Self-employed, total (% of total employment) (modeled ILO estimate) in Kuwait
Kuwait: Self-employed, total (% of total employment) (modeled ILO estimate) was 3.2% in 2025. ▼ Falling
Self-employed, total (% of total employment) in Kuwait, 1991–2025
Source: ILO Modelled Estimates database (ILOEST), International Labour Organization (ILO).
Analysis
In 2025, self-employed, total (% of total employment) in Kuwait stood at 3.2%.
That represents a change of up 2.1% on the previous year and up 173.6% over ten years.
Over the whole period, self-employed, total (% of total employment) in Kuwait peaked at 6.4% in 1991 and was at its lowest, 1.1%, in 2013.
That places Kuwait 185th 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) (modeled ILO estimate) in Kuwait, year by year
| Year | Value | Change |
|---|---|---|
| 1991 | 6.4% | — |
| 1992 | 5.8% | -10.4% |
| 1993 | 5.1% | -11.8% |
| 1994 | 4.6% | -9.7% |
| 1995 | 4.1% | -10.0% |
| 1996 | 3.7% | -9.9% |
| 1997 | 3.6% | -3.9% |
| 1998 | 3.6% | +1.3% |
| 1999 | 3.5% | -3.8% |
| 2000 | 3.3% | -4.8% |
| 2001 | 3.4% | +1.6% |
| 2002 | 3.4% | +1.8% |
| 2003 | 3.3% | -5.3% |
| 2004 | 3.0% | -7.5% |
| 2005 | 2.7% | -9.2% |
| 2006 | 2.2% | -19.9% |
| 2007 | 1.8% | -16.5% |
| 2008 | 1.4% | -26.2% |
| 2009 | 1.5% | +14.2% |
| 2010 | 1.5% | -3.7% |
| 2011 | 1.3% | -14.7% |
| 2012 | 1.1% | -9.4% |
| 2013 | 1.1% | -2.1% |
| 2014 | 1.2% | +2.8% |
| 2015 | 1.2% | +0.0% |
| 2016 | 1.8% | +57.5% |
| 2017 | 1.9% | +4.0% |
| 2018 | 2.0% | +6.0% |
| 2019 | 2.2% | +10.2% |
| 2020 | 2.7% | +24.4% |
| 2021 | 2.8% | +2.3% |
| 2022 | 2.7% | -4.0% |
| 2023 | 2.9% | +8.4% |
| 2024 | 3.1% | +5.7% |
| 2025 | 3.2% | +2.1% |
Kuwait compared with similar countries
- Kuwait's 3.2% is below the median for high income countries, which is 13.2%, 24% of the median. (62 countries reporting)
- Kuwait's 3.2% is below the median for Middle East, North Africa, Afghanistan & Pakistan, which is 25.9%, 12% of the median. (23 countries reporting)
Biggest year-on-year movements
Years where Self-employed, total (% of total employment) (modeled ILO estimate) in Kuwait changed far more than this series normally does. A large move can be a real event or a change in how the figure was measured — the source note below says who published it.
| Year | Change | From | To |
|---|---|---|---|
| 2016 | +57.5% | 1.2% | 1.8% |
Averages by decade
| Decade | Average | Lowest | Highest | Years |
|---|---|---|---|---|
| 1990s | 4.5% | 3.5% | 6.4% | 9 |
| 2000s | 2.6% | 1.4% | 3.4% | 10 |
| 2010s | 1.5% | 1.1% | 2.2% | 10 |
| 2020s | 2.9% | 2.7% | 3.2% | 6 |
Countries ranked near Kuwait
More work & labour data for Kuwait
- Population - Est. & Proj. — Total Population - Both sexes, annual 0.801 % change on previous year (2100)
- Population - Est. & Proj. — Total Population - Male, annual growth 0.7211 % change on previous year (2100)
- Population - Est. & Proj. — Total Population - Female, annual growth 0.9054 % change on previous year (2100)
- Population - Est. & Proj. — Rural population, annual growth rate -100 % change on previous year (2002)
- Population - Est. & Proj. — Urban population, annual growth rate 0.4407 % change on previous year (2050)
- Population - Est. & Proj. — Urban population 5,644 1000 No (2050)
- Population - Est. & Proj. — Rural population 0 1000 No (2050)
- Population - Est. & Proj. — Total Population - Female 4,171 1000 No (2100)
- Population - Est. & Proj. — Total Population - Male 5,431 1000 No (2100)
- Population - Est. & Proj. — Total Population - Both sexes 9,602 1000 No (2100)
Frequently asked questions
- What is self-employed, total (% of total employment) in Kuwait?
- Self-employed, total (% of total employment) in Kuwait was 3.2% 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 Kuwait?
- The highest recorded value was 6.4% in 1991.
- What is the lowest self-employed, total (% of total employment) recorded in Kuwait?
- The lowest recorded value was 1.1% in 2013.
- How does Kuwait rank for self-employed, total (% of total employment)?
- Kuwait ranks 185th out of 187 countries with data for 2025.
- Is self-employed, total (% of total employment) rising or falling in Kuwait?
- Over the last ten years it is up 173.6%. The long-run trend across the full record is falling.
- Where does this Kuwait 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.