Self-employed, female (% of female employment) in Iran, Islamic Republic of
Iran, Islamic Republic of: Self-employed, female (% of female employment) was 37.0% in 2025. ▼ Falling
Self-employed, female (% of female employment) in Iran, Islamic Republic of, 1991–2025
Source: ILO Modelled Estimates database (ILOEST), International Labour Organization (ILO).
Analysis
Iran, Islamic Republic of recorded 37.0% for self-employed, female (% of female employment) in 2025. That is the lowest value across all 35 years on record.
The figure is down 1.3% on the previous year and down 15.8% over ten years.
Over the whole period, self-employed, female (% of female employment) in Iran, Islamic Republic of peaked at 56.0% in 2005 and was at its lowest, 37.0%, in 2025.
That places Iran, Islamic Republic of 83rd 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 Iran, Islamic Republic of, year by year
| Year | Value | Change |
|---|---|---|
| 1991 | 49.8% | — |
| 1992 | 49.3% | -1.0% |
| 1993 | 48.9% | -0.9% |
| 1994 | 48.5% | -0.7% |
| 1995 | 48.2% | -0.6% |
| 1996 | 48.0% | -0.4% |
| 1997 | 49.5% | +3.0% |
| 1998 | 50.7% | +2.6% |
| 1999 | 51.8% | +2.1% |
| 2000 | 52.8% | +1.9% |
| 2001 | 53.6% | +1.5% |
| 2002 | 54.4% | +1.5% |
| 2003 | 54.9% | +1.0% |
| 2004 | 55.4% | +0.9% |
| 2005 | 56.0% | +1.1% |
| 2006 | 55.7% | -0.5% |
| 2007 | 55.6% | -0.2% |
| 2008 | 53.1% | -4.6% |
| 2009 | 52.8% | -0.4% |
| 2010 | 50.1% | -5.2% |
| 2011 | 46.7% | -6.7% |
| 2012 | 46.7% | -0.0% |
| 2013 | 46.4% | -0.6% |
| 2014 | 43.4% | -6.5% |
| 2015 | 44.0% | +1.2% |
| 2016 | 45.0% | +2.4% |
| 2017 | 44.3% | -1.7% |
| 2018 | 44.0% | -0.6% |
| 2019 | 43.4% | -1.4% |
| 2020 | 40.9% | -5.8% |
| 2021 | 39.9% | -2.4% |
| 2022 | 37.7% | -5.4% |
| 2023 | 37.9% | +0.3% |
| 2024 | 37.5% | -0.9% |
| 2025 | 37.0% | -1.3% |
Averages by decade
| Decade | Average | Lowest | Highest | Years |
|---|---|---|---|---|
| 1990s | 49.4% | 48.0% | 51.8% | 9 |
| 2000s | 54.4% | 52.8% | 56.0% | 10 |
| 2010s | 45.4% | 43.4% | 50.1% | 10 |
| 2020s | 38.5% | 37.0% | 40.9% | 6 |
Countries ranked near Iran, Islamic Republic of
More work & labour data for Iran, Islamic Republic of
- Persons outside the labour force (ILO modelled estimates) 44,188 (2027)
- Labour force participation rate (ILO modelled estimates) 40.34 (2027)
- Labour force (ILO modelled estimates) 29,874 (2027)
- Unemployment rate (ILO modelled estimates) 8.53 (2027)
- Labour dependency ratio 2.43 (2027)
- Output per worker, GDP constant 2021 international $ at PPP 57,320 (2027)
- Output per worker, GDP constant 2015 US $ 20,416 (2027)
- Employment-to-population ratio (ILO modelled estimates) 36.89 (2027)
- Persons outside the labour force (ILO modelled estimates) (15+) 1.89 % change on previous year (2027)
- Labour force (ILO modelled estimates) (15+), annual growth rate 0.574 % change on previous year (2027)
Frequently asked questions
- What is self-employed, female (% of female employment) in Iran, Islamic Republic of?
- Self-employed, female (% of female employment) in Iran, Islamic Republic of was 37.0% 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 Iran, Islamic Republic of?
- The highest recorded value was 56.0% in 2005.
- What is the lowest self-employed, female (% of female employment) recorded in Iran, Islamic Republic of?
- The lowest recorded value was 37.0% in 2025.
- How does Iran, Islamic Republic of rank for self-employed, female (% of female employment)?
- Iran, Islamic Republic of ranks 83rd out of 187 countries with data for 2025.
- Is self-employed, female (% of female employment) rising or falling in Iran, Islamic Republic of?
- Over the last ten years it is down 15.8%. The long-run trend across the full record is falling.
- Where does this Iran, Islamic Republic of 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
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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.