Self-employed, total (% of total employment) in Thailand
Thailand: Self-employed, total (% of total employment) was 50.7% in 2025. ▼ Falling
Self-employed, total (% of total employment) in Thailand, 1991–2025
Source: ILO Modelled Estimates database (ILOEST), International Labour Organization (ILO).
Analysis
In 2025, self-employed, total (% of total employment) in Thailand stood at 50.7%.
That represents a change of down 0.3% on the previous year and down 1.7% over ten years.
Over the whole period, self-employed, total (% of total employment) in Thailand peaked at 69.8% in 1991 and was at its lowest, 50.3%, in 2019.
Thailand ranks 60th of 186 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 Thailand, year by year
| Year | Value | Change |
|---|---|---|
| 1991 | 69.8% | — |
| 1992 | 69.3% | -0.7% |
| 1993 | 66.2% | -4.5% |
| 1994 | 65.7% | -0.7% |
| 1995 | 64.8% | -1.4% |
| 1996 | 62.8% | -3.2% |
| 1997 | 62.8% | +0.1% |
| 1998 | 64.0% | +1.9% |
| 1999 | 62.2% | -2.8% |
| 2000 | 62.3% | +0.1% |
| 2001 | 60.0% | -3.7% |
| 2002 | 60.4% | +0.7% |
| 2003 | 59.9% | -0.9% |
| 2004 | 56.5% | -5.5% |
| 2005 | 56.7% | +0.3% |
| 2006 | 56.7% | +0.1% |
| 2007 | 59.6% | +5.0% |
| 2008 | 57.2% | -4.0% |
| 2009 | 55.8% | -2.5% |
| 2010 | 55.5% | -0.6% |
| 2011 | 57.7% | +4.0% |
| 2012 | 58.3% | +1.1% |
| 2013 | 58.1% | -0.4% |
| 2014 | 52.6% | -9.4% |
| 2015 | 51.6% | -2.0% |
| 2016 | 50.9% | -1.2% |
| 2017 | 50.6% | -0.7% |
| 2018 | 51.5% | +1.7% |
| 2019 | 50.3% | -2.3% |
| 2020 | 50.5% | +0.5% |
| 2021 | 52.7% | +4.3% |
| 2022 | 52.0% | -1.3% |
| 2023 | 52.1% | +0.1% |
| 2024 | 50.8% | -2.4% |
| 2025 | 50.7% | -0.3% |
Averages by decade
| Decade | Average | Lowest | Highest | Years |
|---|---|---|---|---|
| 1990s | 65.3% | 62.2% | 69.8% | 9 |
| 2000s | 58.5% | 55.8% | 62.3% | 10 |
| 2010s | 53.7% | 50.3% | 58.3% | 10 |
| 2020s | 51.5% | 50.5% | 52.7% | 6 |
Countries ranked near Thailand
More work & labour data for Thailand
- Population - Est. & Proj. — Total Population - Both sexes, annual -0.7473 % change on previous year (2100)
- Population - Est. & Proj. — Total Population - Male, annual growth -0.7165 % change on previous year (2100)
- Population - Est. & Proj. — Total Population - Female, annual growth -0.7773 % change on previous year (2100)
- Population - Est. & Proj. — Rural population, annual growth rate -2.09 % change on previous year (2050)
- Population - Est. & Proj. — Urban population, annual growth rate 0.1451 % change on previous year (2050)
- Population - Est. & Proj. — Urban population 45,410 1000 No (2050)
- Population - Est. & Proj. — Rural population 19,963 1000 No (2050)
- Population - Est. & Proj. — Total Population - Female 23,079 1000 No (2100)
- Population - Est. & Proj. — Total Population - Male 22,476 1000 No (2100)
- Population - Est. & Proj. — Total Population - Both sexes 45,555 1000 No (2100)
Frequently asked questions
- What is self-employed, total (% of total employment) in Thailand?
- Self-employed, total (% of total employment) in Thailand was 50.7% 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 Thailand?
- The highest recorded value was 69.8% in 1991.
- What is the lowest self-employed, total (% of total employment) recorded in Thailand?
- The lowest recorded value was 50.3% in 2019.
- How does Thailand rank for self-employed, total (% of total employment)?
- Thailand ranks 60th out of 186 countries with data for 2025.
- Is self-employed, total (% of total employment) rising or falling in Thailand?
- Over the last ten years it is down 1.7%. The long-run trend across the full record is falling.
- Where does this Thailand 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.