Self-employed, total (% of total employment) in Serbia
Serbia: Self-employed, total (% of total employment) was 27.0% in 2025. ▼ Falling
Self-employed, total (% of total employment) in Serbia, 1991–2025
Source: ILO Modelled Estimates database (ILOEST), International Labour Organization (ILO).
Analysis
Serbia recorded 27.0% for self-employed, total (% of total employment) in 2025.
That represents a change of down 0.8% on the previous year and down 10.4% over ten years.
Over the whole period, self-employed, total (% of total employment) in Serbia peaked at 40.2% in 1991 and was at its lowest, 27.0%, in 2020.
Serbia ranks 108th of 187 countries 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 Serbia, year by year
| Year | Value | Change |
|---|---|---|
| 1991 | 40.2% | — |
| 1992 | 40.1% | -0.2% |
| 1993 | 40.1% | -0.2% |
| 1994 | 40.0% | -0.2% |
| 1995 | 39.9% | -0.2% |
| 1996 | 39.7% | -0.4% |
| 1997 | 39.5% | -0.6% |
| 1998 | 39.2% | -0.7% |
| 1999 | 39.1% | -0.4% |
| 2000 | 38.9% | -0.4% |
| 2001 | 38.7% | -0.6% |
| 2002 | 38.4% | -0.7% |
| 2003 | 38.0% | -0.9% |
| 2004 | 37.6% | -1.0% |
| 2005 | 37.2% | -1.2% |
| 2006 | 36.8% | -1.2% |
| 2007 | 36.3% | -1.3% |
| 2008 | 35.8% | -1.3% |
| 2009 | 34.1% | -4.7% |
| 2010 | 34.4% | +0.9% |
| 2011 | 32.1% | -6.8% |
| 2012 | 32.0% | -0.4% |
| 2013 | 31.8% | -0.5% |
| 2014 | 31.7% | -0.3% |
| 2015 | 30.2% | -4.9% |
| 2016 | 31.4% | +4.2% |
| 2017 | 30.6% | -2.7% |
| 2018 | 28.3% | -7.6% |
| 2019 | 27.7% | -2.0% |
| 2020 | 27.0% | -2.6% |
| 2021 | 27.4% | +1.5% |
| 2022 | 27.1% | -1.0% |
| 2023 | 27.1% | -0.0% |
| 2024 | 27.2% | +0.4% |
| 2025 | 27.0% | -0.8% |
Averages by decade
| Decade | Average | Lowest | Highest | Years |
|---|---|---|---|---|
| 1990s | 39.8% | 39.1% | 40.2% | 9 |
| 2000s | 37.2% | 34.1% | 38.9% | 10 |
| 2010s | 31.0% | 27.7% | 34.4% | 10 |
| 2020s | 27.1% | 27.0% | 27.4% | 6 |
Countries ranked near Serbia
- 105 Botswana 28.1% compare
- 106 Uruguay 28.0% compare
- 107 Equatorial Guinea 27.5% compare
- 109 Egypt 27.0% compare
- 110 Saint Lucia 26.7% compare
- 111 Costa Rica 26.6% compare
More work & labour data for Serbia
- Population - Est. & Proj. — Total Population - Both sexes, annual -0.7737 % change on previous year (2100)
- Population - Est. & Proj. — Total Population - Male, annual growth -0.7205 % change on previous year (2100)
- Population - Est. & Proj. — Total Population - Female, annual growth -0.8268 % change on previous year (2100)
- Population - Est. & Proj. — Rural population, annual growth rate -2.14 % change on previous year (2050)
- Population - Est. & Proj. — Urban population, annual growth rate 0.1128 % change on previous year (2050)
- Population - Est. & Proj. — Urban population 5,121 1000 No (2050)
- Population - Est. & Proj. — Rural population 2,326 1000 No (2050)
- Population - Est. & Proj. — Total Population - Female 1,850 1000 No (2100)
- Population - Est. & Proj. — Total Population - Male 1,852 1000 No (2100)
- Population - Est. & Proj. — Total Population - Both sexes 3,702 1000 No (2100)
Frequently asked questions
- What is self-employed, total (% of total employment) in Serbia?
- Self-employed, total (% of total employment) in Serbia was 27.0% 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 Serbia?
- The highest recorded value was 40.2% in 1991.
- What is the lowest self-employed, total (% of total employment) recorded in Serbia?
- The lowest recorded value was 27.0% in 2020.
- How does Serbia rank for self-employed, total (% of total employment)?
- Serbia ranks 108th out of 187 countries with data for 2025.
- Is self-employed, total (% of total employment) rising or falling in Serbia?
- Over the last ten years it is down 10.4%. The long-run trend across the full record is falling.
- Where does this Serbia 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.