Self-employed, total (% of total employment) in Liberia

Liberia: Self-employed, total (% of total employment) was 78.3% in 2025. ▬ Flat

Latest (2025)
78.3%
Change on year
down 0.4%
World rank
20th
of 186 countries
All-time high
84.6%
in 1996
All-time low
77.0%
in 1991
Years of data
35
1991–2025

Self-employed, total (% of total employment) in Liberia, 1991–2025

0204060801991200820251991: 771992: 78.91993: 80.61994: 82.21995: 83.71996: 84.61997: 84.21998: 83.61999: 832000: 82.42001: 81.92002: 81.62003: 81.42004: 81.22005: 81.12006: 80.92007: 80.72008: 80.52009: 80.32010: 802011: 79.82012: 79.62013: 79.32014: 79.12015: 792016: 78.82017: 78.72018: 78.62019: 78.52020: 79.72021: 79.32022: 79.12023: 78.92024: 78.62025: 78.3

Source: ILO Modelled Estimates database (ILOEST), International Labour Organization (ILO).

Analysis

In 2025, self-employed, total (% of total employment) in Liberia stood at 78.3%.

That represents a change of down 0.4% on the previous year and down 0.8% over ten years.

Over the whole period, self-employed, total (% of total employment) in Liberia peaked at 84.6% in 1996 and was at its lowest, 77.0%, in 1991.

That places Liberia 20th out of 186 countries with data for 2025, putting it in the top quarter.

Self-employed, total (% of total employment) in Liberia, year by year

Annual values for Self-employed, total (% of total employment) (modeled ILO estimate) in Liberia, 1991 to 2025.
Year Value Change
1991 77.0%
1992 78.9% +2.4%
1993 80.6% +2.2%
1994 82.2% +1.9%
1995 83.7% +1.8%
1996 84.6% +1.1%
1997 84.2% -0.5%
1998 83.6% -0.7%
1999 83.0% -0.7%
2000 82.4% -0.7%
2001 81.9% -0.6%
2002 81.6% -0.4%
2003 81.4% -0.2%
2004 81.2% -0.2%
2005 81.1% -0.2%
2006 80.9% -0.2%
2007 80.7% -0.2%
2008 80.5% -0.3%
2009 80.3% -0.3%
2010 80.0% -0.4%
2011 79.8% -0.3%
2012 79.6% -0.3%
2013 79.3% -0.3%
2014 79.1% -0.3%
2015 79.0% -0.2%
2016 78.8% -0.2%
2017 78.7% -0.2%
2018 78.6% -0.2%
2019 78.5% -0.1%
2020 79.7% +1.6%
2021 79.3% -0.6%
2022 79.1% -0.2%
2023 78.9% -0.3%
2024 78.6% -0.3%
2025 78.3% -0.4%

Averages by decade

DecadeAverage LowestHighest Years
1990s 82.0% 77.0% 84.6% 9
2000s 81.2% 80.3% 82.4% 10
2010s 79.1% 78.5% 80.0% 10
2020s 79.0% 78.3% 79.7% 6

Countries ranked near Liberia

  1. 17 Benin 79.8% compare
  2. 18 Papua New Guinea 78.7% compare
  3. 19 Nepal 78.6% compare
  4. 21 Lao People's Democratic Republic 77.1% compare
  5. 22 Haiti 76.8% compare
  6. 23 Congo 76.8% compare

See the full ranking of 234 places →

More work & labour data for Liberia

All data for Liberia →

Frequently asked questions

What is self-employed, total (% of total employment) in Liberia?
Self-employed, total (% of total employment) in Liberia was 78.3% 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 Liberia?
The highest recorded value was 84.6% in 1996.
What is the lowest self-employed, total (% of total employment) recorded in Liberia?
The lowest recorded value was 77.0% in 1991.
How does Liberia rank for self-employed, total (% of total employment)?
Liberia ranks 20th out of 186 countries with data for 2025.
Is self-employed, total (% of total employment) rising or falling in Liberia?
Over the last ten years it is down 0.8%. The long-run trend across the full record is flat.
Where does this Liberia 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).

Share, cite or embed this page

Cite this page

Self-employed, total (% of total employment) in Liberia. Statizoid, drawing on ILO Modelled Estimates database (ILOEST), International Labour Organization (ILO). Retrieved 03 September 2026, from https://labour.statizoid.com/stat/self-employed-total-percent-of-total-employment-modeled-ilo-estimate/liberia/

Embed or link this data

Paste this into a page to link back to these figures. The data itself is free to reuse under CC BY 4.0 (World Bank Open Data); please keep the attribution.

<a href="https://labour.statizoid.com/stat/self-employed-total-percent-of-total-employment-modeled-ilo-estimate/liberia/">Self-employed, total (% of total employment) in Liberia</a> — Statizoid

About this data

Indicator
Self-employed, total (% of total employment) (modeled ILO estimate)
Source
ILO Modelled Estimates database (ILOEST), International Labour Organization (ILO)
Licence
CC BY 4.0 (World Bank Open Data)
Coverage
234 places, 8,176 data points, 1991–2025
Last refreshed

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.