Employment by status in India
India: Employment by status was 24.6% in 2024. ▲ Rising
Employment by status in India, 1991–2024
Source: International Labour Organization (2026) – with major processing by Our World in Data. Measured in %.
Analysis
In 2024, employment by status in India stood at 24.6%. That is the highest value across all 34 years on record.
Compared with earlier readings it is up 3.1% on the previous year and up 23.5% over ten years.
Over the whole period, employment by status in India peaked at 24.6% in 2024 and was at its lowest, 13.0%, in 1991.
That places India 158th out of 186 countries with data for 2024, putting it 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 | 14.0% | 13.0% | 15.0% | 9 |
| 2000s | 15.8% | 15.3% | 16.4% | 10 |
| 2010s | 20.1% | 16.6% | 22.8% | 10 |
| 2020s | 23.6% | 22.8% | 24.6% | 5 |
Countries ranked near India
- 155 Solomon Islands 29.9% compare
- 156 Cote d'Ivoire 28.7% compare
- 157 East Timor 24.9% compare
- 159 Guinea-Bissau 24.3% compare
- 160 Angola 24.1% compare
- 161 Haiti 23.2% compare
More work & labour data for India
- 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+) 55.7% (2025)
- Labor force participation rate, male (% of male population ages 15+) 77.6% (2025)
- Ratio of female to male labor force participation rate (%) 41.8% (2025)
- Labor force participation rate, female (% of female population ages 15 32.4% (2025)
- Labor force participation rate, total (% of total population ages 15-6 59.1% (2025)
- Labor force participation rate, male (% of male population ages 15-64) 81.7% (2025)
- Labor force participation rate, female (% of female population ages 15 34.9% (2025)
Frequently asked questions
- What is employment by status in India?
- Employment by status in India was 24.6% 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 India?
- The highest recorded value was 24.6% in 2024.
- What is the lowest employment by status recorded in India?
- The lowest recorded value was 13.0% in 1991.
- How does India rank for employment by status?
- India ranks 158th out of 186 countries with data for 2024.
- Is employment by status rising or falling in India?
- Over the last ten years it is up 23.5%. The long-run trend across the full record is rising.
- Where does this India 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.