Share of workers in vulnerable employment in Korea
Korea: Share of workers in vulnerable employment was 17.7% in 2025. ▼ Falling
Share of workers in vulnerable employment in Korea, 1991–2025
Source: International Labour Organization (ILOEST/ILOSTAT) and World Bank staff estimates (2026) – processed by Our World in Data. Measured in %.
Analysis
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 Korea peaked at 29.0% in 1991 and was at its lowest, 17.7%, in 2025.
That places 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.
Share of workers in vulnerable employment in Korea, year by year
| Year | % | Change |
|---|---|---|
| 1991 | 29.0% | — |
| 1992 | 28.6% | -1.5% |
| 1993 | 28.2% | -1.5% |
| 1994 | 27.7% | -1.5% |
| 1995 | 27.3% | -1.6% |
| 1996 | 26.9% | -1.4% |
| 1997 | 26.6% | -1.3% |
| 1998 | 26.4% | -0.6% |
| 1999 | 26.2% | -0.9% |
| 2000 | 25.9% | -1.2% |
| 2001 | 25.7% | -0.5% |
| 2002 | 25.4% | -1.4% |
| 2003 | 24.6% | -3.1% |
| 2004 | 24.2% | -1.4% |
| 2005 | 24.0% | -0.9% |
| 2006 | 23.6% | -1.7% |
| 2007 | 23.2% | -1.5% |
| 2008 | 22.9% | -1.3% |
| 2009 | 21.9% | -4.5% |
| 2010 | 21.2% | -3.1% |
| 2011 | 20.9% | -1.8% |
| 2012 | 20.8% | -0.5% |
| 2013 | 20.4% | -1.9% |
| 2014 | 19.8% | -2.6% |
| 2015 | 19.7% | -0.6% |
| 2016 | 19.5% | -1.0% |
| 2017 | 19.4% | -0.6% |
| 2018 | 19.0% | -2.2% |
| 2019 | 19.0% | +0.0% |
| 2020 | 19.3% | +1.9% |
| 2021 | 19.1% | -1.1% |
| 2022 | 18.6% | -2.7% |
| 2023 | 18.2% | -2.2% |
| 2024 | 17.9% | -1.9% |
| 2025 | 17.7% | -0.9% |
Korea compared with similar countries
- Korea's 17.7% is above the median for high income countries, which is 9.5%, 1.9× the median. (62 countries reporting)
- Korea's 17.7% is below the median for East Asia & Pacific, which is 33.6%, 53% of the median. (29 countries reporting)
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 Korea
More work & labour data for Korea
- Persons outside the labour force (ILO modelled estimates) 16,840 (2027)
- Labour force participation rate (ILO modelled estimates) 63.91 (2027)
- Labour force (ILO modelled estimates) 29,824 (2027)
- Unemployment rate (ILO modelled estimates) 2.96 (2027)
- Labour dependency ratio 0.78 (2027)
- Output per worker, GDP constant 2021 international $ at PPP 97,052 (2027)
- Output per worker, GDP constant 2015 US $ 65,686 (2027)
- Employment-to-population ratio (ILO modelled estimates) 62.02 (2027)
- Persons outside the labour force (ILO modelled estimates) (15+) 0.9719 % change on previous year (2027)
- Labour force (ILO modelled estimates) (15+), annual growth rate -0.1065 % change on previous year (2027)
Frequently asked questions
- What is share of workers in vulnerable employment in Korea?
- Share of workers in vulnerable employment in 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 Korea?
- The highest recorded value was 29.0% in 1991.
- What is the lowest share of workers in vulnerable employment recorded in Korea?
- The lowest recorded value was 17.7% in 2025.
- How does Korea rank for share of workers in vulnerable employment?
- Korea ranks 126th out of 186 countries with data for 2025.
- Is share of workers in vulnerable employment rising or falling in Korea?
- Over the last ten years it is down 10.3%. The long-run trend across the full record is falling.
- Where does this 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.
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).