Self-employed, total (% of total employment) in Tonga
Tonga: Self-employed, total (% of total employment) was 41.8% in 2025. ▼ Falling
Self-employed, total (% of total employment) in Tonga, 1991–2025
Source: ILO Modelled Estimates database (ILOEST), International Labour Organization (ILO).
Analysis
Tonga recorded 41.8% for self-employed, total (% of total employment) in 2025. That is the lowest value across all 35 years on record.
That represents a change of down 0.7% on the previous year and down 21.2% over ten years.
Over the whole period, self-employed, total (% of total employment) in Tonga peaked at 55.3% in 1991 and was at its lowest, 41.8%, in 2025.
That places Tonga 74th out of 186 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) in Tonga, year by year
| Year | Value | Change |
|---|---|---|
| 1991 | 55.3% | — |
| 1992 | 55.2% | -0.2% |
| 1993 | 55.1% | -0.2% |
| 1994 | 55.1% | -0.0% |
| 1995 | 54.8% | -0.5% |
| 1996 | 54.6% | -0.3% |
| 1997 | 54.6% | -0.2% |
| 1998 | 54.4% | -0.2% |
| 1999 | 54.3% | -0.2% |
| 2000 | 54.2% | -0.2% |
| 2001 | 54.1% | -0.2% |
| 2002 | 54.0% | -0.3% |
| 2003 | 53.8% | -0.2% |
| 2004 | 53.8% | -0.1% |
| 2005 | 53.8% | +0.0% |
| 2006 | 53.9% | +0.2% |
| 2007 | 53.9% | +0.0% |
| 2008 | 53.9% | -0.1% |
| 2009 | 53.9% | +0.0% |
| 2010 | 53.9% | -0.1% |
| 2011 | 53.7% | -0.3% |
| 2012 | 53.6% | -0.3% |
| 2013 | 53.4% | -0.3% |
| 2014 | 53.3% | -0.3% |
| 2015 | 53.0% | -0.4% |
| 2016 | 52.6% | -0.7% |
| 2017 | 52.2% | -0.8% |
| 2018 | 51.8% | -0.8% |
| 2019 | 49.8% | -3.8% |
| 2020 | 48.2% | -3.3% |
| 2021 | 45.9% | -4.6% |
| 2022 | 44.0% | -4.1% |
| 2023 | 42.2% | -4.3% |
| 2024 | 42.1% | -0.2% |
| 2025 | 41.8% | -0.7% |
Averages by decade
| Decade | Average | Lowest | Highest | Years |
|---|---|---|---|---|
| 1990s | 54.8% | 54.3% | 55.3% | 9 |
| 2000s | 53.9% | 53.8% | 54.2% | 10 |
| 2010s | 52.7% | 49.8% | 53.9% | 10 |
| 2020s | 44.0% | 41.8% | 48.2% | 6 |
Countries ranked near Tonga
More work & labour data for Tonga
- Population - Est. & Proj. — Total Population - Both sexes, annual 0.0076 % change on previous year (2100)
- Population - Est. & Proj. — Total Population - Male, annual growth 0.0285 % change on previous year (2100)
- Population - Est. & Proj. — Total Population - Female, annual growth -0.0138 % change on previous year (2100)
- Population - Est. & Proj. — Rural population, annual growth rate -0.0722 % change on previous year (2050)
- Population - Est. & Proj. — Urban population, annual growth rate 1.78 % change on previous year (2050)
- Population - Est. & Proj. — Urban population 41.65 1000 No (2050)
- Population - Est. & Proj. — Rural population 98.27 1000 No (2050)
- Population - Est. & Proj. — Total Population - Female 58.13 1000 No (2100)
- Population - Est. & Proj. — Total Population - Male 59.74 1000 No (2100)
- Population - Est. & Proj. — Total Population - Both sexes 117.87 1000 No (2100)
Frequently asked questions
- What is self-employed, total (% of total employment) in Tonga?
- Self-employed, total (% of total employment) in Tonga was 41.8% 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 Tonga?
- The highest recorded value was 55.3% in 1991.
- What is the lowest self-employed, total (% of total employment) recorded in Tonga?
- The lowest recorded value was 41.8% in 2025.
- How does Tonga rank for self-employed, total (% of total employment)?
- Tonga ranks 74th out of 186 countries with data for 2025.
- Is self-employed, total (% of total employment) rising or falling in Tonga?
- Over the last ten years it is down 21.2%. The long-run trend across the full record is falling.
- Where does this Tonga 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.