Statizoid

Trade union density rate by country

A trade union is defined as a workers' organization constituted for the purpose of furthering and defending the interests of workers. This trade union density rate conveys the number of union members who are employees as a percentage of the total number of employees. For the purpose of this indicator in particular,...

Countries reporting
86
Highest
91.42
Iceland
Lowest
2.28
Peru
Median
18.74
Years covered
21
2000–2020
Data points
1,182

What the numbers show

Trade union density rate is currently reported for 86 countries. The highest value is 91.42 in Iceland; the lowest is 2.28 in Peru.

The median across all reporting countries is 18.74, and the mean is 21.95.

The gap between the highest and lowest reporting country is a factor of about 40.

Over the past decade 26 countries rose and 59 fell. The largest increase was in Tunisia (up 87.0%), and the largest decrease in Armenia (down 46.4%).

Trade union density rate: full country ranking

#Country LatestYear 10-year changeTrend
1 Iceland 91.42 2019 up 6.1% flat
2 Denmark 66.98 2019 down 2.7% falling
3 Sweden 65.21 2019 up 1.5% falling
4 Finland 58.83 2019 down 18.8% falling
5 Norway 50.4 2019 up 0.2% falling
6 Belgium 49.08 2019 down 8.8% falling
7 Kazakhstan 46.92 2017 up 24.9% rising
8 China 44.25 2017 up 45.5% rising
9 Cyprus 43.28 2016 down 30.5% falling
10 Malta 41.89 2020 down 22.2% falling
11 Tunisia 38.11 2019 up 87.0% rising
12 Albania 36.85 2017 down 29.7% falling
13 Ukraine 36.64 2019 down 35.5% falling
14 Syrian Arab Republic 36.01 2007 up 42.2% rising
15 Italy 32.5 2019 down 6.4% flat
16 Taiwan, China 32.23 2017 down 17.6% falling
17 Mongolia 30.79 2019 down 30.9% falling
18 Uruguay 30.1 2013 — rising
19 Botswana 29.96 2020 up 69.1% rising
20 Canada 29.39 2020 up 0.2% falling
21 South Africa 29.06 2019 down 2.7% flat
22 Luxembourg 28.23 2019 down 23.2% falling
23 Argentina 27.7 2014 down 25.1% falling
24 Mauritius 27.68 2018 up 15.5% rising
25 Russian Federation 27.45 2017 down 32.8% falling
26 Panama 26.32 2019 up 72.0% rising
27 Austria 26.24 2019 down 10.5% falling
28 Hong Kong, China 26.06 2016 up 16.5% rising
29 Ireland 25.39 2020 down 20.2% falling
30 Israel 25.09 2017 down 23.7% falling
31 Tanzania, United Republic of 24.3 2015 down 31.4% falling
32 Zambia 23.92 2019 down 46.1% falling
33 United Kingdom of Great Britain and Northern Ireland 23.36 2019 down 13.6% falling
34 Singapore 22.18 2019 up 26.0% rising
35 Bermuda 21.9 2018 down 4.9% falling
36 Romania 21.39 2018 down 39.9% falling
37 Palestine, State of 21.28 2019 up 19.0% rising
38 Croatia 20.76 2018 down 33.5% falling
39 Armenia 20.55 2019 down 46.4% falling
40 Costa Rica 20.54 2019 up 63.5% rising
41 India 19.8 2017 up 46.5% rising
42 Greece 18.97 2016 down 16.0% falling
43 New Zealand 18.89 2020 down 11.8% falling
44 Republic of Moldova 18.58 2019 down 34.3% falling
45 Chile 17.09 2018 up 33.0% rising
46 Ghana 16.84 2019 up 9.6% rising
47 Japan 16.8 2019 down 9.0% falling
48 Germany 16.25 2019 down 13.6% falling
49 Netherlands 15.39 2019 down 19.7% falling
50 Portugal 15.29 2016 down 27.9% falling
51 Switzerland 14.43 2018 down 19.6% falling
52 Bulgaria 13.7 2016 down 1.4% rising
53 Australia 13.66 2018 down 31.7% falling
54 Brazil 13.03 2019 down 32.5% falling
55 Indonesia 12.99 2019 up 32.6% volatile
56 Poland 12.71 2018 down 15.2% falling
57 Mozambique 12.49 2016 up 1.4% falling
58 Spain 12.45 2019 down 32.1% falling
59 Mexico 12.4 2020 down 14.5% falling
60 Republic of Korea 12.37 2020 up 8.1% rising
61 Bolivia, Plurinational State of 12.04 2019 down 46.3% falling
62 Bangladesh 11.9 2018 down 5.4% falling
63 Czechia 11.38 2018 down 32.6% falling
64 Slovakia 11.08 2019 down 30.8% falling
65 Latvia 10.65 2019 down 27.0% falling
66 United States of America 10.29 2020 down 9.6% falling
67 Sri Lanka 10.1 2019 down 12.5% falling
68 Türkiye 9.85 2019 up 56.1% rising
69 Ethiopia 9.35 2019 up 24.2% rising
70 France 8.89 2018 down 16.9% falling
71 El Salvador 8.73 2018 down 32.7% flat
72 Malaysia 8.7 2018 down 14.2% falling
73 Hungary 8.65 2019 down 43.3% falling
74 Philippines 8.49 2020 down 3.3% falling
75 Mali 7.52 2018 down 19.7% falling
76 Dominican Republic 7.49 2019 down 19.5% falling
77 Lithuania 7.36 2019 down 26.1% falling
78 Senegal 7.36 2019 down 44.1% falling
79 Paraguay 6.93 2019 down 38.9% falling
80 Estonia 6.02 2019 down 20.8% falling
81 Pakistan 4.73 2016 down 19.8% falling
82 Colombia 4.65 2019 up 37.7% rising
83 Thailand 3.32 2019 up 10.3% rising
84 Guatemala 3.15 2019 down 0.6% falling
85 Honduras 2.57 2017 down 13.3% falling
86 Peru 2.28 2018 up 18.1% rising

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Trade union density rate by country. Statizoid, drawing on International Labour Organization. Retrieved 05 September 2026, from https://labour.statizoid.com/stat/trade-union-density-rate/

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About this data

Indicator
Trade union density rate
Source
International Labour Organization
Licence
ILO Terms of Use (attribution required)
Coverage
86 places, 1,182 data points, 2000–2020
Last refreshed

A trade union is defined as a workers' organization constituted for the purpose of furthering and defending the interests of workers. This trade union density rate conveys the number of union members who are employees as a percentage of the total number of employees. For the purpose of this indicator in particular, trade union membership excludes union members who are not in paid employment (self-employed, unemployed, retired, etc.), unless otherwise stated in the notes. The statistics presented in this table result from an ILO data compilation effort (including an annual questionnaire and numerous special enquiries), with contributions from J. Visser. For more information, refer to the Industrial Relations data (IRdata) database description.