Employment-to-population ratio (current ILO definition - ICLS19) (15+) by country
With the aim of promoting international comparability, statistics presented on ILOSTAT are based on standard international definitions wherever feasible and may differ from official national figures. This series includes only countries for which the 19th ICLS definitions are applied. The employment-to-population...
What the numbers show
Employment-to-population ratio (current ILO definition - ICLS19) (15+) is currently reported for 71 countries. The highest value is 87.86 in Qatar; the lowest is 30.53 in Zimbabwe.
The median across all reporting countries is 57.9, and the mean is 56.56.
The gap between the highest and lowest reporting country is a factor of about 3.
Over the past decade 49 countries rose and 18 fell. The largest increase was in Kosovo (up 37.1%), and the largest decrease in Zimbabwe (down 14.4%).
Employment-to-population ratio (current ILO definition - ICLS19): full country ranking
| # | Country | Latest | Year | 10-year change | Trend |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| 1 | Qatar | 87.86 | 2024 | up 0.8% | flat |
| 2 | United Arab Emirates | 79.83 | 2024 | up 0.7% | flat |
| 3 | Iceland | 72.27 | 2025 | down 9.3% | falling |
| 4 | New Zealand | 66.79 | 2025 | up 2.7% | flat |
| 5 | Viet Nam | 66.38 | 2024 | — | flat |
| 6 | Netherlands | 66.01 | 2025 | up 10.1% | rising |
| 7 | Singapore | 65.66 | 2025 | down 0.1% | flat |
| 8 | Malta | 65.43 | 2025 | up 14.8% | rising |
| 9 | Australia | 64.15 | 2025 | up 2.2% | flat |
| 10 | Switzerland | 64.08 | 2025 | down 1.2% | flat |
| 11 | Korea | 63.11 | 2025 | up 3.6% | flat |
| 12 | Ireland | 63.07 | 2025 | up 13.2% | rising |
| 13 | Norway | 62.59 | 2025 | down 7.9% | falling |
| 14 | Cyprus | 62.32 | 2025 | up 17.6% | rising |
| 15 | Japan | 62.23 | 2025 | up 8.2% | rising |
| 16 | Sweden | 61.6 | 2025 | down 7.6% | falling |
| 17 | Russian Federation | 61.5 | 2025 | down 5.7% | falling |
| 18 | Estonia | 61.49 | 2025 | up 5.8% | rising |
| 19 | Angola | 61.29 | 2025 | up 14.0% | rising |
| 20 | Saudi Arabia | 61.11 | 2025 | up 19.8% | rising |
| 21 | Denmark | 61.04 | 2025 | up 6.2% | rising |
| 22 | Canada | 60.83 | 2025 | down 1.0% | flat |
| 23 | Israel | 60.58 | 2025 | down 2.5% | flat |
| 24 | Uruguay | 60.57 | 2025 | up 4.9% | rising |
| 25 | United Kingdom of Great Britain and Northern Ireland | 59.77 | 2025 | up 1.1% | flat |
| 26 | United States of America | 59.74 | 2025 | up 0.7% | flat |
| 27 | Brazil | 59.51 | 2025 | up 2.0% | flat |
| 28 | Czechia | 59.31 | 2025 | up 5.1% | flat |
| 29 | Germany | 59.31 | 2025 | up 3.3% | flat |
| 30 | Barbados | 58.99 | 2024 | up 5.3% | flat |
| 31 | Belize | 58.87 | 2025 | up 22.1% | rising |
| 32 | Hungary | 58.78 | 2025 | up 15.2% | rising |
| 33 | Lithuania | 58.74 | 2025 | up 9.3% | rising |
| 34 | Luxembourg | 58.23 | 2025 | up 3.2% | rising |
| 35 | Austria | 58.13 | 2025 | up 1.8% | flat |
| 36 | Slovakia | 57.9 | 2025 | up 9.6% | rising |
| 37 | Mongolia | 57.74 | 2025 | up 2.1% | flat |
| 38 | Latvia | 57.37 | 2025 | up 6.0% | rising |
| 39 | Panama | 57.33 | 2025 | down 5.9% | falling |
| 40 | Chinese Taipei | 56.86 | 2020 | up 1.1% | flat |
| 41 | Chile | 56.78 | 2025 | down 2.3% | falling |
| 42 | Poland | 56.65 | 2025 | — | flat |
| 43 | Slovenia | 56.23 | 2025 | up 7.8% | rising |
| 44 | Portugal | 55.76 | 2025 | up 8.8% | rising |
| 45 | Ghana | 55.05 | 2024 | down 5.8% | falling |
| 46 | Finland | 55.02 | 2025 | up 3.0% | rising |
| 47 | Hong Kong, China | 54.91 | 2025 | down 7.1% | falling |
| 48 | Rwanda | 54.52 | 2025 | up 27.0% | rising |
| 49 | New Caledonia | 53.27 | 2023 | down 2.6% | flat |
| 50 | Bulgaria | 53.19 | 2025 | up 8.3% | rising |
| 51 | Spain | 52.77 | 2025 | up 15.1% | rising |
| 52 | France | 52.57 | 2025 | up 4.6% | rising |
| 53 | Belgium | 52.49 | 2025 | up 7.6% | rising |
| 54 | Guyana | 52.47 | 2024 | up 14.2% | rising |
| 55 | Costa Rica | 52.39 | 2025 | down 8.9% | falling |
| 56 | Trinidad and Tobago | 52.34 | 2024 | down 12.6% | falling |
| 57 | El Salvador | 52.17 | 2025 | up 9.2% | rising |
| 58 | Croatia | 51.44 | 2025 | up 16.0% | rising |
| 59 | Serbia | 51.18 | 2025 | — | rising |
| 60 | Romania | 48.26 | 2025 | down 5.1% | falling |
| 61 | Greece | 48.21 | 2025 | up 24.5% | rising |
| 62 | Armenia | 47.77 | 2024 | up 0.5% | flat |
| 63 | Georgia | 46.9 | 2025 | up 14.0% | rising |
| 64 | Italy | 46.84 | 2025 | up 8.6% | rising |
| 65 | Botswana | 46.01 | 2024 | down 1.8% | flat |
| 66 | Bosnia and Herzegovina | 43.16 | 2025 | — | rising |
| 67 | Republic of Moldova | 38.88 | 2025 | up 7.1% | rising |
| 68 | Jordan | 33.95 | 2024 | up 3.2% | flat |
| 69 | Zambia | 33.12 | 2024 | up 8.6% | rising |
| 70 | Kosovo | 32.63 | 2024 | up 37.1% | rising |
| 71 | Zimbabwe | 30.53 | 2024 | down 14.4% | falling |
About this data
With the aim of promoting international comparability, statistics presented on ILOSTAT are based on standard international definitions wherever feasible and may differ from official national figures. This series includes only countries for which the 19th ICLS definitions are applied. The employment-to-population ratio is the number of persons who are employed as a percent of the total of working-age population. Persons in employment are defined as all those of working age who, during a short reference period, were engaged in any activity to produce goods or provide services for pay or profit. They comprise employed persons who worked in a job for at least one hour and employed persons not at work due to temporary absence from a job, or to working-time arrangements. For more information, refer to the Work Statistics -- 19th ICLS (WORK) database description.