 %Switzerland3.6Israel: 3 %Israel3South Africa: 3 %South Africa3Australia: 2.9 %Australia2.9Canada: 2.7 %Canada2.7Denmark: 2.7 %Denmark2.7United Kingdom: 2.6 %United Kingdom2.6Türkiye: 2.5 %Türkiye2.5United States: 2.5 %United States2.5Sweden: 2.4 %Sweden2.4Peru: 2.2 %Peru2.2Colombia: 2.1 %Colombia2.1South Korea: 0.8 %South Korea0.8
%. 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

RankCountries2020 (%)Change on 2019
1Malta16.6-0.3 pts
2Greece14.1-0.7 pts
3Spain12.2-1.3 pts
4Iceland12.1-4 pts
5Portugal10.6-0.6 pts
6Japan9.2-0.4 pts
7Hungary9-0.8 pts
8Ireland8.7-3.6 pts
9Luxembourg8-0.4 pts
10Latvia7.6-0.7 pts
11Slovakia7.1-0.5 pts
12Slovenia7-0.7 pts
13Norway6.7-0.6 pts
13Serbia6.7+0.1 pts
15Mexico6.3-0.3 pts
16Romania6.1-0.2 pts
17Chile5.9-1.6 pts
17Croatia5.9-0.9 pts
19New Zealand5.4-2.6 pts
20Costa Rica5.3-1.6 pts
21Argentina5.2-0.8 pts
22Netherlands5.1-1.1 pts
22Saudi Arabia5.1+0.8 pts
24Finland4.8-0.8 pts
24Germany4.8-1.3 pts
26Lithuania4.6-0.5 pts
27Czechia4.1-0.3 pts
28Austria3.7-0.9 pts
28Brazil3.7-0.7 pts
30Estonia3.6-0.8 pts
30Switzerland3.6-0.6 pts
32Israel3-0.8 pts
32South Africa3-1.8 pts
34Australia2.9-0.8 pts
35Canada2.7-0.9 pts
35Denmark2.7-0.8 pts
37United Kingdom2.6-2 pts
38Türkiye2.5-1.1 pts
38United States2.5-1.6 pts
40Sweden2.4-0.4 pts
41Peru Estimated2.2-1.9 pts
42Colombia Series break2.1-1.4 pts
43South Korea Series break0.8-0.4 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. 5 countries with data in other periods have no value for 2020 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, 2020) [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, 2020. 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=2020. 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, 2020. 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=2020.

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, 2020 [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=2020 (Accessed: 12 October 2026).

BibTeX
@misc{organisation_countries_by_tourism_share_2020,
  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, 2020}},
  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=2020. 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, 2020
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=2020
Y2  - 2026/10/12
N1  - Accessed via Invokely, https://invokely.ai/rankings/tourism-share-of-employment/countries?period=2020.
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?

Malta, with 16.6% in 2020, according to the Organisation for Economic Co-operation and Development.

Which country has the lowest tourism share of employment?

South Korea, with 0.8% in 2020.

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. 5 countries have no value for 2020 and are not ranked.

Tourism share of employment: other rankings

Countries: more rankings