Employment by status in Ethiopia
Ethiopia: Employment by status was 15.4% in 2024. ▲ Rising
Employment by status in Ethiopia, 1991–2024
Source: International Labour Organization (2026) – with major processing by Our World in Data. Measured in %.
Analysis
The most recent figure for employment by status in Ethiopia is 15.4%, measured in 2024. That is the highest value across all 34 years on record.
The figure is up 2.0% on the previous year and up 25.1% over ten years.
Over the whole period, employment by status in Ethiopia peaked at 15.4% in 2024 and was at its lowest, 8.8%, in 2005.
Ethiopia ranks 175th of 186 countries on this measure, in the bottom quarter.
The long-run direction has been consistently rising across the 34 years of available data.
Averages by decade
| Decade | Average | Lowest | Highest | Years |
|---|---|---|---|---|
| 1990s | 9.6% | 9.5% | 9.9% | 9 |
| 2000s | 9.3% | 8.8% | 10.2% | 10 |
| 2010s | 12.6% | 10.6% | 14.6% | 10 |
| 2020s | 14.8% | 14.1% | 15.4% | 5 |
Countries ranked near Ethiopia
- 172 South Sudan 17.5% compare
- 173 Burkina Faso 17.2% compare
- 174 Afghanistan 16.6% compare
- 176 Burundi 15.1% compare
- 177 Zambia 15.0% compare
- 178 Democratic Republic of Congo 14.7% compare
More work & labour data for Ethiopia
- 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+) 68.5% (2025)
- Labor force participation rate, female (% of female population ages 15 60.3% (2025)
- Labor force participation rate, male (% of male population ages 15-64) 79.6% (2025)
- Labor force participation rate, total (% of total population ages 15-6 69.9% (2025)
- Labor force participation rate, female (% of female population ages 15 58.5% (2025)
- Ratio of female to male labor force participation rate (%) 74.3% (2025)
- Labor force participation rate for ages 15-24, total (%) 53.8% (2025)
Frequently asked questions
- What is employment by status in Ethiopia?
- Employment by status in Ethiopia was 15.4% in 2024, according to International Labour Organization (2026) – with major processing by Our World in Data.
- What is the highest employment by status recorded in Ethiopia?
- The highest recorded value was 15.4% in 2024.
- What is the lowest employment by status recorded in Ethiopia?
- The lowest recorded value was 8.8% in 2005.
- How does Ethiopia rank for employment by status?
- Ethiopia ranks 175th out of 186 countries with data for 2024.
- Is employment by status rising or falling in Ethiopia?
- Over the last ten years it is up 25.1%. The long-run trend across the full record is rising.
- Where does this Ethiopia data come from?
- The figures come from International Labour Organization (2026) – with major processing by Our World in Data, published as part of Employment by status. Statizoid updates them automatically from the source API.
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CSV · JSON — 34 observations, free to reuse under CC BY 4.0 (Our World in Data).
About this data
Share of people in employment working as employees, as a percentage of total employment.