Labor force participation rate in Macao
Macao: Labor force participation rate was 67.85 in 2025. ▲ Rising
Latest (2025)
67.85
Change on year
down 0.6%
World rank
38th
of 186 countries
All-time high
71.4
in 2014
All-time low
57.85
in 1990
Years of data
36
1990–2025
Labor force participation rate in Macao, 1990–2025
Source: Our World in Data.
Analysis
In 2025, labor force participation rate in Macao stood at 67.85.
Compared with earlier readings it is down 0.6% on the previous year and down 4.2% over ten years.
Over the whole period, labor force participation rate in Macao peaked at 71.4 in 2014 and was at its lowest, 57.85, in 1990.
That places Macao 38th out of 186 countries with data for 2025, putting it in the top quarter.
The long-run direction has been consistently rising across the 36 years of available data.
Labor force participation rate in Macao, year by year
| Year | Value | Change |
|---|---|---|
| 1990 | 57.85 | — |
| 1991 | 58.28 | +0.7% |
| 1992 | 58.24 | -0.1% |
| 1993 | 60.17 | +3.3% |
| 1994 | 61.83 | +2.8% |
| 1995 | 63.29 | +2.3% |
| 1996 | 64.55 | +2.0% |
| 1997 | 65.63 | +1.7% |
| 1998 | 65.42 | -0.3% |
| 1999 | 65.72 | +0.5% |
| 2000 | 65.52 | -0.3% |
| 2001 | 64.91 | -0.9% |
| 2002 | 64.13 | -1.2% |
| 2003 | 61.7 | -3.8% |
| 2004 | 62.7 | +1.6% |
| 2005 | 63.91 | +1.9% |
| 2006 | 65.85 | +3.0% |
| 2007 | 68.6 | +4.2% |
| 2008 | 69.76 | +1.7% |
| 2009 | 69.97 | +0.3% |
| 2010 | 69.99 | +0.0% |
| 2011 | 70.87 | +1.3% |
| 2012 | 70.74 | -0.2% |
| 2013 | 70.86 | +0.2% |
| 2014 | 71.4 | +0.8% |
| 2015 | 70.81 | -0.8% |
| 2016 | 70.06 | -1.1% |
| 2017 | 69.86 | -0.3% |
| 2018 | 70.08 | +0.3% |
| 2019 | 69.79 | -0.4% |
| 2020 | 68.67 | -1.6% |
| 2021 | 68.92 | +0.4% |
| 2022 | 66.65 | -3.3% |
| 2023 | 67.97 | +2.0% |
| 2024 | 68.28 | +0.5% |
| 2025 | 67.85 | -0.6% |
Macao compared with similar countries
- Macao's 67.85 is above the median for high income countries, which is 62.28, 1.1× the median. (62 countries reporting)
- Macao's 67.85 is above the median for East Asia & Pacific, which is 64.35, 1.1× the median. (29 countries reporting)
Averages by decade
| Decade | Average | Lowest | Highest | Years |
|---|---|---|---|---|
| 1990s | 62.1 | 57.85 | 65.72 | 10 |
| 2000s | 65.71 | 61.7 | 69.97 | 10 |
| 2010s | 70.45 | 69.79 | 71.4 | 10 |
| 2020s | 68.06 | 66.65 | 68.92 | 6 |
Countries ranked near Macao
- 35 Saint Lucia 68.27 compare
- 36 Indonesia 67.97 compare
- 37 Saint Vincent and the Grenadines 67.9 compare
- 39 Congo 67.83 compare
- 40 Kazakhstan 67.77 compare
- 41 Zimbabwe 67.72 compare
More work & labour data for Macao
- Persons outside the labour force (ILO modelled estimates) 208.94 (2027)
- Labour force participation rate (ILO modelled estimates) 66.82 (2027)
- Labour force (ILO modelled estimates) 420.81 (2027)
- Unemployment rate (ILO modelled estimates) 2.74 (2027)
- Labour dependency ratio 0.769 (2027)
- Output per worker, GDP constant 2021 international $ at PPP 206,074 (2027)
- Output per worker, GDP constant 2015 US $ 117,019 (2027)
- Employment-to-population ratio (ILO modelled estimates) 64.99 (2027)
- Persons outside the labour force (ILO modelled estimates) (15+) 2.38 % change on previous year (2027)
- Labour force (ILO modelled estimates) (15+), annual growth rate -0.2761 % change on previous year (2027)
Frequently asked questions
- What is labor force participation rate in Macao?
- Labor force participation rate in Macao was 67.85 in 2025, according to Our World in Data.
- What is the highest labor force participation rate recorded in Macao?
- The highest recorded value was 71.4 in 2014.
- What is the lowest labor force participation rate recorded in Macao?
- The lowest recorded value was 57.85 in 1990.
- How does Macao rank for labor force participation rate?
- Macao ranks 38th out of 186 countries with data for 2025.
- Is labor force participation rate rising or falling in Macao?
- Over the last ten years it is down 4.2%. The long-run trend across the full record is rising.
- Where does this Macao data come from?
- The figures come from Our World in Data, published as part of Labor force participation rate. Statizoid updates them automatically from the source API.
Download this data
CSV · JSON — 36 observations, free to reuse under CC BY 4.0 (Our World in Data).