Self-employed, male (% of male employment) (modeled ILO estimate) in South Korea
South Korea: Self-employed, male (% of male employment) (modeled ILO estimate) was 25.3% in 2025. ▼ Falling
Self-employed, male (% of male employment) in South Korea, 1991–2025
Source: ILO Modelled Estimates database (ILOEST), International Labour Organization (ILO).
Analysis
In 2025, self-employed, male (% of male employment) in South Korea stood at 25.3%. That is the lowest value across all 35 years on record.
The figure is down 0.6% on the previous year and down 8.0% over ten years.
Over the whole period, self-employed, male (% of male employment) in South Korea peaked at 37.2% in 1991 and was at its lowest, 25.3%, in 2025.
South Korea ranks 120th of 187 countries on this measure, 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) (modeled ILO estimate) in South Korea, year by year
| Year | Value | Change |
|---|---|---|
| 1991 | 37.2% | — |
| 1992 | 36.7% | -1.3% |
| 1993 | 36.3% | -1.2% |
| 1994 | 35.9% | -1.2% |
| 1995 | 35.4% | -1.3% |
| 1996 | 35.0% | -1.0% |
| 1997 | 34.7% | -1.0% |
| 1998 | 34.5% | -0.6% |
| 1999 | 34.3% | -0.6% |
| 2000 | 34.0% | -0.7% |
| 2001 | 34.4% | +1.1% |
| 2002 | 34.2% | -0.6% |
| 2003 | 33.9% | -0.8% |
| 2004 | 33.3% | -1.8% |
| 2005 | 32.8% | -1.6% |
| 2006 | 32.0% | -2.3% |
| 2007 | 31.1% | -2.8% |
| 2008 | 30.7% | -1.2% |
| 2009 | 29.7% | -3.3% |
| 2010 | 28.9% | -2.8% |
| 2011 | 28.5% | -1.4% |
| 2012 | 28.7% | +0.7% |
| 2013 | 28.0% | -2.5% |
| 2014 | 27.6% | -1.5% |
| 2015 | 27.5% | -0.3% |
| 2016 | 27.5% | -0.0% |
| 2017 | 27.3% | -0.7% |
| 2018 | 27.0% | -1.2% |
| 2019 | 26.6% | -1.5% |
| 2020 | 26.5% | -0.2% |
| 2021 | 26.4% | -0.3% |
| 2022 | 25.9% | -2.1% |
| 2023 | 25.7% | -0.7% |
| 2024 | 25.4% | -1.0% |
| 2025 | 25.3% | -0.6% |
South Korea compared with similar countries
- South Korea's 25.3% is above the median for high income countries, which is 16.6%, 1.5× the median. (62 countries reporting)
- South Korea's 25.3% is below the median for East Asia & Pacific, which is 39.6%, 64% of the median. (29 countries reporting)
Averages by decade
| Decade | Average | Lowest | Highest | Years |
|---|---|---|---|---|
| 1990s | 35.6% | 34.3% | 37.2% | 9 |
| 2000s | 32.6% | 29.7% | 34.4% | 10 |
| 2010s | 27.7% | 26.6% | 28.9% | 10 |
| 2020s | 25.9% | 25.3% | 26.5% | 6 |
Countries ranked near South Korea
More work & labour data for South Korea
- Persons outside the labour force (ILO modelled estimates) 16,840 (2027)
- Labour force participation rate (ILO modelled estimates) 63.91 (2027)
- Labour force (ILO modelled estimates) 29,824 (2027)
- Unemployment rate (ILO modelled estimates) 2.96 (2027)
- Labour dependency ratio 0.78 (2027)
- Output per worker, GDP constant 2021 international $ at PPP 97,052 (2027)
- Output per worker, GDP constant 2015 US $ 65,686 (2027)
- Employment-to-population ratio (ILO modelled estimates) 62.02 (2027)
- Persons outside the labour force (ILO modelled estimates) (15+) 0.9719 % change on previous year (2027)
- Labour force (ILO modelled estimates) (15+), annual growth rate -0.1065 % change on previous year (2027)
Frequently asked questions
- What is self-employed, male (% of male employment) in South Korea?
- Self-employed, male (% of male employment) in South Korea was 25.3% 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 South Korea?
- The highest recorded value was 37.2% in 1991.
- What is the lowest self-employed, male (% of male employment) recorded in South Korea?
- The lowest recorded value was 25.3% in 2025.
- How does South Korea rank for self-employed, male (% of male employment)?
- South Korea ranks 120th out of 187 countries with data for 2025.
- Is self-employed, male (% of male employment) rising or falling in South Korea?
- Over the last ten years it is down 8.0%. The long-run trend across the full record is falling.
- Where does this South Korea 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.