Time-related underemployment rate (current ILO definition - ICLS19) (15+) by country
With the aim of promoting international comparability, statistics presented on ILOSTAT are based on standard international definitions wherever feasible and may differ from official national figures. This series includes only countries for which the 19th ICLS definitions are applied. The time-related...
What the numbers show
Time-related underemployment rate (current ILO definition - ICLS19) (15+) is currently reported for 59 countries. The highest value is 25.14 in Rwanda; the lowest is 0.059 in Jordan.
The median across all reporting countries is 3.35, and the mean is 3.88.
The gap between the highest and lowest reporting country is a factor of about 426.
Over the past decade 12 countries rose and 44 fell. The largest increase was in Barbados (up 57.9%), and the largest decrease in Mongolia (down 91.4%).
Time-related underemployment rate (current ILO definition - ICLS19): full country ranking
| # | Country | Latest | Year | 10-year change | Trend |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| 1 | Rwanda | 25.14 | 2025 | up 31.5% | rising |
| 2 | Uruguay | 9.22 | 2025 | down 1.6% | flat |
| 3 | Finland | 8.25 | 2024 | up 47.3% | rising |
| 4 | France | 8.09 | 2024 | down 15.4% | falling |
| 5 | Ireland | 7.42 | 2024 | down 12.4% | falling |
| 6 | Zimbabwe | 7.4 | 2024 | down 59.1% | falling |
| 7 | Botswana | 7.38 | 2024 | down 8.1% | flat |
| 8 | Guyana | 7.21 | 2024 | down 46.3% | falling |
| 9 | Chile | 7.09 | 2025 | down 39.4% | falling |
| 10 | Barbados | 6.21 | 2024 | up 57.9% | rising |
| 11 | Netherlands | 6.2 | 2024 | down 13.1% | flat |
| 12 | Australia | 6.04 | 2025 | down 47.5% | falling |
| 13 | Spain | 5.91 | 2025 | down 37.2% | falling |
| 14 | Zambia | 5.49 | 2024 | down 17.0% | falling |
| 15 | United Kingdom of Great Britain and Northern Ireland | 5.07 | 2025 | down 21.1% | falling |
| 16 | Panama | 4.79 | 2025 | up 0.6% | rising |
| 17 | Cyprus | 4.76 | 2024 | down 68.0% | falling |
| 18 | Switzerland | 4.69 | 2025 | down 27.6% | falling |
| 19 | Portugal | 4.67 | 2025 | down 43.5% | falling |
| 20 | New Zealand | 4.65 | 2025 | up 21.1% | flat |
| 21 | Sweden | 4.46 | 2024 | down 8.5% | flat |
| 22 | Denmark | 4.41 | 2024 | up 53.6% | rising |
| 23 | Brazil | 4.35 | 2025 | down 9.7% | flat |
| 24 | Belgium | 4.35 | 2024 | up 0.0% | falling |
| 25 | Iceland | 3.81 | 2023 | down 27.2% | falling |
| 26 | Norway | 3.69 | 2024 | up 5.8% | rising |
| 27 | Japan | 3.44 | 2020 | down 26.3% | falling |
| 28 | Georgia | 3.4 | 2025 | down 44.8% | falling |
| 29 | Malta | 3.4 | 2024 | down 19.6% | flat |
| 30 | Luxembourg | 3.35 | 2024 | up 53.3% | rising |
| 31 | Slovenia | 3.24 | 2024 | down 50.4% | falling |
| 32 | El Salvador | 3.11 | 2025 | down 33.3% | falling |
| 33 | Greece | 3.1 | 2025 | down 59.7% | falling |
| 34 | Austria | 2.82 | 2025 | down 39.0% | falling |
| 35 | Costa Rica | 2.68 | 2025 | down 75.7% | falling |
| 36 | Italy | 2.59 | 2024 | down 48.7% | falling |
| 37 | Republic of Korea | 2.56 | 2025 | up 37.8% | rising |
| 38 | Latvia | 2.48 | 2024 | down 39.9% | falling |
| 39 | Croatia | 1.99 | 2024 | down 45.1% | falling |
| 40 | Singapore | 1.9 | 2025 | down 34.9% | falling |
| 41 | Viet Nam | 1.79 | 2024 | — | falling |
| 42 | Lithuania | 1.68 | 2024 | down 43.8% | falling |
| 43 | Estonia | 1.63 | 2024 | up 37.2% | rising |
| 44 | Hong Kong, China | 1.51 | 2025 | up 7.0% | rising |
| 45 | Canada | 1.49 | 2025 | down 14.0% | falling |
| 46 | Republic of Moldova | 1.45 | 2025 | down 72.0% | falling |
| 47 | Germany | 1.28 | 2024 | down 72.1% | falling |
| 48 | Romania | 1.04 | 2024 | down 64.3% | falling |
| 49 | Angola | 0.901 | 2025 | down 86.5% | volatile |
| 50 | Poland | 0.835 | 2025 | — | falling |
| 51 | Israel | 0.792 | 2024 | down 74.9% | falling |
| 52 | United States of America | 0.791 | 2025 | down 5.3% | flat |
| 53 | Hungary | 0.757 | 2024 | down 66.3% | falling |
| 54 | Bosnia and Herzegovina | 0.751 | 2025 | — | falling |
| 55 | Czechia | 0.639 | 2024 | down 13.5% | rising |
| 56 | Slovakia | 0.457 | 2023 | down 66.4% | falling |
| 57 | Bulgaria | 0.369 | 2024 | down 73.2% | falling |
| 58 | Mongolia | 0.11 | 2025 | down 91.4% | volatile |
| 59 | Jordan | 0.059 | 2024 | down 83.6% | volatile |
About this data
With the aim of promoting international comparability, statistics presented on ILOSTAT are based on standard international definitions wherever feasible and may differ from official national figures. This series includes only countries for which the 19th ICLS definitions are applied. The time-related underemployment rate conveys the number of persons in time-related underemployment as a percent of the total number of persons in employment. Persons in time-related underemployment comprise all persons in employment, who satisfy the following three criteria during the reference period: a) are willing to work additional hours; b) are available to work additional hours i.e., are ready, within a specified subsequent period, to work additional hours, given opportunities for additional work; and c) worked less than a threshold relating to working time i.e., persons whose hours actually worked in all jobs during the reference period were below a threshold, to be chosen according to national circumstances. For more information, refer to the Work Statistics -- 19th ICLS (WORK) database description.