Self-employed, total (% of total employment) in Brazil
Brazil: Self-employed, total (% of total employment) was 30.3% in 2025. ▼ Falling
Self-employed, total (% of total employment) in Brazil, 1991–2025
Source: ILO Modelled Estimates database (ILOEST), International Labour Organization (ILO).
Analysis
Brazil recorded 30.3% for self-employed, total (% of total employment) in 2025.
The figure is down 0.7% on the previous year and down 0.8% over ten years.
Over the whole period, self-employed, total (% of total employment) in Brazil peaked at 35.5% in 1993 and was at its lowest, 29.3%, in 2012.
That places Brazil 100th out of 186 countries 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, total (% of total employment) in Brazil, year by year
| Year | Value | Change |
|---|---|---|
| 1991 | 35.2% | — |
| 1992 | 35.4% | +0.7% |
| 1993 | 35.5% | +0.1% |
| 1994 | 35.3% | -0.5% |
| 1995 | 35.2% | -0.3% |
| 1996 | 33.8% | -4.0% |
| 1997 | 34.6% | +2.3% |
| 1998 | 34.7% | +0.4% |
| 1999 | 35.3% | +1.7% |
| 2000 | 35.0% | -0.7% |
| 2001 | 34.8% | -0.6% |
| 2002 | 34.9% | +0.4% |
| 2003 | 35.0% | +0.1% |
| 2004 | 34.4% | -1.7% |
| 2005 | 34.5% | +0.3% |
| 2006 | 33.7% | -2.2% |
| 2007 | 32.6% | -3.4% |
| 2008 | 31.5% | -3.2% |
| 2009 | 31.0% | -1.6% |
| 2010 | 30.3% | -2.5% |
| 2011 | 29.5% | -2.6% |
| 2012 | 29.3% | -0.6% |
| 2013 | 29.5% | +0.6% |
| 2014 | 29.4% | -0.4% |
| 2015 | 30.5% | +4.0% |
| 2016 | 30.9% | +1.2% |
| 2017 | 31.5% | +2.0% |
| 2018 | 31.9% | +1.2% |
| 2019 | 32.2% | +1.0% |
| 2020 | 32.5% | +0.9% |
| 2021 | 33.5% | +3.1% |
| 2022 | 32.1% | -4.1% |
| 2023 | 31.2% | -2.8% |
| 2024 | 30.5% | -2.3% |
| 2025 | 30.3% | -0.7% |
Averages by decade
| Decade | Average | Lowest | Highest | Years |
|---|---|---|---|---|
| 1990s | 35.0% | 33.8% | 35.5% | 9 |
| 2000s | 33.8% | 31.0% | 35.0% | 10 |
| 2010s | 30.5% | 29.3% | 32.2% | 10 |
| 2020s | 31.7% | 30.3% | 33.5% | 6 |
Countries ranked near Brazil
More work & labour data for Brazil
- Population - Est. & Proj. — Total Population - Both sexes, annual -0.7328 % change on previous year (2100)
- Population - Est. & Proj. — Total Population - Male, annual growth -0.7065 % change on previous year (2100)
- Population - Est. & Proj. — Total Population - Female, annual growth -0.7581 % change on previous year (2100)
- Population - Est. & Proj. — Rural population, annual growth rate -1.74 % change on previous year (2050)
- Population - Est. & Proj. — Urban population, annual growth rate 0.1001 % change on previous year (2050)
- Population - Est. & Proj. — Urban population 215,063 1000 No (2050)
- Population - Est. & Proj. — Rural population 17,625 1000 No (2050)
- Population - Est. & Proj. — Total Population - Female 82,304 1000 No (2100)
- Population - Est. & Proj. — Total Population - Male 81,060 1000 No (2100)
- Population - Est. & Proj. — Total Population - Both sexes 163,364 1000 No (2100)
Frequently asked questions
- What is self-employed, total (% of total employment) in Brazil?
- Self-employed, total (% of total employment) in Brazil was 30.3% in 2025, according to ILO Modelled Estimates database (ILOEST), International Labour Organization (ILO).
- What is the highest self-employed, total (% of total employment) recorded in Brazil?
- The highest recorded value was 35.5% in 1993.
- What is the lowest self-employed, total (% of total employment) recorded in Brazil?
- The lowest recorded value was 29.3% in 2012.
- How does Brazil rank for self-employed, total (% of total employment)?
- Brazil ranks 100th out of 186 countries with data for 2025.
- Is self-employed, total (% of total employment) rising or falling in Brazil?
- Over the last ten years it is down 0.8%. The long-run trend across the full record is falling.
- Where does this Brazil data come from?
- The figures come from ILO Modelled Estimates database (ILOEST), International Labour Organization (ILO), published as part of Self-employed, total (% of total 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.