Self-employed, total (% of total employment) in Nepal
Nepal: Self-employed, total (% of total employment) was 78.6% in 2025. ▼ Falling
Self-employed, total (% of total employment) in Nepal, 1991–2025
Source: ILO Modelled Estimates database (ILOEST), International Labour Organization (ILO).
Analysis
The most recent figure for self-employed, total (% of total employment) in Nepal is 78.6%, measured in 2025. That is the lowest value across all 35 years on record.
That represents a change of down 0.3% on the previous year and down 3.1% over ten years.
Over the whole period, self-employed, total (% of total employment) in Nepal peaked at 86.7% in 1991 and was at its lowest, 78.6%, in 2025.
Nepal ranks 19th of 186 countries on this measure, in the top 10%.
The long-run direction has been consistently falling across the 35 years of available data.
Self-employed, total (% of total employment) in Nepal, year by year
| Year | Value | Change |
|---|---|---|
| 1991 | 86.7% | — |
| 1992 | 86.4% | -0.3% |
| 1993 | 86.2% | -0.2% |
| 1994 | 86.0% | -0.3% |
| 1995 | 85.8% | -0.3% |
| 1996 | 85.5% | -0.3% |
| 1997 | 85.3% | -0.3% |
| 1998 | 85.1% | -0.2% |
| 1999 | 84.9% | -0.3% |
| 2000 | 84.6% | -0.3% |
| 2001 | 84.4% | -0.3% |
| 2002 | 84.2% | -0.2% |
| 2003 | 84.1% | -0.2% |
| 2004 | 83.9% | -0.2% |
| 2005 | 83.7% | -0.2% |
| 2006 | 83.5% | -0.2% |
| 2007 | 83.3% | -0.2% |
| 2008 | 83.1% | -0.3% |
| 2009 | 82.8% | -0.3% |
| 2010 | 82.5% | -0.3% |
| 2011 | 82.3% | -0.3% |
| 2012 | 82.0% | -0.4% |
| 2013 | 81.7% | -0.3% |
| 2014 | 81.4% | -0.4% |
| 2015 | 81.1% | -0.4% |
| 2016 | 80.9% | -0.3% |
| 2017 | 80.6% | -0.4% |
| 2018 | 80.2% | -0.4% |
| 2019 | 79.9% | -0.5% |
| 2020 | 80.0% | +0.1% |
| 2021 | 79.6% | -0.5% |
| 2022 | 79.3% | -0.3% |
| 2023 | 79.1% | -0.3% |
| 2024 | 78.8% | -0.3% |
| 2025 | 78.6% | -0.3% |
Averages by decade
| Decade | Average | Lowest | Highest | Years |
|---|---|---|---|---|
| 1990s | 85.8% | 84.9% | 86.7% | 9 |
| 2000s | 83.8% | 82.8% | 84.6% | 10 |
| 2010s | 81.3% | 79.9% | 82.5% | 10 |
| 2020s | 79.2% | 78.6% | 80.0% | 6 |
Countries ranked near Nepal
More work & labour data for Nepal
- Population - Est. & Proj. — Total Population - Both sexes, annual -0.593 % change on previous year (2100)
- Population - Est. & Proj. — Total Population - Male, annual growth -0.568 % change on previous year (2100)
- Population - Est. & Proj. — Total Population - Female, annual growth -0.6174 % change on previous year (2100)
- Population - Est. & Proj. — Rural population, annual growth rate -0.8524 % change on previous year (2050)
- Population - Est. & Proj. — Urban population, annual growth rate 1.99 % change on previous year (2050)
- Population - Est. & Proj. — Urban population 13,496 1000 No (2050)
- Population - Est. & Proj. — Rural population 22,611 1000 No (2050)
- Population - Est. & Proj. — Total Population - Female 16,146 1000 No (2100)
- Population - Est. & Proj. — Total Population - Male 15,685 1000 No (2100)
- Population - Est. & Proj. — Total Population - Both sexes 31,831 1000 No (2100)
Frequently asked questions
- What is self-employed, total (% of total employment) in Nepal?
- Self-employed, total (% of total employment) in Nepal was 78.6% 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 Nepal?
- The highest recorded value was 86.7% in 1991.
- What is the lowest self-employed, total (% of total employment) recorded in Nepal?
- The lowest recorded value was 78.6% in 2025.
- How does Nepal rank for self-employed, total (% of total employment)?
- Nepal ranks 19th out of 186 countries with data for 2025.
- Is self-employed, total (% of total employment) rising or falling in Nepal?
- Over the last ten years it is down 3.1%. The long-run trend across the full record is falling.
- Where does this Nepal 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.