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Labor Force Participation Rate by Country 2024
A crude explanation of the labor force participation rate is that it measures what percentage of the working-age population is actually engaged in employment. It is calculated by dividing the number of people in the labor force by the total population of 15 to 64-year-olds.
There are many reasons why someone would not participate in the workforce. For example, some students have family support to attend school without needing to work. Others, especially women, may be unable to work due to a lack of childcare. Finally, disability may make it impossible for some people to work. Labor force participation is most effective when examined within the context of information. For example, it can be used to examine the impact of childcare costs and policies on whether women choose to work. It may also be helpful as scientists examine the impact of the COVID-19 pandemic as a mass-disabling event.
According to the OECD, the average labor force participation rate is 81.9%. However, the lowest rate is 63.3% (Turkey), and the highest rate is 89.3% (Sweden). Spain and the United Kingdom both have average labor participation rates. The European Union has a labor participation rate of 81.2%, putting it below the average participation rate but higher than the total participation (78.8%). There are several countries that fall between the average and total participation rates: Belgium (79.1%), Argentina (79.2%), Poland (80.8%), France (81.0%), Luxembourg (81.2%), Israel (81.2%), and Austria (81.4%). Besides Turkey, fifteen other countries fall below the total rate of labor participation: the United States, Greece, Columbia, Korea, Croatia, Indonesia, Chile, Costa Rica, Romania, Brazil, Italy, North Macedonia, Mexico, South Africa, and India.
It's important to remember that labor force participation is only one measure of a country's economy, and a single data point often doesn't give a clear understanding of what is happening. For example, it's interesting to note that although Canada has a higher labor participation rate than the US, 81.9% compared to 78.1%, Canada also has a higher rate of unemployment. The unemployment rate in Canada is 10.5% while the unemployment rate in the US is only 8.4%.
Country | Total Participation | Female Participation | Male Participation |
|---|---|---|---|
| Qatar | 88.3% | 60.6% | 96.9% |
| Madagascar | 85.9% | 83.7% | 88.1% |
| Solomon Islands | 83.7% | 82.2% | 85.2% |
| Tanzania | 82.9% | 79.3% | 86.8% |
| United Arab Emirates | 82.7% | 56.2% | 92.8% |
| Ethiopia | 80.6% | 75.1% | 86.1% |
| Burundi | 79.8% | 81.5% | 78% |
| Mozambique | 78.6% | 78.3% | 78.8% |
| Eritrea | 77.7% | 71.1% | 84.8% |
| Angola | 77% | 75.1% | 79.1% |
| Liberia | 76.8% | 72.6% | 81.1% |
| Iceland | 76.6% | 72.5% | 80.5% |
| Cambodia | 75.5% | 69.4% | 81.9% |
| North Korea | 74.8% | 69.8% | 79.9% |
| Kenya | 74.4% | 72.8% | 76.1% |
| Vietnam | 73.6% | 69.1% | 78.4% |
| Niger | 73.5% | 62.5% | 84.2% |
| Bahamas | 72.4% | 66.3% | 79.3% |
| Bahrain | 71.9% | 44.7% | 86.8% |
| Cameroon | 71.7% | 67.4% | 76.1% |
| Paraguay | 71.7% | 60.1% | 83.5% |
| Kuwait | 71.7% | 48.1% | 85.9% |
| South Sudan | 71.2% | 71.2% | 71.2% |
| Central African Republic | 70.7% | 63.7% | 77.7% |
| New Zealand | 70.5% | 66% | 75.1% |
| Peru | 70.4% | 64.4% | 76.6% |
| Jamaica | 70.2% | 63.7% | 76.9% |
| Bolivia | 69.9% | 59.8% | 80.1% |
| Uganda | 69.8% | 67.7% | 72% |
| Kazakhstan | 69.8% | 65.2% | 74.9% |
| Saint Lucia | 69.6% | 65.4% | 73.9% |
| Singapore | 69.3% | 62.2% | 75.7% |
| Vanuatu | 69.2% | 60.6% | 78% |
| Macau | 68.7% | 63.8% | 74.4% |
| Ghana | 68.6% | 65.1% | 72.2% |
| Oman | 68.2% | 33.3% | 87.6% |
| Mali | 68% | 55.2% | 80.6% |
| Republic of the Congo | 67.7% | 67% | 68.4% |
| Malawi | 67.5% | 63.2% | 72.1% |
| Switzerland | 67.2% | 62.2% | 72.3% |
| Timor Leste | 67.2% | 61.7% | 72.5% |
| Indonesia | 67.1% | 53.1% | 81% |
| Ecuador | 67% | 55.2% | 79% |
| DR Congo | 66.3% | 63.1% | 69.5% |
| Panama | 66.3% | 55.6% | 77.2% |
| China | 66.2% | 60.4% | 72% |
| Zimbabwe | 66.1% | 61.3% | 71.9% |
| Nicaragua | 66% | 49.4% | 83.5% |
| Malaysia | 65.8% | 52.7% | 78.6% |
| Netherlands | 65.8% | 60.8% | 70.9% |
| Haiti | 65.8% | 62.3% | 69.3% |
| Australia | 65.7% | 61.2% | 70.2% |
| Thailand | 65.6% | 57.9% | 74% |
| Azerbaijan | 65.6% | 63% | 68.5% |
| Ivory Coast | 65.4% | 57.5% | 73.1% |
| Burkina Faso | 65.3% | 58% | 72.9% |
| Estonia | 65% | 59.8% | 70.8% |
| Belize | 65% | 50.2% | 79.9% |
| Botswana | 64.9% | 60% | 70% |
| Dominican Republic | 64.8% | 53% | 76.6% |
| Saint Vincent and the Grenadines | 64.8% | 54.9% | 74.3% |
| Ireland | 64.7% | 59.3% | 70.3% |
| Sweden | 64.6% | 61.5% | 67.7% |
| Norway | 64.4% | 63.7% | 65.1% |
| Lesotho | 64.4% | 57.4% | 71.6% |
| Canada | 64.3% | 60.2% | 68.5% |
| Brunei | 64.2% | 55.8% | 72.1% |
| Colombia | 63.7% | 51.9% | 76.2% |
| Uruguay | 63.7% | 56.9% | 71.1% |
| Maldives | 63.7% | 43.1% | 78.1% |
| Honduras | 63.6% | 49.8% | 77.3% |
| Israel | 63.6% | 60.2% | 67.1% |
| Georgia | 63.4% | 55.3% | 73% |
| Malta | 63.3% | 53.8% | 71.9% |
| Cyprus | 63.2% | 57.3% | 69.2% |
| Japan | 63.1% | 54.6% | 72.1% |
| South Korea | 63% | 53.6% | 72.4% |
| Lithuania | 62.9% | 58.4% | 68.2% |
| Brazil | 62.7% | 53.3% | 72.7% |
| Belarus | 62.7% | 57.1% | 69.5% |
| Denmark | 62.7% | 58.3% | 67.1% |
| United Kingdom | 62.6% | 58.7% | 66.6% |
| Benin | 62.5% | 56.2% | 68.9% |
| Armenia | 62.3% | 57.6% | 68.5% |
| Russia | 62.2% | 55.3% | 70.4% |
| Bhutan | 62.2% | 54.1% | 69.2% |
| United States | 62% | 56.5% | 67.6% |
| Germany | 61.7% | 56.5% | 67.1% |
| Slovakia | 61.7% | 55.6% | 68.3% |
| Costa Rica | 61.7% | 50.4% | 73.2% |
| Guam | 61.7% | 55.7% | 67.8% |
| Gambia | 61.6% | 57.4% | 65.9% |
| Latvia | 61.4% | 55.6% | 68.3% |
| Austria | 61.3% | 55.9% | 66.8% |
| Mexico | 61.1% | 45.8% | 77.6% |
| Luxembourg | 61.1% | 57.3% | 64.8% |
| Barbados | 60.7% | 57.9% | 63.9% |
| Zambia | 60.5% | 53.9% | 67.4% |
| Czech Republic | 60.5% | 52.7% | 68.6% |
| Mongolia | 60.2% | 53.1% | 67.7% |
| Myanmar | 60.1% | 44.7% | 76% |
| Finland | 59.9% | 57% | 62.9% |
| Chad | 59.5% | 48.3% | 70.8% |
| Argentina | 59.4% | 50% | 69.3% |
| Albania | 59.4% | 52.3% | 66.6% |
| Kyrgyzstan | 59.3% | 45.3% | 74.6% |
| Saudi Arabia | 59.2% | 28.1% | 80.2% |
| Hungary | 59.2% | 51.8% | 67.3% |
| El Salvador | 59.2% | 45.8% | 74.7% |
| Nigeria | 59% | 52.2% | 65.6% |
| Namibia | 59% | 55.8% | 62.5% |
| Philippines | 58.8% | 46.3% | 71% |
| Guatemala | 58.8% | 37.2% | 81.3% |
| Portugal | 58.8% | 54.6% | 63.5% |
| Laos | 58.8% | 55.4% | 62.2% |
| Bangladesh | 58.7% | 37.7% | 80.5% |
| Taiwan | 58.5% | 50.9% | 66.3% |
| Hong Kong | 58.5% | 53.4% | 64.8% |
| Poland | 58.3% | 50.7% | 66.6% |
| Mauritius | 58.3% | 45.7% | 71.5% |
| Slovenia | 58.2% | 53.8% | 62.5% |
| South Africa | 58% | 51.9% | 64.7% |
| Chile | 58% | 47.9% | 68.4% |
| Togo | 58% | 56.4% | 59.6% |
| Spain | 57.6% | 52.5% | 62.9% |
| Bulgaria | 57.2% | 51.1% | 63.7% |
| Montenegro | 57% | 50.1% | 64.5% |
| Fiji | 56.8% | 38.2% | 75.5% |
| Western Sahara | 56.7% | 30.4% | 76.9% |
| New Caledonia | 56.6% | 52.3% | 60.9% |
| Serbia | 56.5% | 48.5% | 65.3% |
| Cape Verde | 56.4% | 50.3% | 62.7% |
| Uzbekistan | 56.2% | 39.8% | 73% |
| France | 55.8% | 52% | 59.9% |
| Suriname | 55.7% | 46% | 65.7% |
| French Polynesia | 55.6% | 49.1% | 62% |
| Equatorial Guinea | 55.3% | 51.3% | 58.7% |
| Cuba | 55.2% | 41.9% | 68.9% |
| Trinidad and Tobago | 54.8% | 46.9% | 63.1% |
| Belgium | 54.7% | 50.3% | 59.2% |
| Ukraine | 54.6% | 47.8% | 62.9% |
| North Macedonia | 54.6% | 43.7% | 65.8% |
| Rwanda | 54.1% | 47.8% | 60.9% |
| Romania | 54% | 44.2% | 64.6% |
| Sao Tome and Principe | 53.8% | 38% | 69.9% |
| Venezuela | 53.7% | 41.2% | 66.8% |
| Samoa | 53.7% | 41% | 66.2% |
| Tonga | 53.4% | 42.4% | 65.1% |
| Sierra Leone | 53.2% | 51% | 55.4% |
| Pakistan | 52.6% | 24.6% | 80.7% |
| Turkey | 52.6% | 34.3% | 71.1% |
| United States Virgin Islands | 52.4% | 43% | 63.6% |
| Guinea | 52.3% | 41.6% | 63.6% |
| Croatia | 51.8% | 46% | 58.1% |
| Senegal | 51.4% | 38.8% | 64.9% |
| Greece | 50.7% | 43.9% | 57.9% |
| Sri Lanka | 50.6% | 33% | 70.3% |
| Eswatini | 50.5% | 47.2% | 54% |
| Guyana | 49.7% | 39.3% | 60.9% |
| India | 49.6% | 24.1% | 73.8% |
| Italy | 49.5% | 41.1% | 58.5% |
| Bosnia and Herzegovina | 49.2% | 39% | 59.9% |
| Sudan | 48.8% | 29.5% | 68.6% |
| Gabon | 48% | 39.4% | 56.2% |
| Libya | 47.9% | 34.8% | 60.8% |
| Lebanon | 47.5% | 29.3% | 67.6% |
| Papua New Guinea | 46.9% | 46.2% | 47.5% |
| Turkmenistan | 46% | 47.2% | 44.7% |
| Tunisia | 45.9% | 26.4% | 66.5% |
| Morocco | 45.4% | 21.6% | 69.2% |
| Syria | 44.6% | 17.1% | 72.6% |
| Comoros | 44.2% | 33.3% | 55.1% |
| Iran | 42.8% | 16.1% | 69.3% |
| Moldova | 42.1% | 38.4% | 46.3% |
| Egypt | 41.8% | 15.2% | 68.2% |
| Afghanistan | 41.6% | 16.5% | 66.7% |
| Iraq | 41% | 12% | 70.7% |
| Tajikistan | 40.9% | 31.1% | 50.8% |
| Algeria | 40.8% | 16.6% | 64.2% |
| Mauritania | 40.8% | 26.4% | 56.5% |
| Nepal | 40.2% | 28.8% | 53.3% |
| Puerto Rico | 39.9% | 31% | 50% |
| Jordan | 39.7% | 14.9% | 62.4% |
| Yemen | 38.6% | 6.4% | 70.7% |
| Somalia | 33.9% | 21.2% | 46.9% |
| Djibouti | 31.5% | 18.3% | 45% |