Self-employed, male (% of male employment) (modeled ILO estimate) in Democratic Republic of Congo
Democratic Republic of Congo: Self-employed, male (% of male employment) (modeled ILO estimate) was 79.8% in 2025. ▲ Rising
Self-employed, male (% of male employment) in Democratic Republic of Congo, 1991–2025
Source: ILO Modelled Estimates database (ILOEST), International Labour Organization (ILO).
Analysis
In 2025, self-employed, male (% of male employment) in Democratic Republic of Congo stood at 79.8%.
That represents a change of down 0.4% on the previous year and up 4.9% over ten years.
Over the whole period, self-employed, male (% of male employment) in Democratic Republic of Congo peaked at 81.7% in 2020 and was at its lowest, 69.8%, in 1991.
That places Democratic Republic of Congo 11th out of 187 countries with data for 2025, putting it in the top 10%.
The long-run direction has been consistently rising across the 35 years of available data.
Self-employed, male (% of male employment) (modeled ILO estimate) in Democratic Republic of Congo, year by year
| Year | Value | Change |
|---|---|---|
| 1991 | 69.8% | — |
| 1992 | 70.5% | +1.0% |
| 1993 | 71.4% | +1.3% |
| 1994 | 72.2% | +1.1% |
| 1995 | 72.9% | +0.9% |
| 1996 | 73.3% | +0.6% |
| 1997 | 73.9% | +0.8% |
| 1998 | 74.3% | +0.5% |
| 1999 | 74.6% | +0.4% |
| 2000 | 75.0% | +0.5% |
| 2001 | 75.2% | +0.4% |
| 2002 | 75.4% | +0.2% |
| 2003 | 75.5% | +0.1% |
| 2004 | 75.3% | -0.2% |
| 2005 | 75.1% | -0.3% |
| 2006 | 74.9% | -0.3% |
| 2007 | 74.7% | -0.4% |
| 2008 | 74.4% | -0.4% |
| 2009 | 74.2% | -0.2% |
| 2010 | 74.1% | -0.2% |
| 2011 | 73.9% | -0.2% |
| 2012 | 73.9% | -0.1% |
| 2013 | 74.6% | +1.0% |
| 2014 | 75.3% | +0.9% |
| 2015 | 76.0% | +1.0% |
| 2016 | 76.9% | +1.1% |
| 2017 | 77.8% | +1.2% |
| 2018 | 78.6% | +1.1% |
| 2019 | 79.6% | +1.2% |
| 2020 | 81.7% | +2.7% |
| 2021 | 81.1% | -0.7% |
| 2022 | 80.8% | -0.4% |
| 2023 | 80.4% | -0.4% |
| 2024 | 80.1% | -0.5% |
| 2025 | 79.8% | -0.4% |
Democratic Republic of Congo compared with similar countries
- Democratic Republic of Congo's 79.8% is above the median for low income countries, which is 73.7%, 1.1× the median. (25 countries reporting)
- Democratic Republic of Congo's 79.8% is above the median for Sub-Saharan Africa, which is 63.4%, 1.3× the median. (47 countries reporting)
Averages by decade
| Decade | Average | Lowest | Highest | Years |
|---|---|---|---|---|
| 1990s | 72.5% | 69.8% | 74.6% | 9 |
| 2000s | 75.0% | 74.2% | 75.5% | 10 |
| 2010s | 76.1% | 73.9% | 79.6% | 10 |
| 2020s | 80.7% | 79.8% | 81.7% | 6 |
Countries ranked near Democratic Republic of Congo
- 8 Ethiopia 82.6% compare
- 9 Tanzania 80.4% compare
- 10 South Sudan 80.3% compare
- 12 Mozambique 78.9% compare
- 13 Burundi 78.7% compare
- 14 Burkina Faso 77.2% compare
More work & labour data for Democratic Republic of Congo
- Persons outside the labour force (ILO modelled estimates) 23,407 (2027)
- Labour force participation rate (ILO modelled estimates) 64.13 (2027)
- Labour force (ILO modelled estimates) 41,856 (2027)
- Unemployment rate (ILO modelled estimates) 4.48 (2027)
- Labour dependency ratio 2 (2027)
- Output per worker, GDP constant 2021 international $ at PPP 4,595 (2027)
- Output per worker, GDP constant 2015 US $ 1,696 (2027)
- Employment-to-population ratio (ILO modelled estimates) 61.26 (2027)
- Persons outside the labour force (ILO modelled estimates) (15+) 3.69 % change on previous year (2027)
- Labour force (ILO modelled estimates) (15+), annual growth rate 3.33 % change on previous year (2027)
Frequently asked questions
- What is self-employed, male (% of male employment) in Democratic Republic of Congo?
- Self-employed, male (% of male employment) in Democratic Republic of Congo was 79.8% in 2025, according to ILO Modelled Estimates database (ILOEST), International Labour Organization (ILO).
- What is the highest self-employed, male (% of male employment) recorded in Democratic Republic of Congo?
- The highest recorded value was 81.7% in 2020.
- What is the lowest self-employed, male (% of male employment) recorded in Democratic Republic of Congo?
- The lowest recorded value was 69.8% in 1991.
- How does Democratic Republic of Congo rank for self-employed, male (% of male employment)?
- Democratic Republic of Congo ranks 11th out of 187 countries with data for 2025.
- Is self-employed, male (% of male employment) rising or falling in Democratic Republic of Congo?
- Over the last ten years it is up 4.9%. The long-run trend across the full record is rising.
- Where does this Democratic Republic of Congo data come from?
- The figures come from ILO Modelled Estimates database (ILOEST), International Labour Organization (ILO), published as part of Self-employed, male (% of male employment) (modeled ILO estimate). Statizoid updates them automatically from the source API.
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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.