Self-employed, total (% of total employment) in Romania
Romania: Self-employed, total (% of total employment) was 14.5% in 2025. ▼ Falling
Self-employed, total (% of total employment) in Romania, 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 Romania is 14.5%, measured in 2025. That is the lowest value across all 35 years on record.
That represents a change of down 1.3% on the previous year and down 30.3% over ten years.
Over the whole period, self-employed, total (% of total employment) in Romania peaked at 37.9% in 2000 and was at its lowest, 14.5%, in 2025.
That places Romania 146th 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 Romania, year by year
| Year | Value | Change |
|---|---|---|
| 1991 | 30.5% | — |
| 1992 | 30.9% | +1.5% |
| 1993 | 31.3% | +1.2% |
| 1994 | 31.7% | +1.0% |
| 1995 | 31.9% | +0.8% |
| 1996 | 32.1% | +0.5% |
| 1997 | 32.2% | +0.4% |
| 1998 | 33.8% | +4.9% |
| 1999 | 35.9% | +6.2% |
| 2000 | 37.9% | +5.4% |
| 2001 | 37.8% | -0.1% |
| 2002 | 31.5% | -16.7% |
| 2003 | 31.3% | -0.7% |
| 2004 | 26.4% | -15.7% |
| 2005 | 27.2% | +3.0% |
| 2006 | 25.6% | -5.6% |
| 2007 | 25.5% | -0.5% |
| 2008 | 24.3% | -4.6% |
| 2009 | 24.6% | +0.8% |
| 2010 | 26.9% | +9.7% |
| 2011 | 25.0% | -7.3% |
| 2012 | 25.1% | +0.7% |
| 2013 | 24.6% | -2.2% |
| 2014 | 23.9% | -3.0% |
| 2015 | 20.7% | -13.0% |
| 2016 | 18.4% | -11.4% |
| 2017 | 18.1% | -1.7% |
| 2018 | 17.0% | -6.0% |
| 2019 | 16.0% | -5.8% |
| 2020 | 15.5% | -2.9% |
| 2021 | 15.1% | -2.8% |
| 2022 | 14.8% | -1.8% |
| 2023 | 14.7% | -0.7% |
| 2024 | 14.7% | -0.4% |
| 2025 | 14.5% | -1.3% |
Averages by decade
| Decade | Average | Lowest | Highest | Years |
|---|---|---|---|---|
| 1990s | 32.3% | 30.5% | 35.9% | 9 |
| 2000s | 29.2% | 24.3% | 37.9% | 10 |
| 2010s | 21.6% | 16.0% | 26.9% | 10 |
| 2020s | 14.9% | 14.5% | 15.5% | 6 |
Countries ranked near Romania
More work & labour data for Romania
- Population - Est. & Proj. — Total Population - Both sexes, annual -0.7777 % change on previous year (2100)
- Population - Est. & Proj. — Total Population - Male, annual growth -0.7486 % change on previous year (2100)
- Population - Est. & Proj. — Total Population - Female, annual growth -0.8063 % change on previous year (2100)
- Population - Est. & Proj. — Rural population, annual growth rate -2.18 % change on previous year (2050)
- Population - Est. & Proj. — Urban population, annual growth rate 0.1264 % change on previous year (2050)
- Population - Est. & Proj. — Urban population 10,932 1000 No (2050)
- Population - Est. & Proj. — Rural population 5,465 1000 No (2050)
- Population - Est. & Proj. — Total Population - Female 5,408 1000 No (2100)
- Population - Est. & Proj. — Total Population - Male 5,360 1000 No (2100)
- Population - Est. & Proj. — Total Population - Both sexes 10,768 1000 No (2100)
Frequently asked questions
- What is self-employed, total (% of total employment) in Romania?
- Self-employed, total (% of total employment) in Romania was 14.5% 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 Romania?
- The highest recorded value was 37.9% in 2000.
- What is the lowest self-employed, total (% of total employment) recorded in Romania?
- The lowest recorded value was 14.5% in 2025.
- How does Romania rank for self-employed, total (% of total employment)?
- Romania ranks 146th out of 186 countries with data for 2025.
- Is self-employed, total (% of total employment) rising or falling in Romania?
- Over the last ten years it is down 30.3%. The long-run trend across the full record is falling.
- Where does this Romania 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.