Self-employed, total (% of total employment) in Middle East, North Africa, Afghanistan & Pakistan (excluding high income)
Middle East, North Africa, Afghanistan & Pakistan (excluding high income): Self-employed, total (% of total employment) was 45.4% in 2025. ▼ Falling
Self-employed, total (% of total employment) in Middle East, North Africa, Afghanistan & Pakistan (excluding high income), 1991–2025
Source: ILO Modelled Estimates database (ILOEST), International Labour Organization (ILO).
Analysis
Middle East, North Africa, Afghanistan & Pakistan (excluding high income) recorded 45.4% for self-employed, total (% of total employment) in 2025.
That represents a change of down 0.2% on the previous year and down 5.0% over ten years.
Over the whole period, self-employed, total (% of total employment) in Middle East, North Africa, Afghanistan & Pakistan (excluding high income) peaked at 52.9% in 1991 and was at its lowest, 45.3%, in 2022.
Middle East, North Africa, Afghanistan & Pakistan (excluding high income) ranks 23rd of 47 groups on this measure, 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 Middle East, North Africa, Afghanistan & Pakistan (excluding high income), year by year
| Year | Value | Change |
|---|---|---|
| 1991 | 52.9% | — |
| 1992 | 52.7% | -0.3% |
| 1993 | 52.7% | -0.1% |
| 1994 | 52.5% | -0.4% |
| 1995 | 52.3% | -0.2% |
| 1996 | 52.0% | -0.5% |
| 1997 | 51.1% | -1.9% |
| 1998 | 51.5% | +0.8% |
| 1999 | 51.1% | -0.7% |
| 2000 | 51.3% | +0.3% |
| 2001 | 51.1% | -0.4% |
| 2002 | 49.8% | -2.6% |
| 2003 | 50.0% | +0.4% |
| 2004 | 50.8% | +1.5% |
| 2005 | 48.8% | -3.9% |
| 2006 | 48.2% | -1.3% |
| 2007 | 48.6% | +0.9% |
| 2008 | 48.5% | -0.3% |
| 2009 | 48.3% | -0.3% |
| 2010 | 47.9% | -1.0% |
| 2011 | 47.8% | -0.1% |
| 2012 | 47.5% | -0.7% |
| 2013 | 47.7% | +0.5% |
| 2014 | 47.8% | +0.2% |
| 2015 | 47.7% | -0.1% |
| 2016 | 47.4% | -0.7% |
| 2017 | 47.2% | -0.4% |
| 2018 | 46.6% | -1.4% |
| 2019 | 47.2% | +1.4% |
| 2020 | 46.7% | -1.0% |
| 2021 | 45.9% | -1.8% |
| 2022 | 45.3% | -1.3% |
| 2023 | 45.5% | +0.3% |
| 2024 | 45.5% | +0.0% |
| 2025 | 45.4% | -0.2% |
Averages by decade
| Decade | Average | Lowest | Highest | Years |
|---|---|---|---|---|
| 1990s | 52.1% | 51.1% | 52.9% | 9 |
| 2000s | 49.5% | 48.2% | 51.3% | 10 |
| 2010s | 47.5% | 46.6% | 47.9% | 10 |
| 2020s | 45.7% | 45.3% | 46.7% | 6 |
Countries ranked near Middle East, North Africa, Afghanistan & Pakistan (excluding high income)
More work & labour data for Middle East, North Africa, Afghanistan & Pakistan (excluding high income)
- Labor force participation rate, total (% of total population ages 15+) 44.9% (2025)
- Labor force participation rate for ages 15-24, male (%) 50.1% (2025)
- Labor force participation rate for ages 15-24, female (%) 13.4% (2025)
- Labor force participation rate for ages 15-24, total (%) 32.2% (2025)
- Labor force participation rate, female (% of female population ages) 19.0% (2025)
- Labor force participation rate, male (% of male population ages 15-64) 75.4% (2025)
- Labor force participation rate, total (% of total population ages) 47.6% (2025)
- Labor force participation rate, male (% of male population ages 15+) 71.7% (2025)
- Labor force participation rate, female (% of female population ages) 17.7% (2025)
- Ratio of female to male labor force participation rate (%) 25.1% (2025)
All data for Middle East, North Africa, Afghanistan & Pakistan (excluding high income) →
Frequently asked questions
- What is self-employed, total (% of total employment) in Middle East, North Africa, Afghanistan & Pakistan (excluding high income)?
- Self-employed, total (% of total employment) in Middle East, North Africa, Afghanistan & Pakistan (excluding high income) was 45.4% 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 Middle East, North Africa, Afghanistan & Pakistan (excluding high income)?
- The highest recorded value was 52.9% in 1991.
- What is the lowest self-employed, total (% of total employment) recorded in Middle East, North Africa, Afghanistan & Pakistan (excluding high income)?
- The lowest recorded value was 45.3% in 2022.
- How does Middle East, North Africa, Afghanistan & Pakistan (excluding high income) rank for self-employed, total (% of total employment)?
- Middle East, North Africa, Afghanistan & Pakistan (excluding high income) ranks 23rd out of 47 groups with data for 2025.
- Is self-employed, total (% of total employment) rising or falling in Middle East, North Africa, Afghanistan & Pakistan (excluding high income)?
- Over the last ten years it is down 5.0%. The long-run trend across the full record is falling.
- Where does this Middle East, North Africa, Afghanistan & Pakistan (excluding high income) 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.