Vulnerable employment, female (% of female employment) in Sub-Saharan Africa
Sub-Saharan Africa: Vulnerable employment, female (% of female employment) was 79.2% in 2025. ▼ Falling
Vulnerable employment, female (% of female employment) in Sub-Saharan Africa, 1991–2025
Source: ILO Modelled Estimates database (ILOEST), International Labour Organization (ILO).
Analysis
In 2025, vulnerable employment, female (% of female employment) in Sub-Saharan Africa stood at 79.2%. That is the lowest value across all 35 years on record.
That represents a change of down 0.3% on the previous year and down 2.0% over ten years.
Over the whole period, vulnerable employment, female (% of female employment) in Sub-Saharan Africa peaked at 84.9% in 1991 and was at its lowest, 79.2%, in 2025.
That places Sub-Saharan Africa 6th out of 47 groups with data for 2025, putting it in the top quarter.
The long-run direction has been consistently falling across the 35 years of available data.
Vulnerable employment, female (% of female employment) in Sub-Saharan Africa, year by year
| Year | Value | Change |
|---|---|---|
| 1991 | 84.9% | — |
| 1992 | 84.8% | -0.1% |
| 1993 | 84.8% | -0.1% |
| 1994 | 84.8% | -0.0% |
| 1995 | 84.6% | -0.2% |
| 1996 | 84.3% | -0.4% |
| 1997 | 84.0% | -0.3% |
| 1998 | 83.9% | -0.2% |
| 1999 | 83.7% | -0.2% |
| 2000 | 83.6% | -0.2% |
| 2001 | 83.5% | -0.1% |
| 2002 | 83.4% | -0.2% |
| 2003 | 83.3% | -0.2% |
| 2004 | 83.1% | -0.2% |
| 2005 | 83.0% | -0.0% |
| 2006 | 82.8% | -0.2% |
| 2007 | 82.6% | -0.3% |
| 2008 | 82.4% | -0.2% |
| 2009 | 82.3% | -0.1% |
| 2010 | 82.3% | -0.1% |
| 2011 | 82.0% | -0.3% |
| 2012 | 81.8% | -0.3% |
| 2013 | 81.5% | -0.4% |
| 2014 | 81.1% | -0.5% |
| 2015 | 80.8% | -0.4% |
| 2016 | 80.6% | -0.2% |
| 2017 | 80.3% | -0.4% |
| 2018 | 80.0% | -0.4% |
| 2019 | 79.8% | -0.2% |
| 2020 | 80.2% | +0.5% |
| 2021 | 80.0% | -0.2% |
| 2022 | 79.8% | -0.3% |
| 2023 | 79.6% | -0.2% |
| 2024 | 79.4% | -0.3% |
| 2025 | 79.2% | -0.3% |
Averages by decade
| Decade | Average | Lowest | Highest | Years |
|---|---|---|---|---|
| 1990s | 84.4% | 83.7% | 84.9% | 9 |
| 2000s | 83.0% | 82.3% | 83.6% | 10 |
| 2010s | 81.0% | 79.8% | 82.3% | 10 |
| 2020s | 79.7% | 79.2% | 80.2% | 6 |
Countries ranked near Sub-Saharan Africa
- 3 Afghanistan 92.9% compare
- 4 Sierra Leone 91.3% compare
- 5 Mozambique 90.7% compare
- 6 Nepal 90.3% compare
- 7 Burundi 90.0% compare
- 8 Liberia 89.7% compare
- 9 Congo 89.6% compare
More work & labour data for Sub-Saharan Africa
- Persons outside the labour force (ILO modelled estimates) 239,462 (2027)
- Labour force participation rate (ILO modelled estimates) 70.23 (2027)
- Labour force (ILO modelled estimates) 564,978 (2027)
- Labour dependency ratio 1.5 (2027)
- Unemployment rate (ILO modelled estimates) 5.73 (2027)
- Output per worker, GDP constant 2021 international $ at PPP 11,723 (2027)
- Output per worker, GDP constant 2015 US $ 4,279 (2027)
- Employment-to-population ratio (ILO modelled estimates) 66.21 (2027)
- Persons outside the labour force (ILO modelled estimates) (15+) 3.04 % change on previous year (2027)
- Labour force (ILO modelled estimates) (15+), annual growth rate 2.92 % change on previous year (2027)
Frequently asked questions
- What is vulnerable employment, female (% of female employment) in Sub-Saharan Africa?
- Vulnerable employment, female (% of female employment) in Sub-Saharan Africa was 79.2% in 2025, according to ILO Modelled Estimates database (ILOEST), International Labour Organization (ILO).
- What is the highest vulnerable employment, female (% of female employment) recorded in Sub-Saharan Africa?
- The highest recorded value was 84.9% in 1991.
- What is the lowest vulnerable employment, female (% of female employment) recorded in Sub-Saharan Africa?
- The lowest recorded value was 79.2% in 2025.
- How does Sub-Saharan Africa rank for vulnerable employment, female (% of female employment)?
- Sub-Saharan Africa ranks 6th out of 47 groups with data for 2025.
- Is vulnerable employment, female (% of female employment) rising or falling in Sub-Saharan Africa?
- Over the last ten years it is down 2.0%. The long-run trend across the full record is falling.
- Where does this Sub-Saharan Africa data come from?
- The figures come from ILO Modelled Estimates database (ILOEST), International Labour Organization (ILO), published as part of Vulnerable employment, female (% of female employment) (modeled ILO estimate). Statizoid updates them automatically from the source API.
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About this data
Vulnerable employment is contributing family workers and own-account workers as a percentage of total employment.