Self-employed, total (% of total employment) in Upper middle income
Upper middle income: Self-employed, total (% of total employment) was 38.7% in 2025. ▼ Falling
Self-employed, total (% of total employment) in Upper middle income, 1991–2025
Source: ILO Modelled Estimates database (ILOEST), International Labour Organization (ILO).
Analysis
Upper middle income recorded 38.7% for self-employed, total (% of total employment) in 2025. That is the lowest value across all 35 years on record.
The figure is down 0.8% on the previous year and down 5.5% over ten years.
Over the whole period, self-employed, total (% of total employment) in Upper middle income peaked at 54.1% in 1991 and was at its lowest, 38.7%, in 2025.
That places Upper middle income 29th out of 47 groups 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 Upper middle income, year by year
| Year | Value | Change |
|---|---|---|
| 1991 | 54.1% | — |
| 1992 | 53.8% | -0.6% |
| 1993 | 53.3% | -0.9% |
| 1994 | 52.8% | -0.9% |
| 1995 | 52.4% | -0.9% |
| 1996 | 51.8% | -1.1% |
| 1997 | 51.3% | -1.0% |
| 1998 | 51.0% | -0.5% |
| 1999 | 50.7% | -0.6% |
| 2000 | 50.3% | -0.8% |
| 2001 | 49.5% | -1.5% |
| 2002 | 49.1% | -0.9% |
| 2003 | 48.7% | -0.9% |
| 2004 | 47.7% | -1.9% |
| 2005 | 47.0% | -1.5% |
| 2006 | 46.4% | -1.4% |
| 2007 | 45.8% | -1.2% |
| 2008 | 45.2% | -1.5% |
| 2009 | 44.7% | -1.0% |
| 2010 | 44.0% | -1.4% |
| 2011 | 43.4% | -1.5% |
| 2012 | 42.7% | -1.6% |
| 2013 | 42.2% | -1.2% |
| 2014 | 41.6% | -1.4% |
| 2015 | 41.0% | -1.5% |
| 2016 | 40.7% | -0.8% |
| 2017 | 40.4% | -0.6% |
| 2018 | 40.2% | -0.6% |
| 2019 | 39.9% | -0.8% |
| 2020 | 40.1% | +0.6% |
| 2021 | 40.0% | -0.4% |
| 2022 | 39.8% | -0.4% |
| 2023 | 39.4% | -0.9% |
| 2024 | 39.0% | -1.0% |
| 2025 | 38.7% | -0.8% |
Averages by decade
| Decade | Average | Lowest | Highest | Years |
|---|---|---|---|---|
| 1990s | 52.3% | 50.7% | 54.1% | 9 |
| 2000s | 47.4% | 44.7% | 50.3% | 10 |
| 2010s | 41.6% | 39.9% | 44.0% | 10 |
| 2020s | 39.5% | 38.7% | 40.1% | 6 |
Countries ranked near Upper middle income
- 26 Angola 75.9% compare
- 27 Guinea-Bissau 75.5% compare
- 28 India 74.9% compare
- 29 Timor-Leste 74.9% compare
- 30 Zambia 71.7% compare
- 31 Côte d'Ivoire 71.0% compare
- 32 Zimbabwe 70.8% compare
More work & labour data for Upper middle income
- Labor force participation rate, male (% of male population ages 15+) 72.1% (2025)
- Labor force participation rate, female (% of female population ages) 60.6% (2025)
- Labor force participation rate for ages 15-24, total (%) 44.2% (2025)
- Labor force participation rate for ages 15-24, male (%) 49.6% (2025)
- Labor force participation rate for ages 15-24, female (%) 38.4% (2025)
- Labor force participation rate, total (% of total population ages 15+) 62.7% (2025)
- Labor force participation rate, male (% of male population ages 15-64) 78.7% (2025)
- Labor force participation rate, total (% of total population ages) 69.8% (2025)
- Labor force participation rate, female (% of female population ages) 53.4% (2025)
- Ratio of female to male labor force participation rate (%) 75.6% (2025)
Frequently asked questions
- What is self-employed, total (% of total employment) in Upper middle income?
- Self-employed, total (% of total employment) in Upper middle income was 38.7% 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 Upper middle income?
- The highest recorded value was 54.1% in 1991.
- What is the lowest self-employed, total (% of total employment) recorded in Upper middle income?
- The lowest recorded value was 38.7% in 2025.
- How does Upper middle income rank for self-employed, total (% of total employment)?
- Upper middle income ranks 29th out of 47 groups with data for 2025.
- Is self-employed, total (% of total employment) rising or falling in Upper middle income?
- Over the last ten years it is down 5.5%. The long-run trend across the full record is falling.
- Where does this Upper middle income 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.