Self-employed, total (% of total employment) in Hong Kong, China
Hong Kong, China: Self-employed, total (% of total employment) was 7.7% in 2025. ▼ Falling
Self-employed, total (% of total employment) in Hong Kong, China, 1991–2025
Source: ILO Modelled Estimates database (ILOEST), International Labour Organization (ILO).
Analysis
Hong Kong, China recorded 7.7% for self-employed, total (% of total employment) in 2025. That is the lowest value across all 35 years on record.
The figure is down 1.4% on the previous year and down 13.8% over ten years.
Over the whole period, self-employed, total (% of total employment) in Hong Kong, China peaked at 11.8% in 2002 and was at its lowest, 7.7%, in 2025.
That places Hong Kong, China 175th out of 187 countries with data for 2025, putting it in the bottom quarter.
The long-run direction has been consistently falling across the 35 years of available data.
Self-employed, total (% of total employment) in Hong Kong, China, year by year
| Year | Value | Change |
|---|---|---|
| 1991 | 10.7% | — |
| 1992 | 10.5% | -2.0% |
| 1993 | 10.3% | -1.8% |
| 1994 | 9.8% | -5.0% |
| 1995 | 9.7% | -0.5% |
| 1996 | 9.7% | -0.1% |
| 1997 | 9.2% | -4.9% |
| 1998 | 9.3% | +0.4% |
| 1999 | 9.8% | +5.3% |
| 2000 | 9.4% | -3.3% |
| 2001 | 10.8% | +14.8% |
| 2002 | 11.8% | +8.8% |
| 2003 | 11.6% | -1.8% |
| 2004 | 11.4% | -1.5% |
| 2005 | 11.2% | -2.2% |
| 2006 | 11.1% | -0.1% |
| 2007 | 10.2% | -8.2% |
| 2008 | 10.1% | -1.3% |
| 2009 | 10.1% | +0.2% |
| 2010 | 9.9% | -1.9% |
| 2011 | 10.1% | +1.9% |
| 2012 | 10.3% | +1.5% |
| 2013 | 10.1% | -1.3% |
| 2014 | 9.1% | -9.9% |
| 2015 | 8.9% | -2.2% |
| 2016 | 8.7% | -2.5% |
| 2017 | 8.7% | -0.0% |
| 2018 | 8.5% | -2.0% |
| 2019 | 8.7% | +1.4% |
| 2020 | 8.7% | +0.4% |
| 2021 | 8.4% | -3.7% |
| 2022 | 8.5% | +1.0% |
| 2023 | 8.5% | +0.1% |
| 2024 | 7.8% | -7.8% |
| 2025 | 7.7% | -1.4% |
Averages by decade
| Decade | Average | Lowest | Highest | Years |
|---|---|---|---|---|
| 1990s | 9.9% | 9.2% | 10.7% | 9 |
| 2000s | 10.8% | 9.4% | 11.8% | 10 |
| 2010s | 9.3% | 8.5% | 10.3% | 10 |
| 2020s | 8.2% | 7.7% | 8.7% | 6 |
Countries ranked near Hong Kong, China
- 172 Channel Islands 8.6% compare
- 173 Germany 8.1% compare
- 174 Denmark 7.9% compare
- 176 Brunei Darussalam 7.3% compare
- 177 Belarus 6.8% compare
- 178 Macau, China 6.8% compare
More work & labour data for Hong Kong, China
- Persons outside the labour force (ILO modelled estimates) 2,981 (2027)
- Labour force participation rate (ILO modelled estimates) 55.13 (2027)
- Labour force (ILO modelled estimates) 3,663 (2027)
- Unemployment rate (ILO modelled estimates) 2.78 (2027)
- Labour dependency ratio 1.06 (2027)
- Output per worker, GDP constant 2021 international $ at PPP 149,185 (2027)
- Output per worker, GDP constant 2015 US $ 100,833 (2027)
- Employment-to-population ratio (ILO modelled estimates) 53.6 (2027)
- Persons outside the labour force (ILO modelled estimates) (15+) 1.56 % change on previous year (2027)
- Labour force (ILO modelled estimates) (15+), annual growth rate -1.12 % change on previous year (2027)
Frequently asked questions
- What is self-employed, total (% of total employment) in Hong Kong, China?
- Self-employed, total (% of total employment) in Hong Kong, China was 7.7% 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 Hong Kong, China?
- The highest recorded value was 11.8% in 2002.
- What is the lowest self-employed, total (% of total employment) recorded in Hong Kong, China?
- The lowest recorded value was 7.7% in 2025.
- How does Hong Kong, China rank for self-employed, total (% of total employment)?
- Hong Kong, China ranks 175th out of 187 countries with data for 2025.
- Is self-employed, total (% of total employment) rising or falling in Hong Kong, China?
- Over the last ten years it is down 13.8%. The long-run trend across the full record is falling.
- Where does this Hong Kong, China 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.
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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.