Portugal vs Spain: Labour force participation rate
Labour force participation rate over time
- Portugal
- Spain
How they compare
Portugal currently reports 59.38 Percentage of working age population in the same subgroup against 58.17 Percentage of working age population in the same subgroup in Spain, a difference of 1.21 Percentage of working age population in the same subgroup.
The two have swapped places 4 times across 27 shared years of data; in 1999 it was Portugal ahead.
Portugal ranks 24th and Spain ranks 26th of 33 countries.
Portugal has averaged higher in every one of the 4 decades both report.
Head to head by decade
| Decade | Portugal | Spain | Difference | Ahead |
|---|---|---|---|---|
| 1990s | 60.65 Percentage of working age population in the same subgroup | 51.9 Percentage of working age population in the same subgroup | 8.75 Percentage of working age population in the same subgroup | Portugal |
| 2000s | 61.77 Percentage of working age population in the same subgroup | 56.29 Percentage of working age population in the same subgroup | 5.48 Percentage of working age population in the same subgroup | Portugal |
| 2010s | 59.43 Percentage of working age population in the same subgroup | 58.87 Percentage of working age population in the same subgroup | 0.565 Percentage of working age population in the same subgroup | Portugal |
| 2020s | 58.21 Percentage of working age population in the same subgroup | 57.73 Percentage of working age population in the same subgroup | 0.4792 Percentage of working age population in the same subgroup | Portugal |
Averages of every year both report within each decade.
Frequently asked questions
- Which has higher labour force participation rate, Portugal or Spain?
- Portugal, at 59.38 Percentage of working age population in the same subgroup against 58.17 Percentage of working age population in the same subgroup in Spain as of 2025.
- What is the difference in labour force participation rate between Portugal and Spain?
- 1.21 Percentage of working age population in the same subgroup, with Portugal ahead.
- How many years of comparable data are there for Portugal and Spain?
- 27 years are reported by both, from 1999 to 2025.
- How do Portugal and Spain rank globally for labour force participation rate?
- Portugal ranks 24th and Spain ranks 26th of 33 countries.
- Where does this data come from?
- Organisation for Economic Co-operation and Development, published as Labour force participation rate. Statizoid refreshes it automatically from the source and publishes the full history for both places.
Individual pages
About this data
The infra-annual dataflow on the labour force participation rate is a subset of the infra-annual labour statistics database, which contains predominantly monthly and quarterly statistics on the labour force participation rate by age groups (15+, 15-24, 25-54, 55-64, 15-64 and 15-74 where available) and sex and associated statistical methodological information and associated statistical methodological information, for the OECD member countries and for selected other economies. The labour force participation rate is calculated as the number of the labour force population as a percentage of the working age population. The infra-annual labour statistics compiled for all OECD member countries, are drawn from Labour Force Surveys based on definition provided by the 19th Conference of Labour Statisticians in 2013. The uniform application of these definitions across all OECD member countries results in estimates that are internationally comparable.