Share of workers in vulnerable employment in South Korea
South Korea: Share of workers in vulnerable employment was 17.7% in 2025. ▼ Falling
Share of workers in vulnerable employment in South Korea, 1991–2025
Source: International Labour Organization (ILOEST/ILOSTAT) and World Bank staff estimates (2026) – processed by Our World in Data. Measured in %.
Analysis
South Korea recorded 17.7% for share of workers in vulnerable employment in 2025. That is the lowest value across all 35 years on record.
That represents a change of down 0.9% on the previous year and down 10.3% over ten years.
Over the whole period, share of workers in vulnerable employment in South Korea peaked at 29.0% in 1991 and was at its lowest, 17.7%, in 2025.
That places South Korea 126th 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.
Averages by decade
| Decade | Average | Lowest | Highest | Years |
|---|---|---|---|---|
| 1990s | 27.4% | 26.2% | 29.0% | 9 |
| 2000s | 24.2% | 21.9% | 25.9% | 10 |
| 2010s | 20.0% | 19.0% | 21.2% | 10 |
| 2020s | 18.5% | 17.7% | 19.3% | 6 |
Countries ranked near South Korea
More work & labour data for South Korea
- Criminal sanctions or compensation for workplace sexual harassment 1 (1=yes; 0=no) (2023)
- Legislation on sexual harassment in employment 1 (1=yes; 0=no) (2023)
- Women can take the same jobs as men 1 (1=yes; 0=no) (2023)
- Labor force participation rate for ages 15-24, total (%) 25.8% (2025)
- Labor force participation rate, female (% of female population ages 15 64.4% (2025)
- Labor force participation rate, male (% of male population ages 15-64) 77.6% (2025)
- Labor force participation rate, total (% of total population ages 15-6 71.2% (2025)
- Labor force participation rate, female (% of female population ages 15 56.8% (2025)
- Labor force participation rate, male (% of male population ages 15+) 72.0% (2025)
- Labor force participation rate for ages 15-24, female (%) 30.5% (2025)
Frequently asked questions
- What is share of workers in vulnerable employment in South Korea?
- Share of workers in vulnerable employment in South Korea was 17.7% 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 South Korea?
- The highest recorded value was 29.0% in 1991.
- What is the lowest share of workers in vulnerable employment recorded in South Korea?
- The lowest recorded value was 17.7% in 2025.
- How does South Korea rank for share of workers in vulnerable employment?
- South Korea ranks 126th out of 186 countries with data for 2025.
- Is share of workers in vulnerable employment rising or falling in South Korea?
- Over the last ten years it is down 10.3%. The long-run trend across the full record is falling.
- Where does this South Korea 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.
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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).