Self-employed, female (% of female employment) in El Salvador

El Salvador: Self-employed, female (% of female employment) was 42.3% in 2025. ▼ Falling

Latest (2025)
42.3%
Change on year
down 1.1%
World rank
72nd
of 187 countries
All-time high
53.9%
in 1991
All-time low
42.3%
in 2025
Years of data
35
1991–2025

Self-employed, female (% of female employment) in El Salvador, 1991–2025

02040601991200820251991: 53.91992: 53.81993: 52.91994: 52.71995: 52.31996: 52.41997: 51.21998: 50.81999: 50.72000: 50.62001: 512002: 51.32003: 49.82004: 49.82005: 50.82006: 48.82007: 49.22008: 49.22009: 49.12010: 48.92011: 48.32012: 48.32013: 492014: 45.72015: 47.32016: 47.62017: 47.82018: 46.12019: 47.52020: 48.32021: 45.92022: 43.62023: 43.12024: 42.82025: 42.3

Source: ILO Modelled Estimates database (ILOEST), International Labour Organization (ILO).

Analysis

The most recent figure for self-employed, female (% of female employment) in El Salvador is 42.3%, measured in 2025. That is the lowest value across all 35 years on record.

The figure is down 1.1% on the previous year and down 10.7% over ten years.

Over the whole period, self-employed, female (% of female employment) in El Salvador peaked at 53.9% in 1991 and was at its lowest, 42.3%, in 2025.

That places El Salvador 72nd out of 187 countries with data for 2025, putting it in the middle of the range.

The long-run direction has been consistently falling across the 35 years of available data.

Self-employed, female (% of female employment) in El Salvador, year by year

Annual values for Self-employed, female (% of female employment) (modeled ILO estimate) in El Salvador, 1991 to 2025.
Year Value Change
1991 53.9%
1992 53.8% -0.2%
1993 52.9% -1.7%
1994 52.7% -0.4%
1995 52.3% -0.8%
1996 52.4% +0.2%
1997 51.2% -2.2%
1998 50.8% -0.7%
1999 50.7% -0.3%
2000 50.6% -0.2%
2001 51.0% +0.8%
2002 51.3% +0.6%
2003 49.8% -2.9%
2004 49.8% -0.1%
2005 50.8% +2.0%
2006 48.8% -3.9%
2007 49.2% +0.8%
2008 49.2% -0.1%
2009 49.1% -0.0%
2010 48.9% -0.4%
2011 48.3% -1.3%
2012 48.3% -0.0%
2013 49.0% +1.4%
2014 45.7% -6.6%
2015 47.3% +3.6%
2016 47.6% +0.6%
2017 47.8% +0.4%
2018 46.1% -3.7%
2019 47.5% +3.1%
2020 48.3% +1.7%
2021 45.9% -4.9%
2022 43.6% -5.0%
2023 43.1% -1.2%
2024 42.8% -0.8%
2025 42.3% -1.1%

El Salvador compared with similar countries

  • El Salvador's 42.3% is above the median for upper middle income countries, which is 31.5%, 1.3× the median. (53 countries reporting)
  • El Salvador's 42.3% is above the median for Latin America & Caribbean, which is 30.5%, 1.4× the median. (31 countries reporting)

Averages by decade

DecadeAverage LowestHighest Years
1990s 52.3% 50.7% 53.9% 9
2000s 50.0% 48.8% 51.3% 10
2010s 47.7% 45.7% 49.0% 10
2020s 44.3% 42.3% 48.3% 6

Countries ranked near El Salvador

  1. 69 Georgia 43.0% compare
  2. 70 Tonga 42.8% compare
  3. 71 Colombia 42.7% compare
  4. 73 Namibia 41.7% compare
  5. 74 Philippines 41.1% compare
  6. 75 Paraguay 41.0% compare

See the full ranking of 235 places →

More work & labour data for El Salvador

All data for El Salvador →

Frequently asked questions

What is self-employed, female (% of female employment) in El Salvador?
Self-employed, female (% of female employment) in El Salvador was 42.3% 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 El Salvador?
The highest recorded value was 53.9% in 1991.
What is the lowest self-employed, female (% of female employment) recorded in El Salvador?
The lowest recorded value was 42.3% in 2025.
How does El Salvador rank for self-employed, female (% of female employment)?
El Salvador ranks 72nd out of 187 countries with data for 2025.
Is self-employed, female (% of female employment) rising or falling in El Salvador?
Over the last ten years it is down 10.7%. The long-run trend across the full record is falling.
Where does this El Salvador 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).

Share, cite or embed this page

Cite this page

Self-employed, female (% of female employment) in El Salvador. Statizoid, drawing on ILO Modelled Estimates database (ILOEST), International Labour Organization (ILO). Retrieved 14 September 2026, from https://labour.statizoid.com/stat/self-employed-female-percent-of-female-employment-modeled-ilo-estimate/el-salvador/

Embed or link this data

Paste this into a page to link back to these figures. The data itself is free to reuse under CC BY 4.0 (World Bank Open Data); please keep the attribution.

<a href="https://labour.statizoid.com/stat/self-employed-female-percent-of-female-employment-modeled-ilo-estimate/el-salvador/">Self-employed, female (% of female employment) in El Salvador</a> — Statizoid

About this data

Indicator
Self-employed, female (% of female employment) (modeled ILO estimate)
Source
ILO Modelled Estimates database (ILOEST), International Labour Organization (ILO)
Licence
CC BY 4.0 (World Bank Open Data)
Coverage
235 places, 8,211 data points, 1991–2025
Last refreshed

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.