Share of workers in vulnerable employment in Germany
Germany: Share of workers in vulnerable employment was 4.3% in 2025. ▼ Falling
Share of workers in vulnerable employment in Germany, 1991–2025
Source: International Labour Organization (ILOEST/ILOSTAT) and World Bank staff estimates (2026) – processed by Our World in Data. Measured in %.
Analysis
The most recent figure for share of workers in vulnerable employment in Germany is 4.3%, measured in 2025. That is the lowest value across all 35 years on record.
That represents a change of down 0.6% on the previous year and down 29.4% over ten years.
Over the whole period, share of workers in vulnerable employment in Germany peaked at 7.8% in 2005 and was at its lowest, 4.3%, in 2025.
That places Germany 177th out of 186 countries with data for 2025, putting it in the bottom quarter.
The long-run direction has been consistently falling across the 35 years of available data.
Averages by decade
| Decade | Average | Lowest | Highest | Years |
|---|---|---|---|---|
| 1990s | 7.1% | 6.7% | 7.3% | 9 |
| 2000s | 7.4% | 7.0% | 7.8% | 10 |
| 2010s | 6.2% | 5.3% | 7.0% | 10 |
| 2020s | 4.6% | 4.3% | 5.0% | 6 |
Countries ranked near Germany
More work & labour data for Germany
- 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)
- Women can take the same jobs as men 1 (1=yes; 0=no) (2023)
- Labor force participation rate, total (% of total population ages 15+) 60.6% (2025)
- Labor force participation rate, male (% of male population ages 15+) 66.1% (2025)
- Ratio of female to male labor force participation rate (%) 83.7% (2025)
- Labor force participation rate, female (% of female population ages 15 55.3% (2025)
- Labor force participation rate, total (% of total population ages 15-6 80.0% (2025)
- Labor force participation rate, male (% of male population ages 15-64) 83.9% (2025)
- Labor force participation rate, female (% of female population ages 15 76.0% (2025)
Frequently asked questions
- What is share of workers in vulnerable employment in Germany?
- Share of workers in vulnerable employment in Germany was 4.3% in 2025, according to International Labour Organization (ILOEST/ILOSTAT) and World Bank staff estimates (2026) – processed by Our World in Data.
- What is the highest share of workers in vulnerable employment recorded in Germany?
- The highest recorded value was 7.8% in 2005.
- What is the lowest share of workers in vulnerable employment recorded in Germany?
- The lowest recorded value was 4.3% in 2025.
- How does Germany rank for share of workers in vulnerable employment?
- Germany ranks 177th out of 186 countries with data for 2025.
- Is share of workers in vulnerable employment rising or falling in Germany?
- Over the last ten years it is down 29.4%. The long-run trend across the full record is falling.
- Where does this Germany data come from?
- The figures come from International Labour Organization (ILOEST/ILOSTAT) and World Bank staff estimates (2026) – processed by Our World in Data, published as part of Share of workers in vulnerable employment. Statizoid updates them automatically from the source API.
Download this data
CSV · JSON — 35 observations, free to reuse under CC BY 4.0 (Our World in Data).
About this data
Share of employed population who are working as independent own-account workers (self-employed without staff), or contributing family workers (self-employed in a household business or farm).