Self-employed, female (% of female employment) in Bangladesh
Bangladesh: Self-employed, female (% of female employment) was 65.3% in 2025. ▼ Falling
Self-employed, female (% of female employment) in Bangladesh, 1991–2025
Source: ILO Modelled Estimates database (ILOEST), International Labour Organization (ILO).
Analysis
In 2025, self-employed, female (% of female employment) in Bangladesh stood at 65.3%. That is the lowest value across all 35 years on record.
Compared with earlier readings it is down 0.7% on the previous year and down 10.4% over ten years.
Over the whole period, self-employed, female (% of female employment) in Bangladesh peaked at 91.2% in 1991 and was at its lowest, 65.3%, in 2025.
That places Bangladesh 47th out of 187 countries with data for 2025, putting it in the top quarter.
The long-run direction has been consistently falling across the 35 years of available data.
Self-employed, female (% of female employment) in Bangladesh, year by year
| Year | Value | Change |
|---|---|---|
| 1991 | 91.2% | — |
| 1992 | 90.9% | -0.3% |
| 1993 | 90.7% | -0.3% |
| 1994 | 90.4% | -0.3% |
| 1995 | 90.0% | -0.4% |
| 1996 | 89.7% | -0.4% |
| 1997 | 89.4% | -0.4% |
| 1998 | 89.0% | -0.4% |
| 1999 | 88.7% | -0.4% |
| 2000 | 88.4% | -0.4% |
| 2001 | 88.1% | -0.4% |
| 2002 | 87.8% | -0.4% |
| 2003 | 87.5% | -0.4% |
| 2004 | 87.2% | -0.3% |
| 2005 | 86.9% | -0.3% |
| 2006 | 86.5% | -0.5% |
| 2007 | 85.4% | -1.3% |
| 2008 | 84.1% | -1.5% |
| 2009 | 82.8% | -1.6% |
| 2010 | 81.2% | -1.9% |
| 2011 | 79.9% | -1.7% |
| 2012 | 78.4% | -1.9% |
| 2013 | 76.8% | -2.0% |
| 2014 | 74.8% | -2.5% |
| 2015 | 72.9% | -2.7% |
| 2016 | 70.8% | -2.8% |
| 2017 | 68.4% | -3.4% |
| 2018 | 67.4% | -1.5% |
| 2019 | 66.4% | -1.4% |
| 2020 | 66.6% | +0.2% |
| 2021 | 66.2% | -0.5% |
| 2022 | 66.0% | -0.2% |
| 2023 | 66.1% | +0.1% |
| 2024 | 65.8% | -0.5% |
| 2025 | 65.3% | -0.7% |
Bangladesh compared with similar countries
- Bangladesh's 65.3% is below the median for lower middle income countries, which is 72.6%, 90% of the median. (46 countries reporting)
- Bangladesh's 65.3% is below the median for South Asia, which is 72.1%, 91% of the median. (6 countries reporting)
Averages by decade
| Decade | Average | Lowest | Highest | Years |
|---|---|---|---|---|
| 1990s | 90.0% | 88.7% | 91.2% | 9 |
| 2000s | 86.5% | 82.8% | 88.4% | 10 |
| 2010s | 73.7% | 66.4% | 81.2% | 10 |
| 2020s | 66.0% | 65.3% | 66.6% | 6 |
Countries ranked near Bangladesh
More work & labour data for Bangladesh
- Population - Est. & Proj. — Total Population - Both sexes, annual -0.4985 % change on previous year (2100)
- Population - Est. & Proj. — Total Population - Male, annual growth -0.4763 % change on previous year (2100)
- Population - Est. & Proj. — Total Population - Female, annual growth -0.5215 % change on previous year (2100)
- Population - Est. & Proj. — Rural population, annual growth rate -1.28 % change on previous year (2050)
- Population - Est. & Proj. — Urban population, annual growth rate 1.22 % change on previous year (2050)
- Population - Est. & Proj. — Urban population 117,837 1000 No (2050)
- Population - Est. & Proj. — Rural population 84,090 1000 No (2050)
- Population - Est. & Proj. — Total Population - Female 104,333 1000 No (2100)
- Population - Est. & Proj. — Total Population - Male 104,263 1000 No (2100)
- Population - Est. & Proj. — Total Population - Both sexes 208,597 1000 No (2100)
Frequently asked questions
- What is self-employed, female (% of female employment) in Bangladesh?
- Self-employed, female (% of female employment) in Bangladesh was 65.3% in 2025, according to ILO Modelled Estimates database (ILOEST), International Labour Organization (ILO).
- What is the highest self-employed, female (% of female employment) recorded in Bangladesh?
- The highest recorded value was 91.2% in 1991.
- What is the lowest self-employed, female (% of female employment) recorded in Bangladesh?
- The lowest recorded value was 65.3% in 2025.
- How does Bangladesh rank for self-employed, female (% of female employment)?
- Bangladesh ranks 47th out of 187 countries with data for 2025.
- Is self-employed, female (% of female employment) rising or falling in Bangladesh?
- Over the last ten years it is down 10.4%. The long-run trend across the full record is falling.
- Where does this Bangladesh data come from?
- The figures come from ILO Modelled Estimates database (ILOEST), International Labour Organization (ILO), published as part of Self-employed, female (% of female employment) (modeled ILO estimate). Statizoid updates them automatically from the source API.
Download this data
CSV · JSON — 35 observations, free to reuse under CC BY 4.0 (World Bank Open Data).
About this data
Self-employed workers are those workers who, working on their own account or with one or a few partners or in cooperative, hold the type of jobs defined as a "self-employment jobs." i.e. jobs where the remuneration is directly dependent upon the profits derived from the goods and services produced. Self-employed workers include sub-categories of employers, own-account workers and members of producers' cooperatives and contributing family workers.