Self-employed, male (% of male employment) in East Asia & Pacific
East Asia & Pacific: Self-employed, male (% of male employment) was 39.6% in 2025. ▼ Falling
Self-employed, male (% of male employment) in East Asia & Pacific, 1991–2025
Source: ILO Modelled Estimates database (ILOEST), International Labour Organization (ILO).
Analysis
In 2025, self-employed, male (% of male employment) in East Asia & Pacific stood at 39.6%. That is the lowest value across all 35 years on record.
That represents a change of down 0.6% on the previous year and down 5.5% over ten years.
Over the whole period, self-employed, male (% of male employment) in East Asia & Pacific peaked at 54.1% in 1991 and was at its lowest, 39.6%, in 2025.
That places East Asia & Pacific 27th out of 47 groups 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, male (% of male employment) in East Asia & Pacific, year by year
| Year | Value | Change |
|---|---|---|
| 1991 | 54.1% | — |
| 1992 | 53.7% | -0.8% |
| 1993 | 53.1% | -1.1% |
| 1994 | 52.6% | -1.0% |
| 1995 | 52.1% | -1.0% |
| 1996 | 51.5% | -1.1% |
| 1997 | 51.0% | -1.0% |
| 1998 | 50.9% | -0.0% |
| 1999 | 50.7% | -0.4% |
| 2000 | 50.4% | -0.7% |
| 2001 | 49.7% | -1.4% |
| 2002 | 49.4% | -0.5% |
| 2003 | 49.2% | -0.5% |
| 2004 | 48.3% | -1.7% |
| 2005 | 47.8% | -1.1% |
| 2006 | 47.2% | -1.2% |
| 2007 | 46.6% | -1.3% |
| 2008 | 46.1% | -1.2% |
| 2009 | 45.6% | -1.0% |
| 2010 | 45.0% | -1.2% |
| 2011 | 44.3% | -1.6% |
| 2012 | 43.6% | -1.5% |
| 2013 | 43.2% | -1.0% |
| 2014 | 42.7% | -1.1% |
| 2015 | 41.9% | -1.9% |
| 2016 | 41.5% | -0.9% |
| 2017 | 41.2% | -0.8% |
| 2018 | 41.0% | -0.5% |
| 2019 | 40.7% | -0.8% |
| 2020 | 41.0% | +0.7% |
| 2021 | 40.7% | -0.5% |
| 2022 | 40.3% | -1.1% |
| 2023 | 40.2% | -0.3% |
| 2024 | 39.9% | -0.8% |
| 2025 | 39.6% | -0.6% |
Averages by decade
| Decade | Average | Lowest | Highest | Years |
|---|---|---|---|---|
| 1990s | 52.2% | 50.7% | 54.1% | 9 |
| 2000s | 48.0% | 45.6% | 50.4% | 10 |
| 2010s | 42.5% | 40.7% | 45.0% | 10 |
| 2020s | 40.3% | 39.6% | 41.0% | 6 |
Countries ranked near East Asia & Pacific
More work & labour data for East Asia & Pacific
- Labor force participation rate, male (% of male population ages 15+) 72.3% (2025)
- Labor force participation rate, female (% of female population ages) 67.0% (2025)
- Labor force participation rate for ages 15-24, total (%) 46.8% (2025)
- Labor force participation rate for ages 15-24, male (%) 49.6% (2025)
- Labor force participation rate for ages 15-24, female (%) 43.7% (2025)
- Labor force participation rate, total (% of total population ages 15+) 65.2% (2025)
- Labor force participation rate, male (% of male population ages 15-64) 79.6% (2025)
- Labor force participation rate, total (% of total population ages) 73.4% (2025)
- Labor force participation rate, female (% of female population ages) 58.1% (2025)
- Ratio of female to male labor force participation rate (%) 80.7% (2025)
Frequently asked questions
- What is self-employed, male (% of male employment) in East Asia & Pacific?
- Self-employed, male (% of male employment) in East Asia & Pacific was 39.6% 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 East Asia & Pacific?
- The highest recorded value was 54.1% in 1991.
- What is the lowest self-employed, male (% of male employment) recorded in East Asia & Pacific?
- The lowest recorded value was 39.6% in 2025.
- How does East Asia & Pacific rank for self-employed, male (% of male employment)?
- East Asia & Pacific ranks 27th out of 47 groups with data for 2025.
- Is self-employed, male (% of male employment) rising or falling in East Asia & Pacific?
- Over the last ten years it is down 5.5%. The long-run trend across the full record is falling.
- Where does this East Asia & Pacific 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.
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.