Labor force participation rate in Qatar
Qatar: Labor force participation rate was 87.0% in 2025. ▲ Rising
Latest (2025)
87.0%
Change on year
down 0.2%
World rank
1st
of 186 countries
All-time high
87.6%
in 2022
All-time low
82.4%
in 2004
Years of data
36
1990–2025
Labor force participation rate in Qatar, 1990–2025
Source: ILO Modelled Estimates, via World Bank (2026) – processed by Our World in Data. Measured in %.
Analysis
Qatar recorded 87.0% for labor force participation rate in 2025.
That represents a change of down 0.2% on the previous year and down 0.3% over ten years.
Over the whole period, labor force participation rate in Qatar peaked at 87.6% in 2022 and was at its lowest, 82.4%, in 2004.
Qatar ranks 1st of 186 countries on this measure, in the top 10%.
The long-run direction has been consistently rising across the 36 years of available data.
Labor force participation rate in Qatar, year by year
| Year | % | Change |
|---|---|---|
| 1990 | 83.7% | — |
| 1991 | 83.8% | +0.1% |
| 1992 | 83.5% | -0.4% |
| 1993 | 83.7% | +0.2% |
| 1994 | 83.8% | +0.1% |
| 1995 | 83.8% | +0.1% |
| 1996 | 83.8% | +0.0% |
| 1997 | 82.9% | -1.1% |
| 1998 | 82.6% | -0.4% |
| 1999 | 82.7% | +0.1% |
| 2000 | 82.6% | -0.0% |
| 2001 | 82.8% | +0.2% |
| 2002 | 82.9% | +0.1% |
| 2003 | 83.2% | +0.3% |
| 2004 | 82.4% | -1.0% |
| 2005 | 82.6% | +0.2% |
| 2006 | 83.7% | +1.4% |
| 2007 | 85.3% | +1.9% |
| 2008 | 86.1% | +0.9% |
| 2009 | 86.5% | +0.5% |
| 2010 | 86.6% | +0.1% |
| 2011 | 86.5% | -0.1% |
| 2012 | 86.3% | -0.2% |
| 2013 | 86.3% | +0.0% |
| 2014 | 86.7% | +0.5% |
| 2015 | 87.3% | +0.6% |
| 2016 | 87.5% | +0.2% |
| 2017 | 87.5% | +0.0% |
| 2018 | 87.5% | +0.0% |
| 2019 | 87.4% | -0.1% |
| 2020 | 87.1% | -0.4% |
| 2021 | 86.4% | -0.9% |
| 2022 | 87.6% | +1.4% |
| 2023 | 87.6% | -0.0% |
| 2024 | 87.2% | -0.4% |
| 2025 | 87.0% | -0.2% |
Qatar compared with similar countries
- Qatar's 87.0% is above the median for high income countries, which is 62.3%, 1.4× the median. (62 countries reporting)
- Qatar's 87.0% is above the median for Middle East, North Africa, Afghanistan & Pakistan, which is 45.0%, 1.9× the median. (23 countries reporting)
Averages by decade
| Decade | Average | Lowest | Highest | Years |
|---|---|---|---|---|
| 1990s | 83.4% | 82.6% | 83.8% | 10 |
| 2000s | 83.8% | 82.4% | 86.5% | 10 |
| 2010s | 87.0% | 86.3% | 87.5% | 10 |
| 2020s | 87.1% | 86.4% | 87.6% | 6 |
Countries ranked near Qatar
- 2 Madagascar 85.5% compare
- 3 Solomon Islands 84.3% compare
- 4 Tanzania 83.7% compare
More work & labour data for Qatar
- Population - Est. & Proj. — Total Population - Both sexes, annual 1.01 % change on previous year (2100)
- Population - Est. & Proj. — Total Population - Male, annual growth 0.8188 % change on previous year (2100)
- Population - Est. & Proj. — Total Population - Female, annual growth 1.28 % change on previous year (2100)
- Population - Est. & Proj. — Rural population, annual growth rate -1.15 % change on previous year (2050)
- Population - Est. & Proj. — Urban population, annual growth rate 0.5742 % change on previous year (2050)
- Population - Est. & Proj. — Urban population 3,762 1000 No (2050)
- Population - Est. & Proj. — Rural population 11.18 1000 No (2050)
- Population - Est. & Proj. — Total Population - Female 3,025 1000 No (2100)
- Population - Est. & Proj. — Total Population - Male 4,247 1000 No (2100)
- Population - Est. & Proj. — Total Population - Both sexes 7,272 1000 No (2100)
Frequently asked questions
- What is labor force participation rate in Qatar?
- Labor force participation rate in Qatar was 87.0% in 2025, according to ILO Modelled Estimates, via World Bank (2026) – processed by Our World in Data.
- What is the highest labor force participation rate recorded in Qatar?
- The highest recorded value was 87.6% in 2022.
- What is the lowest labor force participation rate recorded in Qatar?
- The lowest recorded value was 82.4% in 2004.
- How does Qatar rank for labor force participation rate?
- Qatar ranks 1st out of 186 countries with data for 2025.
- Is labor force participation rate rising or falling in Qatar?
- Over the last ten years it is down 0.3%. The long-run trend across the full record is rising.
- Where does this Qatar data come from?
- The figures come from ILO Modelled Estimates, via World Bank (2026) – processed by 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).
About this data
Share of the working-age population (ages 15 and over) who are economically active (employed or unemployed).