Labour force participation rate (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 labour force participation...
What the numbers show
Labour force participation rate (current ILO definition - ICLS19) (15+) is currently reported for 69 countries. The highest value is 87.95 in Qatar; the lowest is 36.78 in Kosovo.
The median across all reporting countries is 61.7, and the mean is 60.62.
The gap between the highest and lowest reporting country is a factor of about 2.
Over the past decade 45 countries rose and 21 fell. The largest increase was in Rwanda (up 19.9%), and the largest decrease in Trinidad and Tobago (down 11.2%).
Labour force participation rate (current ILO definition - ICLS19): full country ranking
| # | Country | Latest | Year | 10-year change | Trend |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| 1 | Qatar | 87.95 | 2024 | up 0.7% | flat |
| 2 | United Arab Emirates | 81.36 | 2024 | up 1.0% | flat |
| 3 | Iceland | 75.62 | 2025 | down 8.9% | falling |
| 4 | New Zealand | 70.5 | 2025 | up 2.5% | flat |
| 5 | Angola | 69.12 | 2025 | up 4.2% | rising |
| 6 | Netherlands | 68.65 | 2025 | up 6.6% | rising |
| 7 | Singapore | 67.87 | 2025 | down 0.6% | flat |
| 8 | Viet Nam | 67.77 | 2024 | β | flat |
| 9 | Sweden | 67.5 | 2025 | down 6.3% | falling |
| 10 | Malta | 67.48 | 2025 | up 12.1% | rising |
| 11 | Switzerland | 67.33 | 2025 | down 1.2% | flat |
| 12 | Australia | 66.94 | 2025 | up 0.6% | flat |
| 13 | Estonia | 66.43 | 2025 | up 6.9% | rising |
| 14 | Ireland | 66.14 | 2025 | up 7.0% | rising |
| 15 | Norway | 65.5 | 2025 | down 7.7% | falling |
| 16 | Uruguay | 65.4 | 2025 | up 3.2% | rising |
| 17 | Canada | 65.28 | 2025 | down 1.2% | flat |
| 18 | Denmark | 65.16 | 2025 | up 6.3% | rising |
| 19 | Cyprus | 65.16 | 2025 | up 4.5% | rising |
| 20 | Korea | 64.92 | 2025 | up 2.8% | flat |
| 21 | Botswana | 63.91 | 2024 | up 5.8% | rising |
| 22 | Japan | 63.8 | 2025 | up 7.2% | rising |
| 23 | Brazil | 63.2 | 2025 | down 0.9% | flat |
| 24 | Saudi Arabia | 63.15 | 2025 | up 16.9% | rising |
| 25 | Lithuania | 63.07 | 2025 | up 6.6% | rising |
| 26 | United Kingdom | 62.84 | 2025 | up 0.4% | flat |
| 27 | Russia | 62.84 | 2025 | down 9.1% | falling |
| 28 | Barbados | 62.78 | 2024 | down 1.8% | falling |
| 29 | Panama | 62.52 | 2025 | down 1.8% | flat |
| 30 | Israel | 62.45 | 2025 | down 4.7% | flat |
| 31 | United States | 62.42 | 2025 | down 0.4% | flat |
| 32 | Chile | 62.37 | 2025 | up 0.2% | flat |
| 33 | Luxembourg | 62.27 | 2025 | up 2.8% | flat |
| 34 | Rwanda | 62.25 | 2025 | up 19.9% | rising |
| 35 | Austria | 61.7 | 2025 | up 1.8% | flat |
| 36 | Germany | 61.67 | 2025 | up 2.4% | flat |
| 37 | Latvia | 61.61 | 2025 | up 2.6% | flat |
| 38 | Hungary | 61.5 | 2025 | up 12.3% | rising |
| 39 | Slovak Republic | 61.22 | 2025 | up 2.6% | flat |
| 40 | Mongolia | 61.07 | 2025 | down 2.7% | flat |
| 41 | Czechia | 61.01 | 2025 | up 2.7% | flat |
| 42 | Finland | 60.87 | 2025 | up 3.2% | flat |
| 43 | Belize | 60.06 | 2025 | up 7.4% | flat |
| 44 | New Caledonia | 59.29 | 2023 | down 7.4% | falling |
| 45 | Portugal | 59.22 | 2025 | up 1.3% | flat |
| 46 | Chinese Taipei | 59.14 | 2020 | up 1.0% | flat |
| 47 | Spain | 58.96 | 2025 | up 0.2% | flat |
| 48 | Slovenia | 58.5 | 2025 | up 2.1% | flat |
| 49 | Poland | 58.43 | 2025 | β | flat |
| 50 | Ghana | 57.63 | 2024 | down 5.3% | falling |
| 51 | Hong Kong (China) | 56.99 | 2025 | down 6.8% | falling |
| 52 | France | 56.96 | 2025 | up 1.6% | flat |
| 53 | Belgium | 55.95 | 2025 | up 5.0% | flat |
| 54 | Costa Rica | 55.94 | 2025 | down 10.9% | falling |
| 55 | Serbia | 55.81 | 2025 | β | flat |
| 56 | Armenia | 55.16 | 2024 | down 6.0% | falling |
| 57 | Bulgaria | 55.13 | 2025 | up 2.0% | flat |
| 58 | Trinidad and Tobago | 54.53 | 2024 | down 11.2% | falling |
| 59 | Croatia | 54.06 | 2025 | up 2.3% | flat |
| 60 | El Salvador | 53.97 | 2025 | up 6.3% | flat |
| 61 | Georgia | 53.86 | 2025 | up 6.7% | rising |
| 62 | Greece | 52.89 | 2025 | up 2.5% | flat |
| 63 | Romania | 51.39 | 2025 | down 5.8% | falling |
| 64 | Italy | 49.91 | 2025 | up 1.9% | flat |
| 65 | Jordan | 40.81 | 2024 | up 1.5% | flat |
| 66 | Moldova | 40.48 | 2025 | up 5.5% | rising |
| 67 | Zimbabwe | 40.42 | 2024 | down 5.8% | falling |
| 68 | Zambia | 38.02 | 2024 | up 9.5% | rising |
| 69 | Kosovo | 36.78 | 2024 | up 7.7% | flat |
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 labour force participation rate is the labour force as a percent of the working-age population. The labour force is the sum of all persons of working age who are employed and those who are unemployed. For more information, refer to the Work Statistics -- 19th ICLS (WORK) database description.