Self-employed, total (% of total employment) (modeled ILO estimate) in Syria
Syria: Self-employed, total (% of total employment) (modeled ILO estimate) was 42.4% in 2025. ▼ Falling
Self-employed, total (% of total employment) in Syria, 1991–2025
Source: ILO Modelled Estimates database (ILOEST), International Labour Organization (ILO).
Analysis
Syria recorded 42.4% for self-employed, total (% of total employment) in 2025.
That represents a change of down 0.1% on the previous year and up 0.6% over ten years.
Over the whole period, self-employed, total (% of total employment) in Syria peaked at 54.9% in 1991 and was at its lowest, 36.8%, in 2010.
That places Syria 71st out of 187 countries with data for 2025, putting it 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) (modeled ILO estimate) in Syria, year by year
| Year | Value | Change |
|---|---|---|
| 1991 | 54.9% | — |
| 1992 | 54.6% | -0.5% |
| 1993 | 54.4% | -0.5% |
| 1994 | 54.0% | -0.7% |
| 1995 | 53.5% | -0.8% |
| 1996 | 52.9% | -1.3% |
| 1997 | 52.3% | -1.1% |
| 1998 | 51.5% | -1.5% |
| 1999 | 51.1% | -0.7% |
| 2000 | 50.9% | -0.4% |
| 2001 | 50.8% | -0.3% |
| 2002 | 49.8% | -2.0% |
| 2003 | 48.6% | -2.3% |
| 2004 | 47.4% | -2.5% |
| 2005 | 45.9% | -3.1% |
| 2006 | 44.5% | -3.1% |
| 2007 | 46.3% | +4.0% |
| 2008 | 38.2% | -17.4% |
| 2009 | 38.2% | -0.1% |
| 2010 | 36.8% | -3.6% |
| 2011 | 37.4% | +1.6% |
| 2012 | 38.3% | +2.3% |
| 2013 | 40.2% | +5.1% |
| 2014 | 41.7% | +3.7% |
| 2015 | 42.2% | +1.2% |
| 2016 | 42.8% | +1.4% |
| 2017 | 42.9% | +0.4% |
| 2018 | 43.0% | +0.1% |
| 2019 | 42.9% | -0.3% |
| 2020 | 43.3% | +1.0% |
| 2021 | 42.7% | -1.3% |
| 2022 | 42.8% | +0.1% |
| 2023 | 42.5% | -0.6% |
| 2024 | 42.5% | -0.1% |
| 2025 | 42.4% | -0.1% |
Syria compared with similar countries
- Syria's 42.4% is below the median for low income countries, which is 80.5%, 53% of the median. (25 countries reporting)
- Syria's 42.4% is above the median for Middle East, North Africa, Afghanistan & Pakistan, which is 25.9%, 1.6× the median. (23 countries reporting)
Averages by decade
| Decade | Average | Lowest | Highest | Years |
|---|---|---|---|---|
| 1990s | 53.2% | 51.1% | 54.9% | 9 |
| 2000s | 46.0% | 38.2% | 50.9% | 10 |
| 2010s | 40.8% | 36.8% | 43.0% | 10 |
| 2020s | 42.7% | 42.4% | 43.3% | 6 |
Countries ranked near Syria
More work & labour data for Syria
- Persons outside the labour force (ILO modelled estimates) 12,499 (2027)
- Labour force participation rate (ILO modelled estimates) 36.74 (2027)
- Labour force (ILO modelled estimates) 7,259 (2027)
- Unemployment rate (ILO modelled estimates) 13.9 (2027)
- Labour dependency ratio 3.36 (2027)
- Output per worker, GDP constant 2021 international $ at PPP 14,788 (2027)
- Output per worker, GDP constant 2015 US $ 2,364 (2027)
- Employment-to-population ratio (ILO modelled estimates) 31.63 (2027)
- Persons outside the labour force (ILO modelled estimates) (15+) 3.65 % change on previous year (2027)
- Labour force (ILO modelled estimates) (15+), annual growth rate 3.31 % change on previous year (2027)
Frequently asked questions
- What is self-employed, total (% of total employment) in Syria?
- Self-employed, total (% of total employment) in Syria was 42.4% 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 Syria?
- The highest recorded value was 54.9% in 1991.
- What is the lowest self-employed, total (% of total employment) recorded in Syria?
- The lowest recorded value was 36.8% in 2010.
- How does Syria rank for self-employed, total (% of total employment)?
- Syria ranks 71st out of 187 countries with data for 2025.
- Is self-employed, total (% of total employment) rising or falling in Syria?
- Over the last ten years it is up 0.6%. The long-run trend across the full record is falling.
- Where does this Syria 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.