Japan vs Sweden: Self-employed, total (% of total employment)

Japan
9.1%
in 2025
Sweden
10.2%
in 2025
Japan rank
171st
Sweden rank
168th

Self-employed, total (% of total employment) over time

  • Japan
  • Sweden
05101520199120082025

How they compare

Sweden currently reports 10.2% against 9.1% in Japan, a difference of 1.1%.

That makes Sweden's figure about 1.1 times Japan's.

The two have swapped places 3 times across 35 shared years of data; in 1991 it was Japan ahead.

Japan ranks 171st and Sweden ranks 168th of 187 countries.

Across the 4 decades both report, Japan averaged higher in 2 and Sweden in 2.

Head to head by decade

Decade Japan Sweden Difference Ahead
1990s 18.7% 11.9% 6.8% Japan
2000s 14.2% 11.4% 2.8% Japan
2010s 11.0% 11.0% 0.1% Sweden
2020s 9.6% 10.5% 0.9% Sweden

Averages of every year both report within each decade.

Frequently asked questions

Which has higher self-employed, total (% of total employment), Japan or Sweden?
Sweden, at 10.2% against 9.1% in Japan as of 2025.
What is the difference in self-employed, total (% of total employment) between Japan and Sweden?
1.1%, with Sweden ahead.
How many years of comparable data are there for Japan and Sweden?
35 years are reported by both, from 1991 to 2025.
How do Japan and Sweden rank globally for self-employed, total (% of total employment)?
Japan ranks 171st and Sweden ranks 168th of 187 countries.
Where does this data come from?
ILO Modelled Estimates database (ILOEST), International Labour Organization (ILO), published as Self-employed, total (% of total employment) (modeled ILO estimate). Statizoid refreshes it automatically from the source and publishes the full history for both places.

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Japan vs Sweden: Self-employed, total (% of total employment). Statizoid, drawing on ILO Modelled Estimates database (ILOEST), International Labour Organization (ILO). Retrieved 08 September 2026, from https://labour.statizoid.com/compare/self-employed-total-percent-of-total-employment-modeled-ilo-estimate/japan/sweden/

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About this data

Indicator
Self-employed, total (% of total employment) (modeled ILO estimate)
Source
ILO Modelled Estimates database (ILOEST), International Labour Organization (ILO)
Licence
CC BY 4.0 (World Bank Open Data)
Coverage
235 places, 8,211 data points, 1991–2025
Last refreshed

Self-employed workers are those workers who, working on their own account or with one or a few partners or in cooperative, hold the type of jobs defined as a "self-employment jobs." i.e. jobs where the remuneration is directly dependent upon the profits derived from the goods and services produced. Self-employed workers include sub-categories of employers, own-account workers and members of producers' cooperatives and contributing family workers.