Self-employed, total (% of total employment) in Sub-Saharan Africa
Sub-Saharan Africa: Self-employed, total (% of total employment) was 77.7% in 2025. ▼ Falling
Self-employed, total (% of total employment) in Sub-Saharan Africa, 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 Sub-Saharan Africa is 77.7%, measured in 2025.
Compared with earlier readings it is down 0.2% on the previous year and down 0.0% over ten years.
Over the whole period, self-employed, total (% of total employment) in Sub-Saharan Africa peaked at 81.2% in 1995 and was at its lowest, 77.3%, in 2019.
Sub-Saharan Africa ranks 5th of 47 groups 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 Sub-Saharan Africa, year by year
| Year | Value | Change |
|---|---|---|
| 1991 | 80.8% | — |
| 1992 | 80.9% | +0.1% |
| 1993 | 80.9% | +0.0% |
| 1994 | 81.1% | +0.2% |
| 1995 | 81.2% | +0.1% |
| 1996 | 81.1% | -0.1% |
| 1997 | 81.0% | -0.2% |
| 1998 | 80.9% | -0.1% |
| 1999 | 80.8% | -0.2% |
| 2000 | 80.6% | -0.1% |
| 2001 | 80.6% | -0.1% |
| 2002 | 80.4% | -0.2% |
| 2003 | 80.3% | -0.2% |
| 2004 | 80.1% | -0.2% |
| 2005 | 80.0% | -0.2% |
| 2006 | 79.8% | -0.3% |
| 2007 | 79.5% | -0.4% |
| 2008 | 79.2% | -0.3% |
| 2009 | 79.1% | -0.1% |
| 2010 | 79.0% | -0.1% |
| 2011 | 78.8% | -0.3% |
| 2012 | 78.6% | -0.3% |
| 2013 | 78.3% | -0.4% |
| 2014 | 78.0% | -0.4% |
| 2015 | 77.7% | -0.4% |
| 2016 | 77.6% | -0.1% |
| 2017 | 77.4% | -0.2% |
| 2018 | 77.3% | -0.2% |
| 2019 | 77.3% | -0.0% |
| 2020 | 78.2% | +1.2% |
| 2021 | 77.9% | -0.4% |
| 2022 | 77.6% | -0.4% |
| 2023 | 78.0% | +0.5% |
| 2024 | 77.8% | -0.2% |
| 2025 | 77.7% | -0.2% |
Averages by decade
| Decade | Average | Lowest | Highest | Years |
|---|---|---|---|---|
| 1990s | 81.0% | 80.8% | 81.2% | 9 |
| 2000s | 80.0% | 79.1% | 80.6% | 10 |
| 2010s | 78.0% | 77.3% | 79.0% | 10 |
| 2020s | 77.9% | 77.6% | 78.2% | 6 |
Countries ranked near Sub-Saharan Africa
- 2 Niger 89.5% compare
- 3 Sierra Leone 88.8% compare
- 4 Madagascar 88.3% compare
- 5 Nigeria 86.2% compare
- 6 Central African Republic 85.4% compare
- 7 Tanzania, United Republic of 85.3% compare
- 8 Mozambique 85.3% compare
More work & labour data for Sub-Saharan Africa
- Labour force participation rate (ILO modelled estimates) 70.23 (2027)
- Labour force (ILO modelled estimates) 564,978 (2027)
- Persons outside the labour force (ILO modelled estimates) 239,462 (2027)
- Unemployment rate (ILO modelled estimates) 5.73 (2027)
- Labour force (ILO modelled estimates) (15+), annual growth rate 2.92 % change on previous year (2027)
- Labour dependency ratio 1.5 (2027)
- Output per worker, GDP constant 2021 international $ at PPP 11,723 (2027)
- Persons outside the labour force (ILO modelled estimates) (15+) 3.04 % change on previous year (2027)
- Employment-to-population ratio (ILO modelled estimates) 66.21 (2027)
- Output per worker, GDP constant 2015 US $ 4,279 (2027)
Frequently asked questions
- What is self-employed, total (% of total employment) in Sub-Saharan Africa?
- Self-employed, total (% of total employment) in Sub-Saharan Africa was 77.7% 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 Sub-Saharan Africa?
- The highest recorded value was 81.2% in 1995.
- What is the lowest self-employed, total (% of total employment) recorded in Sub-Saharan Africa?
- The lowest recorded value was 77.3% in 2019.
- How does Sub-Saharan Africa rank for self-employed, total (% of total employment)?
- Sub-Saharan Africa ranks 5th out of 47 groups with data for 2025.
- Is self-employed, total (% of total employment) rising or falling in Sub-Saharan Africa?
- Over the last ten years it is down 0.0%. The long-run trend across the full record is falling.
- Where does this Sub-Saharan Africa 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.