Annual population and employment, national concept — Self employed in Germany

Germany: Annual population and employment, national concept — Self employed was 3,666 Persons in 2025. ▲ Rising

Latest (2025)
3,666 Persons
Change on year
down 1.0%
World rank
7th
of 36 countries
All-time high
4,531 Persons
in 2011
All-time low
3,563 Persons
in 1991
Years of data
35
1991–2025

Annual population and employment, national concept — Self employed in Germany, 1991–2025

01.0k2.0k3.0k4.0k5.0k1991200820251991: 3.6k Persons1992: 3.6k Persons1993: 3.7k Persons1994: 3.7k Persons1995: 3.8k Persons1996: 3.9k Persons1997: 3.9k Persons1998: 4.0k Persons1999: 4.0k Persons2000: 4.0k Persons2001: 4.0k Persons2002: 4.1k Persons2003: 4.1k Persons2004: 4.3k Persons2005: 4.4k Persons2006: 4.4k Persons2007: 4.5k Persons2008: 4.5k Persons2009: 4.5k Persons2010: 4.5k Persons2011: 4.5k Persons2012: 4.5k Persons2013: 4.5k Persons2014: 4.5k Persons2015: 4.4k Persons2016: 4.4k Persons2017: 4.3k Persons2018: 4.2k Persons2019: 4.1k Persons2020: 4.0k Persons2021: 3.9k Persons2022: 3.9k Persons2023: 3.8k Persons2024: 3.7k Persons2025: 3.7k Persons

Source: Organisation for Economic Co-operation and Development. Measured in Persons.

Analysis

In 2025, annual population and employment, national concept — self employed in Germany stood at 3,666 Persons.

That represents a change of down 1.0% on the previous year and down 16.9% over ten years.

Over the whole period, annual population and employment, national concept — self employed in Germany peaked at 4,531 Persons in 2011 and was at its lowest, 3,563 Persons, in 1991.

That places Germany 7th out of 36 countries with data for 2025, putting it in the top quarter.

The long-run direction has been consistently rising across the 35 years of available data.

Annual population and employment, national concept — Self employed in Germany, year by year

Annual values for Annual population and employment, national concept — Self employed in Germany, 1991 to 2025.
Year Persons Change
1991 3,563 Persons
1992 3,608 Persons +1.3%
1993 3,668 Persons +1.7%
1994 3,746 Persons +2.1%
1995 3,797 Persons +1.4%
1996 3,856 Persons +1.6%
1997 3,915 Persons +1.5%
1998 3,963 Persons +1.2%
1999 3,991 Persons +0.7%
2000 4,013 Persons +0.6%
2001 4,028 Persons +0.4%
2002 4,062 Persons +0.8%
2003 4,134 Persons +1.8%
2004 4,260 Persons +3.0%
2005 4,381 Persons +2.8%
2006 4,436 Persons +1.3%
2007 4,469 Persons +0.7%
2008 4,479 Persons +0.2%
2009 4,493 Persons +0.3%
2010 4,518 Persons +0.6%
2011 4,531 Persons +0.3%
2012 4,527 Persons -0.1%
2013 4,501 Persons -0.6%
2014 4,466 Persons -0.8%
2015 4,414 Persons -1.2%
2016 4,360 Persons -1.2%
2017 4,293 Persons -1.5%
2018 4,229 Persons -1.5%
2019 4,146 Persons -2.0%
2020 4,039 Persons -2.6%
2021 3,944 Persons -2.4%
2022 3,862 Persons -2.1%
2023 3,787 Persons -1.9%
2024 3,704 Persons -2.2%
2025 3,666 Persons -1.0%

Averages by decade

DecadeAverage LowestHighest Years
1990s 3,790 Persons 3,563 Persons 3,991 Persons 9
2000s 4,276 Persons 4,013 Persons 4,493 Persons 10
2010s 4,398 Persons 4,146 Persons 4,531 Persons 10
2020s 3,834 Persons 3,666 Persons 4,039 Persons 6

Countries ranked near Germany

  1. 4 Italy 6,111 Persons compare
  2. 5 Russian Federation 4,954 Persons compare
  3. 6 United Kingdom of Great Britain and Northern Ireland 4,512 Persons compare
  4. 8 France 3,505 Persons compare
  5. 9 Spain 3,241 Persons compare
  6. 10 South Africa 2,938 Persons compare

See the full ranking of 46 places →

More work & labour data for Germany

All data for Germany →

Frequently asked questions

What is annual population and employment, national concept — self employed in Germany?
Annual population and employment, national concept — self employed in Germany was 3,666 Persons in 2025, according to Organisation for Economic Co-operation and Development.
What is the highest annual population and employment, national concept — self employed recorded in Germany?
The highest recorded value was 4,531 Persons in 2011.
What is the lowest annual population and employment, national concept — self employed recorded in Germany?
The lowest recorded value was 3,563 Persons in 1991.
How does Germany rank for annual population and employment, national concept — self employed?
Germany ranks 7th out of 36 countries with data for 2025.
Is annual population and employment, national concept — self employed rising or falling in Germany?
Over the last ten years it is down 16.9%. The long-run trend across the full record is rising.
Where does this Germany data come from?
The figures come from Organisation for Economic Co-operation and Development, published as part of Annual population and employment, national concept — Self employed. Statizoid updates them automatically from the source API.

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Annual population and employment, national concept — Self employed in Germany. Statizoid, drawing on Organisation for Economic Co-operation and Development. Retrieved 26 August 2026, from https://labour.statizoid.com/stat/annual-population-and-employment-national-concept-self-employed/germany/

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About this data

Indicator
Annual population and employment, national concept — Self employed
Unit
Persons
Source
Organisation for Economic Co-operation and Development
Licence
OECD Terms and Conditions (attribution required)
Coverage
46 places, 1,669 data points, 1950–2025
Last refreshed

This table presents population and employment data according to the national concept. The national concept is defined by the residence of the person: employees are residents employed by either resident or non-resident producer units; and the self-employed are resident self-employed people in either resident or non-resident producer units. Users should note that population data corresponds to mid-year estimates (or the average of the reference year). These indicators were presented in the previous dissemination system in the SNA_TABLE3 dataset. See ANA Changes for information on changes in methodology: ANA Changes Explore also the GDP and non-financial accounts webpage: GDP and non-financial accounts webpage OECD statistics contact: STAT.Contact@oecd.org