Self-employment of people in countries around the world

[Kailash Kumar]

Self-employed, total (% of total employment) (modeled ILO estimate)

April 2019

Data is from the year 2018.

Country - Total self-employed as a percentage of total employment
(ranked from high to low)

Burundi - 94.7
Central African Republic - 94.6
Chad - 93.3
Guinea - 91.7
Mali - 90.2
South Sudan - 90.0
Niger - 90.0
Afghanistan - 89.9
Benin - 89.3
Madagascar - 89.1

Sierra Leone - 88.9
Burkina Faso - 87.1
Ethiopia - 86.5
Haiti - 86.3
Mozambique - 85.5
Tanzania - 85.5
Congo (DR) - 81.7
Solomon Islands - 81.5
Nigeria - 81.4
Laos - 80.5

Nepal - 80.4
Papua New Guinea - 80.0
Liberia - 79.8
Somalia - 79.4
Guinea-Bissau - 79.4
Eritrea - 79.3
Togo - 78.9
Uganda - 78.3
India - 78.3
Zambia - 78.1

Congo - 78.0
Cameroon - 76.8
Ghana - 74.5
Cote d'Ivoire - 74.3
Gambia - 73.8
Timor-Leste - 72.8
Vanuatu - 72.2
Bhutan - 71.5
Angola - 71.4
Comoros - 69.7

Rwanda - 68.7
Azerbaijan - 68.2
North Korea - 66.9
Zimbabwe - 66.1
Senegal - 65.9
Myanmar - 62.5
Bolivia - 62.4
Kenya - 61.5
Malawi - 60.7
Pakistan - 60.6

Guyana - 60.6
Bangladesh - 59.9
Equatorial Guinea - 57.6
Albania - 57.3
Vietnam - 56.6
Mauritania - 55.5
Lesotho - 55.4
Peru - 54.9
Tonga - 54.4
Yemen - 52.6

Honduras - 52.2
Morocco - 51.4
Georgia - 51.2
Cambodia - 51.2
Colombia - 50.9
Indonesia - 50.7
Thailand - 50.2
Mongolia - 49.9
Djibouti - 49.5
Ecuador - 49.1

Sao Tome and Principe - 48.5
China - 46.9
Sudan - 46.0
Tajikistan - 45.6
Iran - 45.1
Nicaragua - 44.8
Fiji - 44.5
Paraguay - 43.8
Dominican Republic - 43.7
Sri Lanka - 41.9

Uzbekistan - 41.7
Armenia - 41.3
El Salvador - 40.0
Jamaica - 39.3
Syria - 39.0
Philippines - 37.6
Guatemala - 37.5
Lebanon - 36.9
Venezuela - 36.5
Samoa - 35.9

Kyrgyzstan - 35.5
St. Lucia - 35.1
Eswatini - 35.1
Panama - 34.8
Moldova - 34.6
Greece - 34.0
Gabon - 33.9
Belize - 33.9
Cabo Verde - 33.6
Turkey - 32.6

Brazil - 32.3
Egypt - 31.8
Mexico - 31.4
Algeria - 30.9
Serbia - 30.4
West Bank and Gaza - 29.5
Namibia - 29.3
Iraq - 29.2
Chile - 28.5
Botswana - 28.0

Uruguay - 28.0
Tunisia - 27.7
Kazakhstan - 27.2
Romania - 26.3
Turkmenistan - 25.5
Argentina - 25.3
Korea, Rep. - 25.3
Malaysia - 25.3
Bosnia and Herzegovina - 24.5
Costa Rica - 24.2

St. Vincent and the Grenadines - 23.8
North Macedonia - 23.6
Maldives - 23.5
Trinidad and Tobago - 23.4
Italy - 23.2
Montenegro - 21.9
Mauritius - 20.6
Poland - 20.3
New Zealand - 18.5
Czech Republic - 17.0

New Caledonia - 17.0
Puerto Rico - 17.0
Portugal - 17.0
Australia - 16.9
Barbados - 16.6
Netherlands - 16.6
Spain - 16.5
Ukraine - 15.7
U.S. Virgin Islands - 15.7
French Polynesia - 15.6

United Kingdom - 15.3
Ireland - 15.3
Canada - 15.2
South Africa - 15.2
Slovak Republic - 15.2
Guam - 15.1
Switzerland - 14.8
Channel Islands - 14.7
Singapore - 14.6
Malta - 14.5

The Bahamas - 14.4
Jordan - 14.4
Slovenia - 14.4
Belgium - 14.3
Suriname - 14.0
Cyprus - 13.2
Finland - 13.1
Latvia - 12.6
Croatia - 12.4
Israel - 12.3
Austria - 12.3

Lithuania - 12.0
Bulgaria - 11.9
Iceland - 11.8
France - 11.6
Japan - 10.4
Hungary - 10.3
Germany - 10.2
Estonia - 10.1
Sweden - 9.8
Luxembourg - 9.7

Cuba - 9.3
Brunei - 8.8
Hong Kong - 8.7
Denmark - 8.2
Libya - 6.6
Russia - 6.6
Norway - 6.5
Macao - 6.2
United States - 6.2
Saudi Arabia - 4.8

Belarus - 4.4
Oman - 3.8
United Arab Emirates - 3.5
Bahrain - 2.7
Kuwait - 1.7
Qatar - 0.4

World - Total self-employed as a percentage of total employment

World - 47.9

Region - Total self-employed as a percentage of total employment
(ranked from high to low)

Heavily indebted poor countries (HIPC) - 80.7

Sub-Saharan Africa - 76.6
Sub-Saharan Africa (excluding high income) - 76.6

Least developed countries: UN classification - 76.1

South Asia - 74.5

Fragile and conflict affected situations - 71.5

Pacific island small states - 61.3

East Asia & Pacific (excluding high income) - 48.2
East Asia & Pacific - 44.7

Latin America & Caribbean (excluding high income) - 37.4
Middle East & North Africa (excluding high income) - 37.2
Latin America & Caribbean - 37.0

Small states - 33.1
Caribbean small states - 33.1
Other small states - 31.2

Arab World - 30.0
Middle East & North Africa - 29.5

Europe & Central Asia (excluding high income) - 21.1
Central Europe and the Baltics - 18.3
Europe & Central Asia - 17.7
European Union - 15.5
OECD members - 15.2
Euro area - 14.9

North America - 7.2

Low income - 81.9
Lower middle income - 65.7
Low & middle income - 55.5
Middle income - 52.4
Upper middle income - 40.6
High income - 12.4

https://data.worldbank.org/indicator/SL.EMP.SELF.ZS?most_recent_value_desc=true

 

[crankthatskunk]

India 78.3 % self employed!!
What happened to "Shining India"!!
It seems India is in the league of very poor countries where Government gives no shitttttttt to the people.

 

[kris]

India 78.3 % self employed!!
What happened to "Shining India"!!
It seems India is in the league of very poor countries where Government gives no shitttttttt to the people.

Because that number of population are directly or indirectly related to farming....

What if a person has a farm and is working at another place ( a common scenario here )
Still this study sees him as self employed..

 

[crankthatskunk]

Because that number of population are directly or indirectly related to farming....

What if a person has a farm and is working at another place ( a common scenario here )
Still this study sees him as self employed..

Don't make excuses. You as Indian know very well, India in poverty is as bad as sub-saharan Africa.
Over 600 million Indians live in abject poverty. Increase GDP doesn't mean it is distributed evenly in Population. In India's case it is skewed very badly in favor of few billionaires like Ambanis, Tatas etc.etc.
That's why this telling figure of over 78% self-employed. More like they don't have any substantial income to speak off.
It is now clear, most of Indians figures were cooked, like what Nawaz League used to do in Pakistan, cook the books.

 

[kris]

Don't make excuses. You as Indian know very well, India in poverty is as bad as sub-saharan Africa.
Over 600 million Indians live in abject poverty. Increase GDP doesn't mean it is distributed evenly in Population. In India's case it is skewed very badly in favor of few billionaires like Ambanis, Tatas etc.etc.
That's why this telling figure of over 78% self-employed. More like they don't have any substantial income to speak off.
It is now clear, most of Indians figures were cooked, like what Nawaz League used to do in Pakistan, cook the books.

Whatever makes you feel better

 

[nahtanbob]

Self-employed, total (% of total employment) (modeled ILO estimate)

April 2019

Data is from the year 2018.

Country - Total self-employed as a percentage of total employment
(ranked from high to low)

Burundi - 94.7
Central African Republic - 94.6
Chad - 93.3
Guinea - 91.7
Mali - 90.2
South Sudan - 90.0
Niger - 90.0
Afghanistan - 89.9
Benin - 89.3
Madagascar - 89.1

Sierra Leone - 88.9
Burkina Faso - 87.1
Ethiopia - 86.5
Haiti - 86.3
Mozambique - 85.5
Tanzania - 85.5
Congo (DR) - 81.7
Solomon Islands - 81.5
Nigeria - 81.4
Laos - 80.5

Nepal - 80.4
Papua New Guinea - 80.0
Liberia - 79.8
Somalia - 79.4
Guinea-Bissau - 79.4
Eritrea - 79.3
Togo - 78.9
Uganda - 78.3
India - 78.3
Zambia - 78.1

Congo - 78.0
Cameroon - 76.8
Ghana - 74.5
Cote d'Ivoire - 74.3
Gambia - 73.8
Timor-Leste - 72.8
Vanuatu - 72.2
Bhutan - 71.5
Angola - 71.4
Comoros - 69.7

Rwanda - 68.7
Azerbaijan - 68.2
North Korea - 66.9
Zimbabwe - 66.1
Senegal - 65.9
Myanmar - 62.5
Bolivia - 62.4
Kenya - 61.5
Malawi - 60.7
Pakistan - 60.6

Guyana - 60.6
Bangladesh - 59.9
Equatorial Guinea - 57.6
Albania - 57.3
Vietnam - 56.6
Mauritania - 55.5
Lesotho - 55.4
Peru - 54.9
Tonga - 54.4
Yemen - 52.6

Honduras - 52.2
Morocco - 51.4
Georgia - 51.2
Cambodia - 51.2
Colombia - 50.9
Indonesia - 50.7
Thailand - 50.2
Mongolia - 49.9
Djibouti - 49.5
Ecuador - 49.1

Sao Tome and Principe - 48.5
China - 46.9
Sudan - 46.0
Tajikistan - 45.6
Iran - 45.1
Nicaragua - 44.8
Fiji - 44.5
Paraguay - 43.8
Dominican Republic - 43.7
Sri Lanka - 41.9

Uzbekistan - 41.7
Armenia - 41.3
El Salvador - 40.0
Jamaica - 39.3
Syria - 39.0
Philippines - 37.6
Guatemala - 37.5
Lebanon - 36.9
Venezuela - 36.5
Samoa - 35.9

Kyrgyzstan - 35.5
St. Lucia - 35.1
Eswatini - 35.1
Panama - 34.8
Moldova - 34.6
Greece - 34.0
Gabon - 33.9
Belize - 33.9
Cabo Verde - 33.6
Turkey - 32.6

Brazil - 32.3
Egypt - 31.8
Mexico - 31.4
Algeria - 30.9
Serbia - 30.4
West Bank and Gaza - 29.5
Namibia - 29.3
Iraq - 29.2
Chile - 28.5
Botswana - 28.0

Uruguay - 28.0
Tunisia - 27.7
Kazakhstan - 27.2
Romania - 26.3
Turkmenistan - 25.5
Argentina - 25.3
Korea, Rep. - 25.3
Malaysia - 25.3
Bosnia and Herzegovina - 24.5
Costa Rica - 24.2

St. Vincent and the Grenadines - 23.8
North Macedonia - 23.6
Maldives - 23.5
Trinidad and Tobago - 23.4
Italy - 23.2
Montenegro - 21.9
Mauritius - 20.6
Poland - 20.3
New Zealand - 18.5
Czech Republic - 17.0

New Caledonia - 17.0
Puerto Rico - 17.0
Portugal - 17.0
Australia - 16.9
Barbados - 16.6
Netherlands - 16.6
Spain - 16.5
Ukraine - 15.7
U.S. Virgin Islands - 15.7
French Polynesia - 15.6

United Kingdom - 15.3
Ireland - 15.3
Canada - 15.2
South Africa - 15.2
Slovak Republic - 15.2
Guam - 15.1
Switzerland - 14.8
Channel Islands - 14.7
Singapore - 14.6
Malta - 14.5

The Bahamas - 14.4
Jordan - 14.4
Slovenia - 14.4
Belgium - 14.3
Suriname - 14.0
Cyprus - 13.2
Finland - 13.1
Latvia - 12.6
Croatia - 12.4
Israel - 12.3
Austria - 12.3

Lithuania - 12.0
Bulgaria - 11.9
Iceland - 11.8
France - 11.6
Japan - 10.4
Hungary - 10.3
Germany - 10.2
Estonia - 10.1
Sweden - 9.8
Luxembourg - 9.7

Cuba - 9.3
Brunei - 8.8
Hong Kong - 8.7
Denmark - 8.2
Libya - 6.6
Russia - 6.6
Norway - 6.5
Macao - 6.2
United States - 6.2
Saudi Arabia - 4.8

Belarus - 4.4
Oman - 3.8
United Arab Emirates - 3.5
Bahrain - 2.7
Kuwait - 1.7
Qatar - 0.4

World - Total self-employed as a percentage of total employment

World - 47.9

Region - Total self-employed as a percentage of total employment
(ranked from high to low)

Heavily indebted poor countries (HIPC) - 80.7

Sub-Saharan Africa - 76.6
Sub-Saharan Africa (excluding high income) - 76.6

Least developed countries: UN classification - 76.1

South Asia - 74.5

Fragile and conflict affected situations - 71.5

Pacific island small states - 61.3

East Asia & Pacific (excluding high income) - 48.2
East Asia & Pacific - 44.7

Latin America & Caribbean (excluding high income) - 37.4
Middle East & North Africa (excluding high income) - 37.2
Latin America & Caribbean - 37.0

Small states - 33.1
Caribbean small states - 33.1
Other small states - 31.2

Arab World - 30.0
Middle East & North Africa - 29.5

Europe & Central Asia (excluding high income) - 21.1
Central Europe and the Baltics - 18.3
Europe & Central Asia - 17.7
European Union - 15.5
OECD members - 15.2
Euro area - 14.9

North America - 7.2

Low income - 81.9
Lower middle income - 65.7
Low & middle income - 55.5
Middle income - 52.4
Upper middle income - 40.6
High income - 12.4

https://data.worldbank.org/indicator/SL.EMP.SELF.ZS?most_recent_value_desc=true

the data is as good as the countries who are collecting them