LU4: Composite measure of labour underutilization 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 is based on the 13th ICLS definitions. For time series comparability, it includes countries that have...
What the numbers show
LU4: Composite measure of labour underutilization is currently reported for 79 countries. The highest value is 19,007 in Indonesia; the lowest is 3.42 in Seychelles.
The median across all reporting countries is 537.15, and the mean is 1,832.
The gap between the highest and lowest reporting country is a factor of about 5,564.
Over the past decade 28 countries rose and 48 fell. The largest increase was in Guatemala (up 343.4%), and the largest decrease in Albania (down 73.2%).
LU4: Composite measure of labour underutilization: full country ranking
| # | Country | Latest | Year | 10-year change | Trend |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| 1 | Indonesia | 19,007 | 2023 | up 1.3% | rising |
| 2 | Brazil | 16,257 | 2025 | down 7.7% | rising |
| 3 | South Africa | 13,113 | 2024 | up 45.9% | rising |
| 4 | United States of America | 10,340 | 2025 | down 9.4% | rising |
| 5 | France | 5,848 | 2024 | down 10.4% | rising |
| 6 | Bangladesh | 5,697 | 2024 | up 34.6% | rising |
| 7 | Philippines | 5,651 | 2023 | up 1.3% | rising |
| 8 | Türkiye | 5,321 | 2013 | up 43.6% | rising |
| 9 | Angola | 5,247 | 2025 | up 9.3% | rising |
| 10 | Spain | 4,792 | 2025 | down 38.6% | rising |
| 11 | United Kingdom of Great Britain and Northern Ireland | 4,435 | 2025 | down 8.4% | rising |
| 12 | Italy | 4,341 | 2024 | down 44.0% | rising |
| 13 | Colombia | 3,473 | 2025 | down 3.8% | falling |
| 14 | Germany | 3,220 | 2024 | down 33.0% | falling |
| 15 | Chile | 2,536 | 2025 | up 7.5% | flat |
| 16 | Senegal | 2,414 | 2024 | up 60.4% | rising |
| 17 | Rwanda | 2,224 | 2025 | up 4.6% | rising |
| 18 | Guatemala | 2,200 | 2025 | up 343.4% | volatile |
| 19 | Canada | 2,012 | 2025 | up 13.1% | rising |
| 20 | Viet Nam | 1,817 | 2024 | down 19.8% | falling |
| 21 | Afghanistan | 1,688 | 2021 | up 13.6% | rising |
| 22 | Zimbabwe | 1,657 | 2024 | up 104.8% | rising |
| 23 | Zambia | 1,601 | 2024 | up 32.3% | rising |
| 24 | Netherlands | 1,251 | 2024 | down 28.3% | rising |
| 25 | Sweden | 1,073 | 2024 | up 27.2% | rising |
| 26 | Poland | 957.3 | 2024 | down 65.8% | falling |
| 27 | Romania | 749.62 | 2024 | down 40.4% | falling |
| 28 | Jordan | 721.46 | 2024 | up 5.3% | rising |
| 29 | Serbia | 702.93 | 2020 | down 30.7% | falling |
| 30 | Portugal | 700.74 | 2025 | down 46.0% | rising |
| 31 | Switzerland | 695.37 | 2025 | — | volatile |
| 32 | Cambodia | 679.53 | 2025 | up 110.3% | falling |
| 33 | Greece | 661.12 | 2025 | down 59.0% | rising |
| 34 | Honduras | 659.75 | 2025 | down 50.9% | falling |
| 35 | Sri Lanka | 640.35 | 2024 | up 30.1% | rising |
| 36 | Belgium | 623.26 | 2024 | down 16.3% | rising |
| 37 | Bolivia, Plurinational State of | 621.17 | 2025 | up 54.8% | falling |
| 38 | Dominican Republic | 605.4 | 2025 | down 37.0% | falling |
| 39 | Finland | 603.41 | 2024 | up 10.6% | rising |
| 40 | Austria | 537.15 | 2025 | down 16.9% | rising |
| 41 | Costa Rica | 505.37 | 2022 | down 18.4% | rising |
| 42 | Thailand | 496.61 | 2025 | down 19.9% | flat |
| 43 | Ireland | 469.61 | 2024 | down 0.6% | falling |
| 44 | Denmark | 434.24 | 2024 | up 22.1% | rising |
| 45 | Georgia | 425.07 | 2025 | down 4.2% | falling |
| 46 | Uruguay | 352.42 | 2025 | up 4.2% | rising |
| 47 | Norway | 328.77 | 2024 | up 30.0% | rising |
| 48 | Palestine, State of | 325.83 | 2025 | down 26.9% | falling |
| 49 | Hungary | 321.59 | 2024 | down 47.9% | falling |
| 50 | Panama | 293.6 | 2025 | up 69.5% | rising |
| 51 | Belarus | 237.72 | 2024 | down 51.5% | falling |
| 52 | El Salvador | 222.44 | 2025 | down 44.0% | falling |
| 53 | Bosnia and Herzegovina | 220.13 | 2025 | down 56.9% | falling |
| 54 | Paraguay | 219.31 | 2016 | down 28.3% | falling |
| 55 | Slovakia | 204.5 | 2023 | down 57.9% | falling |
| 56 | Czechia | 204.04 | 2024 | down 52.5% | falling |
| 57 | Bulgaria | 196.58 | 2024 | down 71.2% | falling |
| 58 | Singapore | 175.8 | 2025 | — | falling |
| 59 | Albania | 172.36 | 2024 | down 73.2% | falling |
| 60 | Kyrgyzstan | 172.1 | 2023 | down 42.2% | falling |
| 61 | Lithuania | 167.28 | 2024 | down 22.5% | falling |
| 62 | Croatia | 161.4 | 2024 | down 70.7% | falling |
| 63 | North Macedonia | 141.91 | 2025 | down 55.2% | falling |
| 64 | Latvia | 111.55 | 2024 | down 43.6% | falling |
| 65 | Mongolia | 110.66 | 2025 | down 43.4% | falling |
| 66 | Estonia | 101.14 | 2024 | up 10.7% | falling |
| 67 | Guyana | 98.31 | 2024 | down 17.8% | falling |
| 68 | Slovenia | 86.37 | 2024 | down 55.7% | falling |
| 69 | Mauritius | 56.84 | 2019 | down 6.1% | falling |
| 70 | Cyprus | 54.92 | 2024 | down 62.0% | volatile |
| 71 | Montenegro | 54.17 | 2024 | down 35.1% | falling |
| 72 | Luxembourg | 52.78 | 2024 | up 38.2% | volatile |
| 73 | Republic of Moldova | 41.32 | 2025 | down 55.2% | volatile |
| 74 | Brunei Darussalam | 24.85 | 2024 | down 26.3% | falling |
| 75 | Iceland | 24.16 | 2023 | down 11.0% | rising |
| 76 | Malta | 23.66 | 2024 | up 5.3% | rising |
| 77 | Belize | 20.63 | 2017 | — | falling |
| 78 | Barbados | 17.08 | 2024 | down 20.0% | falling |
| 79 | Seychelles | 3.42 | 2025 | up 28.3% | rising |
Regions and income groups
Aggregates are excluded from the country ranking above so that a region can never outrank a country.
- World 511,364
- G20 413,695
- World excluding India and China 359,870
- World excluding BRICS 267,835
- BRICS 243,018
- Asia and the Pacific 226,697
- World: Upper-middle income 211,977
- APEC 164,696
- World: Lower-middle income 163,386
- Africa 145,600
- Sub-Saharan Africa 124,527
- Asia and the Pacific: Upper-middle income 122,233
- World: Upper-middle income excluding China 118,679
- World: Lower-middle income excluding India 105,190
- Eastern Asia 103,935
- Eastern Asia: Upper-middle income 93,420
- Southern Asia 88,568
- Asia and the Pacific: Lower-middle income 86,152
- Southern Asia: Lower-middle income 75,405
- Americas 69,112
- World: Low income 68,902
- Africa: Lower-middle income 68,142
- World: High income 67,099
- Sub-Saharan Africa: Lower-middle income 56,952
- Latin America and the Caribbean 56,327
- Africa: Low income 54,812
- Eastern Africa 54,535
- Europe and Central Asia 53,569
- Sub-Saharan Africa: Low income 51,616
- Americas: Upper-middle income 46,847
- Latin America and the Caribbean: Upper-middle income 46,847
- MENA 45,139
- Arab League 39,641
- South America 38,512
- Europe and Central Asia: High income 35,666
- Western Africa 35,167
- G7 34,521
- South-Eastern Asia and the Pacific 34,193
- European Union 28 32,002
- Northern, Southern and Western Europe 31,590
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 is based on the 13th ICLS definitions. For time series comparability, it includes countries that have implemented the 19th ICLS standards, for which data are also available in the Work Statistics -- 19th ICLS (WORK) database. LU4 represents the share of the extended labour force that are in unemployment, time-related underemployment or the potential labour force. For more information, refer to the Labour Force Statistics (LFS and STLFS) database description.