Self-employed, total (% of total employment) in Türkiye
Türkiye: Self-employed, total (% of total employment) was 28.5% in 2025. ▼ Falling
Self-employed, total (% of total employment) in Türkiye, 1991–2025
Source: ILO Modelled Estimates database (ILOEST), International Labour Organization (ILO).
Analysis
Türkiye recorded 28.5% for self-employed, total (% of total employment) in 2025. That is the lowest value across all 35 years on record.
Compared with earlier readings it is down 1.0% on the previous year and down 14.6% over ten years.
Over the whole period, self-employed, total (% of total employment) in Türkiye peaked at 52.4% in 1991 and was at its lowest, 28.5%, in 2025.
That places Türkiye 103rd 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) in Türkiye, year by year
| Year | Value | Change |
|---|---|---|
| 1991 | 52.4% | — |
| 1992 | 52.2% | -0.4% |
| 1993 | 51.9% | -0.5% |
| 1994 | 51.8% | -0.2% |
| 1995 | 51.6% | -0.4% |
| 1996 | 51.4% | -0.5% |
| 1997 | 51.2% | -0.3% |
| 1998 | 50.8% | -0.7% |
| 1999 | 50.5% | -0.6% |
| 2000 | 50.0% | -0.9% |
| 2001 | 51.4% | +2.8% |
| 2002 | 48.9% | -5.0% |
| 2003 | 48.0% | -1.8% |
| 2004 | 44.1% | -8.0% |
| 2005 | 41.9% | -5.0% |
| 2006 | 39.7% | -5.3% |
| 2007 | 38.1% | -3.9% |
| 2008 | 37.6% | -1.4% |
| 2009 | 38.6% | +2.6% |
| 2010 | 37.7% | -2.3% |
| 2011 | 36.9% | -2.2% |
| 2012 | 35.7% | -3.3% |
| 2013 | 34.5% | -3.2% |
| 2014 | 34.2% | -1.0% |
| 2015 | 33.4% | -2.2% |
| 2016 | 32.7% | -2.2% |
| 2017 | 33.0% | +0.9% |
| 2018 | 32.2% | -2.2% |
| 2019 | 31.8% | -1.5% |
| 2020 | 30.4% | -4.3% |
| 2021 | 30.1% | -1.0% |
| 2022 | 29.3% | -2.6% |
| 2023 | 28.6% | -2.4% |
| 2024 | 28.8% | +0.8% |
| 2025 | 28.5% | -1.0% |
Averages by decade
| Decade | Average | Lowest | Highest | Years |
|---|---|---|---|---|
| 1990s | 51.5% | 50.5% | 52.4% | 9 |
| 2000s | 43.8% | 37.6% | 51.4% | 10 |
| 2010s | 34.2% | 31.8% | 37.7% | 10 |
| 2020s | 29.3% | 28.5% | 30.4% | 6 |
Countries ranked near Türkiye
More work & labour data for Türkiye
- Persons outside the labour force (ILO modelled estimates) 31,966 (2027)
- Labour force participation rate (ILO modelled estimates) 54.63 (2027)
- Labour force (ILO modelled estimates) 38,497 (2027)
- Output per worker, GDP constant 2021 international $ at PPP 95,928 (2027)
- Output per worker, GDP constant 2015 US $ 41,171 (2027)
- Employment-to-population ratio (ILO modelled estimates) 49.84 (2027)
- Persons outside the labour force (ILO modelled estimates) (15+) 0.6505 % change on previous year (2027)
- Labour force (ILO modelled estimates) (15+), annual growth rate 1.11 % change on previous year (2027)
- Legislation on sexual harassment in employment 1 (1=yes; 0=no) (2023)
- Criminal sanctions or compensation for workplace sexual harassment 1 (1=yes; 0=no) (2023)
Frequently asked questions
- What is self-employed, total (% of total employment) in Türkiye?
- Self-employed, total (% of total employment) in Türkiye was 28.5% 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 Türkiye?
- The highest recorded value was 52.4% in 1991.
- What is the lowest self-employed, total (% of total employment) recorded in Türkiye?
- The lowest recorded value was 28.5% in 2025.
- How does Türkiye rank for self-employed, total (% of total employment)?
- Türkiye ranks 103rd out of 187 countries with data for 2025.
- Is self-employed, total (% of total employment) rising or falling in Türkiye?
- Over the last ten years it is down 14.6%. The long-run trend across the full record is falling.
- Where does this Türkiye 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.