Employment by status in Portugal
Portugal: Employment by status was 85.5% in 2024. ▲ Rising
Employment by status in Portugal, 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 Portugal is 85.5%, measured in 2024. That is the highest value across all 34 years on record.
That represents a change of up 0.4% on the previous year and up 4.8% over ten years.
Over the whole period, employment by status in Portugal peaked at 85.5% in 2024 and was at its lowest, 72.1%, in 1998.
That places Portugal 40th out of 186 countries with data for 2024, putting it in the top 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 | 73.8% | 72.1% | 75.7% | 9 |
| 2000s | 75.3% | 73.4% | 77.3% | 10 |
| 2010s | 81.7% | 78.2% | 84.5% | 10 |
| 2020s | 84.8% | 84.3% | 85.5% | 5 |
Countries ranked near Portugal
More work & labour data for Portugal
- 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+) 58.2% (2025)
- Labor force participation rate, male (% of male population ages 15+) 62.1% (2025)
- Ratio of female to male labor force participation rate (%) 87.9% (2025)
- Labor force participation rate, female (% of female population ages 15 54.6% (2025)
- Labor force participation rate, total (% of total population ages 15-6 77.8% (2025)
- Labor force participation rate, male (% of male population ages 15-64) 79.8% (2025)
- Labor force participation rate, female (% of female population ages 15 76.0% (2025)
Frequently asked questions
- What is employment by status in Portugal?
- Employment by status in Portugal was 85.5% 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 Portugal?
- The highest recorded value was 85.5% in 2024.
- What is the lowest employment by status recorded in Portugal?
- The lowest recorded value was 72.1% in 1998.
- How does Portugal rank for employment by status?
- Portugal ranks 40th out of 186 countries with data for 2024.
- Is employment by status rising or falling in Portugal?
- Over the last ten years it is up 4.8%. The long-run trend across the full record is rising.
- Where does this Portugal 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.