Labour force participation rate by country
The infra-annual dataflow on the labour force participation rate is a subset of the infra-annual labour statistics database, which contains predominantly monthly and quarterly statistics on the labour force participation rate by age groups (15+, 15-24, 25-54, 55-64, 15-64 and 15-74 where available) and sex and...
What the numbers show
Labour force participation rate is currently reported for 33 countries. The highest value is 75.62 Percentage of working age population in the same subgroup in Iceland; the lowest is 49.9 Percentage of working age population in the same subgroup in Italy.
The median across all reporting countries is 61.75 Percentage of working age population in the same subgroup, and the mean is 61.63 Percentage of working age population in the same subgroup.
The gap between the highest and lowest reporting country is a factor of about 2.
Over the past decade 22 countries rose and 11 fell. The largest increase was in Hungary (up 12.3%), and the largest decrease in Costa Rica (down 10.0%).
Labour force participation rate: full country ranking
| # | Country | Latest | Year | 10-year change | Trend |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| 1 | Iceland | 75.62 Percentage of working age population in the same subgroup | 2025 | down 8.9% | falling |
| 2 | New Zealand | 70.5 Percentage of working age population in the same subgroup | 2025 | up 2.5% | rising |
| 3 | Sweden | 67.53 Percentage of working age population in the same subgroup | 2025 | up 4.2% | rising |
| 4 | Switzerland | 67.33 Percentage of working age population in the same subgroup | 2025 | down 1.2% | flat |
| 5 | Australia | 66.92 Percentage of working age population in the same subgroup | 2025 | up 3.0% | rising |
| 6 | Ireland | 66.12 Percentage of working age population in the same subgroup | 2025 | up 7.0% | rising |
| 7 | Norway | 65.5 Percentage of working age population in the same subgroup | 2025 | up 0.8% | falling |
| 8 | Canada | 65.28 Percentage of working age population in the same subgroup | 2025 | down 1.2% | flat |
| 9 | Denmark | 65.15 Percentage of working age population in the same subgroup | 2025 | up 6.2% | falling |
| 10 | Colombia | 64.3 Percentage of working age population in the same subgroup | 2025 | down 7.2% | flat |
| 11 | Japan | 63.87 Percentage of working age population in the same subgroup | 2025 | up 7.1% | falling |
| 12 | United Kingdom | 63.79 Percentage of working age population in the same subgroup | 2025 | up 0.5% | flat |
| 13 | United States | 62.6 Percentage of working age population in the same subgroup | 2024 | down 0.5% | rising |
| 14 | Israel | 62.48 Percentage of working age population in the same subgroup | 2025 | down 2.5% | rising |
| 15 | Luxembourg | 62.25 Percentage of working age population in the same subgroup | 2025 | up 3.8% | rising |
| 16 | Chile | 62.09 Percentage of working age population in the same subgroup | 2025 | up 0.1% | rising |
| 17 | Austria | 61.75 Percentage of working age population in the same subgroup | 2025 | up 1.6% | rising |
| 18 | Germany | 61.67 Percentage of working age population in the same subgroup | 2025 | up 2.5% | rising |
| 19 | Hungary | 61.5 Percentage of working age population in the same subgroup | 2025 | up 12.3% | rising |
| 20 | OECD | 61.02 Percentage of working age population in the same subgroup | 2024 | up 1.5% | flat |
| 21 | Czechia | 61 Percentage of working age population in the same subgroup | 2025 | up 2.7% | flat |
| 22 | Finland | 60.85 Percentage of working age population in the same subgroup | 2025 | up 3.2% | flat |
| 23 | Brazil | 60.25 Percentage of working age population in the same subgroup | 2014 | down 4.1% | flat |
| 24 | Portugal | 59.38 Percentage of working age population in the same subgroup | 2025 | up 1.4% | falling |
| 25 | Mexico | 59.36 Percentage of working age population in the same subgroup | 2025 | down 0.8% | flat |
| 26 | Spain | 58.17 Percentage of working age population in the same subgroup | 2025 | down 1.1% | rising |
| 27 | France | 57.02 Percentage of working age population in the same subgroup | 2025 | up 1.8% | flat |
| 28 | Belgium | 55.95 Percentage of working age population in the same subgroup | 2025 | up 5.0% | rising |
| 29 | Costa Rica | 55.13 Percentage of working age population in the same subgroup | 2025 | down 10.0% | falling |
| 30 | Bulgaria | 55.1 Percentage of working age population in the same subgroup | 2025 | up 1.9% | rising |
| 31 | Greece | 52.9 Percentage of working age population in the same subgroup | 2025 | up 1.7% | flat |
| 32 | Romania | 51.4 Percentage of working age population in the same subgroup | 2025 | down 5.8% | falling |
| 33 | Italy | 49.9 Percentage of working age population in the same subgroup | 2025 | up 1.9% | flat |
Regions and income groups
Aggregates are excluded from the country ranking above so that a region can never outrank a country.
- Netherlands 68.65 Percentage of working age population in the same subgroup
- Korea 64.68 Percentage of working age population in the same subgroup
- Estonia 66.45 Percentage of working age population in the same subgroup
- Slovak Republic 61.23 Percentage of working age population in the same subgroup
- Lithuania 63.08 Percentage of working age population in the same subgroup
- Croatia 54.1 Percentage of working age population in the same subgroup
- Latvia 61.62 Percentage of working age population in the same subgroup
- Slovenia 58.5 Percentage of working age population in the same subgroup
- Poland 58.08 Percentage of working age population in the same subgroup
- Euro area 58.05 Percentage of working age population in the same subgroup
- Türkiye 53.52 Percentage of working age population in the same subgroup
About this data
The infra-annual dataflow on the labour force participation rate is a subset of the infra-annual labour statistics database, which contains predominantly monthly and quarterly statistics on the labour force participation rate by age groups (15+, 15-24, 25-54, 55-64, 15-64 and 15-74 where available) and sex and associated statistical methodological information and associated statistical methodological information, for the OECD member countries and for selected other economies. The labour force participation rate is calculated as the number of the labour force population as a percentage of the working age population. The infra-annual labour statistics compiled for all OECD member countries, are drawn from Labour Force Surveys based on definition provided by the 19th Conference of Labour Statisticians in 2013. The uniform application of these definitions across all OECD member countries results in estimates that are internationally comparable.