Self-employed, female (% of female employment) (modeled ILO estimate) in Laos
Laos: Self-employed, female (% of female employment) (modeled ILO estimate) was 81.8% in 2025. ▼ Falling
Self-employed, female (% of female employment) in Laos, 1991–2025
Source: ILO Modelled Estimates database (ILOEST), International Labour Organization (ILO).
Analysis
The most recent figure for self-employed, female (% of female employment) in Laos is 81.8%, measured in 2025. That is the lowest value across all 35 years on record.
The figure is down 0.3% on the previous year and down 3.6% over ten years.
Over the whole period, self-employed, female (% of female employment) in Laos peaked at 94.7% in 1991 and was at its lowest, 81.8%, in 2025.
Laos ranks 28th of 187 countries on this measure, 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) (modeled ILO estimate) in Laos, year by year
| Year | Value | Change |
|---|---|---|
| 1991 | 94.7% | — |
| 1992 | 94.5% | -0.2% |
| 1993 | 94.3% | -0.3% |
| 1994 | 94.0% | -0.3% |
| 1995 | 93.7% | -0.3% |
| 1996 | 93.3% | -0.4% |
| 1997 | 92.9% | -0.4% |
| 1998 | 92.5% | -0.5% |
| 1999 | 92.0% | -0.5% |
| 2000 | 91.6% | -0.5% |
| 2001 | 91.1% | -0.5% |
| 2002 | 90.7% | -0.5% |
| 2003 | 90.2% | -0.5% |
| 2004 | 89.7% | -0.5% |
| 2005 | 89.2% | -0.5% |
| 2006 | 88.8% | -0.5% |
| 2007 | 88.3% | -0.5% |
| 2008 | 87.9% | -0.5% |
| 2009 | 87.5% | -0.5% |
| 2010 | 87.0% | -0.6% |
| 2011 | 86.5% | -0.5% |
| 2012 | 86.1% | -0.5% |
| 2013 | 85.6% | -0.5% |
| 2014 | 85.2% | -0.5% |
| 2015 | 84.8% | -0.5% |
| 2016 | 84.4% | -0.5% |
| 2017 | 84.0% | -0.5% |
| 2018 | 83.6% | -0.4% |
| 2019 | 83.3% | -0.4% |
| 2020 | 82.9% | -0.4% |
| 2021 | 82.6% | -0.4% |
| 2022 | 82.6% | -0.0% |
| 2023 | 82.3% | -0.3% |
| 2024 | 82.0% | -0.3% |
| 2025 | 81.8% | -0.3% |
Laos compared with similar countries
- Laos's 81.8% is above the median for lower middle income countries, which is 72.6%, 1.1× the median. (46 countries reporting)
- Laos's 81.8% is above the median for East Asia & Pacific, which is 37.3%, 2.2× the median. (29 countries reporting)
Averages by decade
| Decade | Average | Lowest | Highest | Years |
|---|---|---|---|---|
| 1990s | 93.5% | 92.0% | 94.7% | 9 |
| 2000s | 89.5% | 87.5% | 91.6% | 10 |
| 2010s | 85.1% | 83.3% | 87.0% | 10 |
| 2020s | 82.4% | 81.8% | 82.9% | 6 |
Countries ranked near Laos
More work & labour data for Laos
- Persons outside the labour force (ILO modelled estimates) 1,934 (2027)
- Labour force participation rate (ILO modelled estimates) 66.2 (2027)
- Labour force (ILO modelled estimates) 3,788 (2027)
- Unemployment rate (ILO modelled estimates) 1.25 (2027)
- Labour dependency ratio 1.16 (2027)
- Output per worker, GDP constant 2021 international $ at PPP 19,084 (2027)
- Output per worker, GDP constant 2015 US $ 6,038 (2027)
- Employment-to-population ratio (ILO modelled estimates) 65.37 (2027)
- Persons outside the labour force (ILO modelled estimates) (15+) 1.63 % change on previous year (2027)
- Labour force (ILO modelled estimates) (15+), annual growth rate 1.83 % change on previous year (2027)
Frequently asked questions
- What is self-employed, female (% of female employment) in Laos?
- Self-employed, female (% of female employment) in Laos was 81.8% 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 Laos?
- The highest recorded value was 94.7% in 1991.
- What is the lowest self-employed, female (% of female employment) recorded in Laos?
- The lowest recorded value was 81.8% in 2025.
- How does Laos rank for self-employed, female (% of female employment)?
- Laos ranks 28th out of 187 countries with data for 2025.
- Is self-employed, female (% of female employment) rising or falling in Laos?
- Over the last ten years it is down 3.6%. The long-run trend across the full record is falling.
- Where does this Laos 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.