Wage and salaried workers, total (% of total employment) in Upper middle income
Upper middle income: Wage and salaried workers, total (% of total employment) was 61.3% in 2025. ▲ Rising
Wage and salaried workers, total (% of total employment) in Upper middle income, 1991–2025
Source: ILO Modelled Estimates database (ILOEST), International Labour Organization (ILO).
Analysis
In 2025, wage and salaried workers, total (% of total employment) in Upper middle income stood at 61.3%. That is the highest value across all 35 years on record.
That represents a change of up 0.5% on the previous year and up 3.8% over ten years.
Over the whole period, wage and salaried workers, total (% of total employment) in Upper middle income peaked at 61.3% in 2025 and was at its lowest, 45.9%, in 1991.
Upper middle income ranks 19th of 47 groups on this measure, in the middle of the range.
The long-run direction has been consistently rising across the 35 years of available data.
Wage and salaried workers, total (% of total employment) in Upper middle income, year by year
| Year | Value | Change |
|---|---|---|
| 1991 | 45.9% | — |
| 1992 | 46.2% | +0.8% |
| 1993 | 46.7% | +1.1% |
| 1994 | 47.2% | +1.0% |
| 1995 | 47.6% | +1.0% |
| 1996 | 48.2% | +1.2% |
| 1997 | 48.7% | +1.1% |
| 1998 | 49.0% | +0.5% |
| 1999 | 49.3% | +0.6% |
| 2000 | 49.7% | +0.9% |
| 2001 | 50.5% | +1.5% |
| 2002 | 50.9% | +0.9% |
| 2003 | 51.3% | +0.9% |
| 2004 | 52.3% | +1.8% |
| 2005 | 53.0% | +1.3% |
| 2006 | 53.6% | +1.2% |
| 2007 | 54.2% | +1.0% |
| 2008 | 54.8% | +1.2% |
| 2009 | 55.3% | +0.8% |
| 2010 | 56.0% | +1.2% |
| 2011 | 56.6% | +1.2% |
| 2012 | 57.3% | +1.2% |
| 2013 | 57.8% | +0.9% |
| 2014 | 58.4% | +1.0% |
| 2015 | 59.0% | +1.1% |
| 2016 | 59.3% | +0.5% |
| 2017 | 59.6% | +0.4% |
| 2018 | 59.8% | +0.4% |
| 2019 | 60.1% | +0.5% |
| 2020 | 59.9% | -0.4% |
| 2021 | 60.0% | +0.2% |
| 2022 | 60.2% | +0.3% |
| 2023 | 60.6% | +0.6% |
| 2024 | 61.0% | +0.7% |
| 2025 | 61.3% | +0.5% |
Averages by decade
| Decade | Average | Lowest | Highest | Years |
|---|---|---|---|---|
| 1990s | 47.7% | 45.9% | 49.3% | 9 |
| 2000s | 52.6% | 49.7% | 55.3% | 10 |
| 2010s | 58.4% | 56.0% | 60.1% | 10 |
| 2020s | 60.5% | 59.9% | 61.3% | 6 |
Countries ranked near Upper middle income
- 16 Channel Islands 91.4% compare
- 17 Japan 90.9% compare
- 18 United States Virgin Islands 90.9% compare
- 19 Cyprus 89.8% compare
- 20 Sweden 89.8% compare
- 21 Luxembourg 89.7% compare
- 22 Jordan 88.8% compare
More work & labour data for Upper middle income
- Labor force participation rate, male (% of male population ages 15+) 72.1% (2025)
- Labor force participation rate, female (% of female population ages) 60.6% (2025)
- Labor force participation rate for ages 15-24, total (%) 44.2% (2025)
- Labor force participation rate for ages 15-24, male (%) 49.6% (2025)
- Labor force participation rate for ages 15-24, female (%) 38.4% (2025)
- Labor force participation rate, total (% of total population ages 15+) 62.7% (2025)
- Labor force participation rate, male (% of male population ages 15-64) 78.7% (2025)
- Labor force participation rate, total (% of total population ages) 69.8% (2025)
- Labor force participation rate, female (% of female population ages) 53.4% (2025)
- Ratio of female to male labor force participation rate (%) 75.6% (2025)
Frequently asked questions
- What is wage and salaried workers, total (% of total employment) in Upper middle income?
- Wage and salaried workers, total (% of total employment) in Upper middle income was 61.3% in 2025, according to ILO Modelled Estimates database (ILOEST), International Labour Organization (ILO).
- What is the highest wage and salaried workers, total (% of total employment) recorded in Upper middle income?
- The highest recorded value was 61.3% in 2025.
- What is the lowest wage and salaried workers, total (% of total employment) recorded in Upper middle income?
- The lowest recorded value was 45.9% in 1991.
- How does Upper middle income rank for wage and salaried workers, total (% of total employment)?
- Upper middle income ranks 19th out of 47 groups with data for 2025.
- Is wage and salaried workers, total (% of total employment) rising or falling in Upper middle income?
- Over the last ten years it is up 3.8%. The long-run trend across the full record is rising.
- Where does this Upper middle income data come from?
- The figures come from ILO Modelled Estimates database (ILOEST), International Labour Organization (ILO), published as part of Wage and salaried workers, total (% of total employment) (modeled ILO estimate). Statizoid updates them automatically from the source API.
Download this data
CSV · JSON — 35 observations, free to reuse under CC BY 4.0 (World Bank Open Data).
About this data
Wage and salaried workers (employees) are those workers who hold the type of jobs defined as "paid employment jobs," where the incumbents hold explicit (written or oral) or implicit employment contracts that give them a basic remuneration that is not directly dependent upon the revenue of the unit for which they work.