Employment by status in Iran
Iran: Employment by status was 56.8% in 2024. ▲ Rising
Employment by status in Iran, 1991–2024
Source: International Labour Organization (2026) – with major processing by Our World in Data. Measured in %.
Analysis
In 2024, employment by status in Iran stood at 56.8%.
The figure is up 0.4% on the previous year and up 2.2% over ten years.
Over the whole period, employment by status in Iran peaked at 57.2% in 2021 and was at its lowest, 51.2%, in 2005.
That places Iran 119th out of 186 countries with data for 2024, putting it in the middle of the range.
The long-run direction has been consistently rising across the 34 years of available data.
Averages by decade
| Decade | Average | Lowest | Highest | Years |
|---|---|---|---|---|
| 1990s | 52.4% | 52.0% | 52.7% | 9 |
| 2000s | 51.9% | 51.2% | 53.7% | 10 |
| 2010s | 55.2% | 54.4% | 56.1% | 10 |
| 2020s | 56.8% | 56.3% | 57.2% | 5 |
Countries ranked near Iran
More work & labour data for Iran
- Women can take the same jobs as men 0 (1=yes; 0=no) (2023)
- Criminal sanctions or compensation for workplace sexual harassment 0 (1=yes; 0=no) (2023)
- Legislation on sexual harassment in employment 0 (1=yes; 0=no) (2023)
- Labor force participation rate, female (% of female population ages 15 15.6% (2025)
- Labor force participation rate, male (% of male population ages 15-64) 73.3% (2025)
- Labor force participation rate, total (% of total population ages 15-6 45.0% (2025)
- Labor force participation rate for ages 15-24, total (%) 22.5% (2025)
- Labor force participation rate, female (% of female population ages 15 14.0% (2025)
- Labor force participation rate, male (% of male population ages 15+) 67.2% (2025)
- Labor force participation rate for ages 15-24, female (%) 9.3% (2025)
Frequently asked questions
- What is employment by status in Iran?
- Employment by status in Iran was 56.8% 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 Iran?
- The highest recorded value was 57.2% in 2021.
- What is the lowest employment by status recorded in Iran?
- The lowest recorded value was 51.2% in 2005.
- How does Iran rank for employment by status?
- Iran ranks 119th out of 186 countries with data for 2024.
- Is employment by status rising or falling in Iran?
- Over the last ten years it is up 2.2%. The long-run trend across the full record is rising.
- Where does this Iran 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.