Vulnerable employment, male (% of male employment) in Saudi Arabia
Saudi Arabia: Vulnerable employment, male (% of male employment) was 1.1% in 2025. ▼ Falling
Vulnerable employment, male (% of male employment) in Saudi Arabia, 1991–2025
Source: ILO Modelled Estimates database (ILOEST), International Labour Organization (ILO).
Analysis
In 2025, vulnerable employment, male (% of male employment) in Saudi Arabia stood at 1.1%. That is the lowest value across all 35 years on record.
That represents a change of down 3.0% on the previous year and down 54.5% over ten years.
Over the whole period, vulnerable employment, male (% of male employment) in Saudi Arabia peaked at 6.8% in 1991 and was at its lowest, 1.1%, in 2025.
Saudi Arabia ranks 185th of 187 countries on this measure, in the bottom quarter.
The long-run direction has been consistently falling across the 35 years of available data.
Vulnerable employment, male (% of male employment) in Saudi Arabia, year by year
| Year | Value | Change |
|---|---|---|
| 1991 | 6.8% | — |
| 1992 | 6.6% | -2.1% |
| 1993 | 6.5% | -1.3% |
| 1994 | 6.4% | -2.0% |
| 1995 | 6.3% | -2.1% |
| 1996 | 6.1% | -2.9% |
| 1997 | 6.0% | -1.1% |
| 1998 | 6.1% | +1.2% |
| 1999 | 5.9% | -2.9% |
| 2000 | 5.6% | -5.7% |
| 2001 | 5.6% | -0.6% |
| 2002 | 5.5% | -1.4% |
| 2003 | 5.3% | -4.0% |
| 2004 | 5.0% | -5.4% |
| 2005 | 4.6% | -7.7% |
| 2006 | 4.3% | -5.8% |
| 2007 | 4.1% | -5.5% |
| 2008 | 3.7% | -8.7% |
| 2009 | 3.8% | +3.0% |
| 2010 | 3.5% | -8.7% |
| 2011 | 3.1% | -12.8% |
| 2012 | 2.8% | -9.6% |
| 2013 | 2.6% | -6.6% |
| 2014 | 2.4% | -7.1% |
| 2015 | 2.5% | +4.1% |
| 2016 | 2.4% | -3.1% |
| 2017 | 2.3% | -5.7% |
| 2018 | 1.8% | -22.7% |
| 2019 | 3.1% | +75.4% |
| 2020 | 2.3% | -27.1% |
| 2021 | 1.8% | -20.5% |
| 2022 | 1.5% | -18.8% |
| 2023 | 1.2% | -16.2% |
| 2024 | 1.2% | -3.8% |
| 2025 | 1.1% | -3.0% |
Saudi Arabia compared with similar countries
- Saudi Arabia's 1.1% is below the median for high income countries, which is 10.8%, 11% of the median. (62 countries reporting)
- Saudi Arabia's 1.1% is below the median for Middle East, North Africa, Afghanistan & Pakistan, which is 22.2%, 5% of the median. (23 countries reporting)
Biggest year-on-year movements
Years where Vulnerable employment, male (% of male employment) in Saudi Arabia changed far more than this series normally does. A large move can be a real event or a change in how the figure was measured — the source note below says who published it.
| Year | Change | From | To |
|---|---|---|---|
| 2019 | +75.4% | 1.8% | 3.1% |
Averages by decade
| Decade | Average | Lowest | Highest | Years |
|---|---|---|---|---|
| 1990s | 6.3% | 5.9% | 6.8% | 9 |
| 2000s | 4.7% | 3.7% | 5.6% | 10 |
| 2010s | 2.6% | 1.8% | 3.5% | 10 |
| 2020s | 1.5% | 1.1% | 2.3% | 6 |
Countries ranked near Saudi Arabia
- 182 Brunei Darussalam 3.4% compare
- 183 Kuwait 2.9% compare
- 184 United Arab Emirates 1.2% compare
- 186 Bahrain 0.8% compare
- 187 Qatar 0.4% compare
More work & labour data for Saudi Arabia
- Population - Est. & Proj. — Total Population - Both sexes, annual 0.6339 % change on previous year (2100)
- Population - Est. & Proj. — Total Population - Male, annual growth 0.5946 % change on previous year (2100)
- Population - Est. & Proj. — Total Population - Female, annual growth 0.6842 % change on previous year (2100)
- Population - Est. & Proj. — Rural population, annual growth rate -1.31 % change on previous year (2050)
- Population - Est. & Proj. — Urban population, annual growth rate 0.5985 % change on previous year (2050)
- Population - Est. & Proj. — Urban population 40,709 1000 No (2050)
- Population - Est. & Proj. — Rural population 4,348 1000 No (2050)
- Population - Est. & Proj. — Total Population - Female 31,198 1000 No (2100)
- Population - Est. & Proj. — Total Population - Male 39,809 1000 No (2100)
- Population - Est. & Proj. — Total Population - Both sexes 71,007 1000 No (2100)
Frequently asked questions
- What is vulnerable employment, male (% of male employment) in Saudi Arabia?
- Vulnerable employment, male (% of male employment) in Saudi Arabia was 1.1% in 2025, according to ILO Modelled Estimates database (ILOEST), International Labour Organization (ILO).
- What is the highest vulnerable employment, male (% of male employment) recorded in Saudi Arabia?
- The highest recorded value was 6.8% in 1991.
- What is the lowest vulnerable employment, male (% of male employment) recorded in Saudi Arabia?
- The lowest recorded value was 1.1% in 2025.
- How does Saudi Arabia rank for vulnerable employment, male (% of male employment)?
- Saudi Arabia ranks 185th out of 187 countries with data for 2025.
- Is vulnerable employment, male (% of male employment) rising or falling in Saudi Arabia?
- Over the last ten years it is down 54.5%. The long-run trend across the full record is falling.
- Where does this Saudi Arabia data come from?
- The figures come from ILO Modelled Estimates database (ILOEST), International Labour Organization (ILO), published as part of Vulnerable employment, male (% of male employment) (modeled ILO estimate). Statizoid updates them automatically from the source API.
Download this data
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About this data
Vulnerable employment is contributing family workers and own-account workers as a percentage of total employment.