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

Qatar: Self-employed, total (% of total employment) was 0.8% in 2025. ▼ Falling

Latest (2025)
0.8%
Change on year
up 0.5%
World rank
186th
of 186 countries
All-time high
2.1%
in 1991
All-time low
0.5%
in 2014
Years of data
35
1991–2025

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

0.511.521991200820251991: 2.11992: 21993: 1.91994: 1.91995: 1.71996: 1.71997: 1.31998: 1.51999: 1.32000: 0.9722001: 1.12002: 1.22003: 1.22004: 1.22005: 12006: 1.12007: 1.12008: 0.9842009: 1.32010: 1.12011: 0.7852012: 0.6512013: 0.5412014: 0.4942015: 0.5192016: 0.5062017: 0.5082018: 0.5662019: 0.7592020: 0.8572021: 0.7832022: 0.862023: 0.8192024: 0.8282025: 0.832

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

Analysis

In 2025, self-employed, total (% of total employment) in Qatar stood at 0.8%.

Compared with earlier readings it is up 0.5% on the previous year and up 60.3% over ten years.

Over the whole period, self-employed, total (% of total employment) in Qatar peaked at 2.1% in 1991 and was at its lowest, 0.5%, in 2014.

That places Qatar 186th out of 186 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 Qatar, year by year

Annual values for Self-employed, total (% of total employment) (modeled ILO estimate) in Qatar, 1991 to 2025.
Year Value Change
1991 2.1%
1992 2.0% -7.6%
1993 1.9% -1.7%
1994 1.9% -4.6%
1995 1.7% -5.7%
1996 1.7% -4.1%
1997 1.3% -20.2%
1998 1.5% +10.3%
1999 1.3% -13.8%
2000 1.0% -23.5%
2001 1.1% +13.9%
2002 1.2% +5.9%
2003 1.2% +6.6%
2004 1.2% -2.5%
2005 1.0% -14.1%
2006 1.1% +5.5%
2007 1.1% -0.3%
2008 1.0% -10.6%
2009 1.3% +36.5%
2010 1.1% -18.9%
2011 0.8% -28.0%
2012 0.7% -17.0%
2013 0.5% -16.9%
2014 0.5% -8.8%
2015 0.5% +5.1%
2016 0.5% -2.6%
2017 0.5% +0.4%
2018 0.6% +11.5%
2019 0.8% +34.2%
2020 0.9% +12.9%
2021 0.8% -8.7%
2022 0.9% +9.9%
2023 0.8% -4.8%
2024 0.8% +1.1%
2025 0.8% +0.5%

Averages by decade

DecadeAverage LowestHighest Years
1990s 1.7% 1.3% 2.1% 9
2000s 1.1% 1.0% 1.3% 10
2010s 0.6% 0.5% 1.1% 10
2020s 0.8% 0.8% 0.9% 6

Countries ranked near Qatar

  1. 183 Norway 4.9% compare
  2. 184 Kuwait 3.2% compare
  3. 185 Bahrain 2.4% compare

See the full ranking of 234 places →

More work & labour data for Qatar

All data for Qatar →

Frequently asked questions

What is self-employed, total (% of total employment) in Qatar?
Self-employed, total (% of total employment) in Qatar was 0.8% 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 Qatar?
The highest recorded value was 2.1% in 1991.
What is the lowest self-employed, total (% of total employment) recorded in Qatar?
The lowest recorded value was 0.5% in 2014.
How does Qatar rank for self-employed, total (% of total employment)?
Qatar ranks 186th out of 186 countries with data for 2025.
Is self-employed, total (% of total employment) rising or falling in Qatar?
Over the last ten years it is up 60.3%. The long-run trend across the full record is falling.
Where does this Qatar 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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Self-employed, total (% of total employment) in Qatar. Statizoid, drawing on ILO Modelled Estimates database (ILOEST), International Labour Organization (ILO). Retrieved 30 August 2026, from https://labour.statizoid.com/stat/self-employed-total-percent-of-total-employment-modeled-ilo-estimate/qatar/

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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.