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Labor participation rate, total (% of total population ages 25-54) by country

Labor force participation rate is the proportion of the population ages 25-54 that is economically active: all people who supply labor for the production of goods and services during a specified period. The participation rates are harmonized to account for differences in national data collection and tabulation...

Countries reporting
52
Highest
97.7%
Malawi
Lowest
56.6%
Algeria
Median
83.5%
Years covered
22
1990–2011
Data points
1,270

What the numbers show

Labor participation rate, total (% of total population ages 25-54) is currently reported for 52 countries. The highest value is 97.7% in Malawi; the lowest is 56.6% in Algeria.

The median across all reporting countries is 83.5%, and the mean is 80.9%.

The gap between the highest and lowest reporting country is a factor of about 2.

Over the past decade 42 countries rose and 10 fell. The largest increase was in Namibia (up 11.5%), and the largest decrease in Uganda (down 4.8%).

Labor participation rate, total: full country ranking

#Country LatestYear 10-year changeTrend
1 Malawi 97.7% 2011 up 7.9% rising
2 Tanzania 96.9% 2011 up 1.1% flat
3 Mozambique 96.5% 2011 up 1.5% rising
4 Rwanda 95.9% 2011 up 0.2% flat
5 Madagascar 95.6% 2011 up 0.5% flat
6 Burundi 95.3% 2011 down 0.6% flat
7 Equatorial Guinea 94.7% 2011 up 0.9% flat
8 Zimbabwe 93.8% 2011 up 5.3% rising
9 Eritrea 92.8% 2011 up 3.2% rising
10 Ethiopia 92.4% 2011 up 3.6% rising
11 Botswana 91.9% 2011 up 2.3% rising
12 Togo 91.8% 2011 up 1.9% rising
13 Burkina Faso 91.5% 2011 up 0.7% flat
14 Uganda 90.6% 2011 down 4.8% falling
15 Democratic Republic of Congo 88.4% 2011 up 1.1% flat
16 Central African Republic 88.0% 2011 up 1.7% flat
17 Zambia 87.4% 2011 down 0.7% flat
18 Ghana 87.1% 2011 down 0.5% flat
19 Congo 86.7% 2011 up 3.0% rising
20 Guinea-Bissau 86.5% 2011 up 2.8% flat
21 Senegal 85.8% 2011 up 1.8% flat
22 Gambia 85.7% 2011 up 1.2% flat
23 Guinea 85.4% 2011 up 1.2% flat
24 Cameroon 85.1% 2011 up 2.2% flat
25 Namibia 85.0% 2011 up 11.5% rising
26 Benin 83.8% 2011 up 2.8% rising
27 Angola 83.2% 2011 down 2.1% flat
28 Lesotho 82.7% 2011 down 0.8% flat
29 Kenya 82.3% 2011 down 1.8% falling
30 Gabon 82.3% 2011 up 2.4% flat
31 Chad 81.7% 2011 up 0.5% flat
32 Sierra Leone 81.7% 2011 up 2.1% flat
33 Cape Verde 80.0% 2011 up 6.1% rising
34 Sao Tome and Principe 77.1% 2011 up 3.2% rising
35 Cote d'Ivoire 76.9% 2011 up 2.2% flat
36 Mauritius 76.6% 2011 up 3.3% rising
37 Liberia 75.3% 2011 up 0.6% flat
38 South Africa 72.3% 2011 up 1.4% rising
39 Eswatini 70.4% 2011 up 3.4% rising
40 Niger 69.7% 2011 up 1.3% rising
41 Somalia 68.4% 2011 up 1.8% flat
42 Comoros 67.4% 2011 up 3.7% rising
43 Sudan 66.1% 2011 up 3.2% rising
44 Libya 65.4% 2011 down 1.6% rising
45 Mali 64.2% 2011 up 2.6% flat
46 Mauritania 63.4% 2011 up 4.9% rising
47 Egypt 63.4% 2011 up 1.3% rising
48 Nigeria 63.0% 2011 down 2.6% falling
49 Djibouti 62.1% 2011 up 9.0% rising
50 Tunisia 61.6% 2011 up 0.7% flat
51 Morocco 60.8% 2011 down 0.7% flat
52 Algeria 56.6% 2011 up 3.1% rising

Regions and income groups

Aggregates are excluded from the country ranking above so that a region can never outrank a country.

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Labor participation rate, total by country. Statizoid, drawing on International Labour Organization, Key Indicators of the Labour Market database. Retrieved 01 September 2026, from https://labour.statizoid.com/stat/labor-participation-rate-total-percent-of-total-population-ages-25-54/

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About this data

Indicator
Labor participation rate, total (% of total population ages 25-54)
Unit
% of total population ages 25-54
Source
International Labour Organization, Key Indicators of the Labour Market database
Licence
CC BY 4.0 (World Bank Open Data)
Coverage
58 places, 1,270 data points, 1990–2011
Last refreshed

Labor force participation rate is the proportion of the population ages 25-54 that is economically active: all people who supply labor for the production of goods and services during a specified period. The participation rates are harmonized to account for differences in national data collection and tabulation methodologies as well as for other country-specific factors such as military service requirements. The series includes both nationally reported and imputed data and only estimates that are national, meaning there are no geographic limitations in coverage.