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Labor participation rate, total (% of total population ages 65+) by country

Labor force participation rate is the proportion of the population ages 65 and older 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...

Countries reporting
52
Highest
90.8%
Malawi
Lowest
4.8%
Algeria
Median
48.8%
Years covered
22
1990–2011
Data points
1,276

What the numbers show

Labor participation rate, total (% of total population ages 65+) is currently reported for 52 countries. The highest value is 90.8% in Malawi; the lowest is 4.8% in Algeria.

The median across all reporting countries is 48.8%, and the mean is 45.6%.

The gap between the highest and lowest reporting country is a factor of about 19.

Over the past decade 12 countries rose and 40 fell. The largest increase was in Ethiopia (up 12.6%), and the largest decrease in South Africa (down 43.7%).

Labor participation rate, total: full country ranking

#Country LatestYear 10-year changeTrend
1 Malawi 90.8% 2011 up 8.5% flat
2 Mozambique 81.6% 2011 down 1.4% flat
3 Gambia 73.7% 2011 down 2.2% flat
4 Zambia 73.5% 2011 down 3.0% flat
5 Central African Republic 72.5% 2011 down 0.8% flat
6 Zimbabwe 70.3% 2011 up 1.7% rising
7 Tanzania 67.0% 2011 up 5.4% rising
8 Uganda 65.7% 2011 up 4.9% rising
9 Chad 64.9% 2011 down 3.3% falling
10 Burundi 62.9% 2011 down 5.8% falling
11 Democratic Republic of Congo 62.8% 2011 down 2.8% flat
12 Madagascar 62.5% 2011 down 2.7% flat
13 Benin 57.1% 2011 down 0.7% flat
14 Cote d'Ivoire 56.5% 2011 down 2.2% rising
15 Rwanda 55.9% 2011 down 2.7% falling
16 Togo 55.8% 2011 down 0.7% flat
17 Kenya 55.7% 2011 down 12.5% falling
18 Cameroon 55.0% 2011 down 2.2% flat
19 Ethiopia 54.9% 2011 up 12.6% rising
20 Equatorial Guinea 54.6% 2011 down 1.3% flat
21 Nigeria 53.9% 2011 up 1.6% rising
22 Ghana 52.0% 2011 down 10.5% falling
23 Senegal 51.0% 2011 down 2.9% falling
24 Congo 50.9% 2011 down 3.1% flat
25 Guinea-Bissau 49.2% 2011 up 2.7% rising
26 Burkina Faso 49.1% 2011 down 2.4% falling
27 Liberia 48.5% 2011 down 2.0% falling
28 Guinea 48.4% 2011 up 1.3% flat
29 Angola 47.2% 2011 down 2.1% flat
30 Lesotho 47.1% 2011 down 17.7% falling
31 Eritrea 46.8% 2011 up 0.9% flat
32 Niger 46.4% 2011 down 8.4% flat
33 Comoros 44.6% 2011 down 1.1% flat
34 Gabon 42.8% 2011 down 10.0% falling
35 Botswana 40.3% 2011 up 1.0% flat
36 Sudan 38.0% 2011 down 2.6% falling
37 Sierra Leone 37.1% 2011 down 2.1% flat
38 Mauritania 33.8% 2011 up 3.6% rising
39 Eswatini 32.9% 2011 down 4.0% falling
40 Namibia 32.0% 2011 down 2.5% rising
41 Morocco 23.6% 2011 up 9.5% falling
42 Somalia 23.3% 2011 down 4.0% falling
43 Mali 22.5% 2011 down 1.8% falling
44 Cape Verde 22.5% 2011 down 21.9% falling
45 Sao Tome and Principe 20.8% 2011 down 8.9% falling
46 Libya 17.5% 2011 down 2.7% flat
47 Tunisia 14.2% 2011 down 14.5% falling
48 Djibouti 11.1% 2011 down 2.4% flat
49 Egypt 10.5% 2011 down 1.6% falling
50 Mauritius 9.8% 2011 down 4.5% falling
51 South Africa 6.6% 2011 down 43.7% flat
52 Algeria 4.8% 2011 down 11.7% falling

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 29 August 2026, from https://labour.statizoid.com/stat/labor-participation-rate-total-percent-of-total-population-ages-65/

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About this data

Indicator
Labor participation rate, total (% of total population ages 65+)
Unit
% of total population ages 65+
Source
International Labour Organization, Key Indicators of the Labour Market database
Licence
CC BY 4.0 (World Bank Open Data)
Coverage
58 places, 1,276 data points, 1990–2011
Last refreshed

Labor force participation rate is the proportion of the population ages 65 and older 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.