Self-employed persons by occupation in France

France: Self-employed persons by occupation was 3,865 Thousand persons in 2025. ▲ Rising

Latest (2025)
3,865 Thousand persons
Change on year
up 3.0%
World rank
4th
of 36 countries
All-time high
3,865 Thousand persons
in 2025
All-time low
2,292 Thousand persons
in 2002
Years of data
43
1983–2025

Self-employed persons by occupation in France, 1983–2025

01.0k2.0k3.0k4.0k1983200420251983: 2.7k Thousand persons1984: 2.8k Thousand persons1985: 2.7k Thousand persons1986: 2.7k Thousand persons1987: 2.7k Thousand persons1988: 2.7k Thousand persons1989: 2.7k Thousand persons1990: 2.8k Thousand persons1991: 2.8k Thousand persons1992: 2.7k Thousand persons1993: 2.6k Thousand persons1994: 2.5k Thousand persons1995: 2.5k Thousand persons1996: 2.5k Thousand persons1997: 2.5k Thousand persons1998: 2.4k Thousand persons1999: 2.4k Thousand persons2000: 2.3k Thousand persons2001: 2.3k Thousand persons2002: 2.3k Thousand persons2003: 2.5k Thousand persons2004: 2.4k Thousand persons2005: 2.5k Thousand persons2006: 2.6k Thousand persons2007: 2.6k Thousand persons2008: 2.6k Thousand persons2009: 2.6k Thousand persons2010: 2.8k Thousand persons2011: 2.8k Thousand persons2012: 2.8k Thousand persons2013: 2.8k Thousand persons2014: 2.9k Thousand persons2015: 2.9k Thousand persons2016: 3.0k Thousand persons2017: 3.0k Thousand persons2018: 3.1k Thousand persons2019: 3.2k Thousand persons2020: 3.3k Thousand persons2021: 3.4k Thousand persons2022: 3.6k Thousand persons2023: 3.6k Thousand persons2024: 3.8k Thousand persons2025: 3.9k Thousand persons

Source: Eurostat. Measured in Thousand persons.

Analysis

France recorded 3,865 Thousand persons for self-employed persons by occupation in 2025. That is the highest value across all 43 years on record.

That represents a change of up 3.0% on the previous year and up 31.9% over ten years.

Over the whole period, self-employed persons by occupation in France peaked at 3,865 Thousand persons in 2025 and was at its lowest, 2,292 Thousand persons, in 2002.

France ranks 4th of 36 countries on this measure, in the top 10%.

The long-run direction has been consistently rising across the 43 years of available data.

Averages by decade

DecadeAverage LowestHighest Years
1980s 2,707 Thousand persons 2,668 Thousand persons 2,757 Thousand persons 7
1990s 2,570 Thousand persons 2,395 Thousand persons 2,796 Thousand persons 10
2000s 2,479 Thousand persons 2,292 Thousand persons 2,641 Thousand persons 10
2010s 2,936 Thousand persons 2,781 Thousand persons 3,182 Thousand persons 10
2020s 3,571 Thousand persons 3,251 Thousand persons 3,865 Thousand persons 6

Countries ranked near France

  1. 1 Türkiye 6,641 Thousand persons compare
  2. 2 Italy 4,943 Thousand persons compare
  3. 3 United Kingdom 4,881 Thousand persons compare
  4. 5 Germany 3,393 Thousand persons compare
  5. 6 Spain 3,195 Thousand persons compare
  6. 7 Poland 3,120 Thousand persons compare

See the full ranking of 38 places →

More work & labour data for France

All data for France →

Frequently asked questions

What is self-employed persons by occupation in France?
Self-employed persons by occupation in France was 3,865 Thousand persons in 2025, according to Eurostat.
What is the highest self-employed persons by occupation recorded in France?
The highest recorded value was 3,865 Thousand persons in 2025.
What is the lowest self-employed persons by occupation recorded in France?
The lowest recorded value was 2,292 Thousand persons in 2002.
How does France rank for self-employed persons by occupation?
France ranks 4th out of 36 countries with data for 2025.
Is self-employed persons by occupation rising or falling in France?
Over the last ten years it is up 31.9%. The long-run trend across the full record is rising.
Where does this France data come from?
The figures come from Eurostat, published as part of Self-employed persons by occupation. Statizoid updates them automatically from the source API.

Download this data

CSV · JSON — 43 observations, free to reuse under CC BY 4.0 (Eurostat).

About this data

Indicator
Self-employed persons by occupation
Unit
Thousand persons
Source
Eurostat
Licence
CC BY 4.0 (Eurostat)
Coverage
38 places, 1,169 data points, 1983–2025
Last refreshed