Which country has the highest Labor Force Participation?

Qatar has the highest Labor Force Participation, at 88.3%, followed by Madagascar (85.9%) and Solomon Islands (83.7%).

Which country has the lowest Labor Force Participation?

Djibouti has the lowest Labor Force Participation, at 31.5%.

What is the median Labor Force Participation across countries?

The median is 61.3% across the 186 countries with data.

Where does this labor force participation rate by country data come from?

Rankodex compiles it from World Population Review and the primary sources it cites: Labor Force Participation Rate, Female - World Bank Group; Labor Force Participation Rate, Male - World Bank Group.

Country rankings

Labor Force Participation Rate by Country

Name: Labor Force Participation Rate by Country
Creator: Rankodex

Qatar has the highest Labor Force Participation (88.3%), followed by Madagascar (85.9%) and Solomon Islands (83.7%). Djibouti has the lowest (31.5%).

Economics187 countries · 3 metricsUpdated Nov 16, 2023Original page

2 sources

Showing

Year

186 of 235 countries

Compare this metric Add to combined ranking Open full map

Labor Force Participation, latest

Darker green is better (higher is better). Click a place to highlight it.

Loading map…

Ranking

Best first: the first 15 and last 5 of 186 countries.

Distribution Median and middle halfThe median is the middle value: half of places are above it, half below. The middle half is the range holding the central 50% of places.More in the glossary →

Each dot is one country; the lines mark the median and the middle half.

Median

61.3%

Middle half 54.7% – 66.1%

Average

60.5%

186 countries

Highest

88.3%

Qatar

Lowest

31.5%

Djibouti

Over time · 2020–2024

The top 5 on the latest figures, against the median.

Median of all countries
Qatar
Madagascar
Solomon Islands
Tanzania
United Arab Emirates

Data

Click a column to sort, a row to highlight that place on the charts.

186 countries · # = rank by Labor Force Participation

#
1	Qatar	88.3%	60.6%	96.9%
2	Madagascar	85.9%	83.7%	88.1%
3	Solomon Islands	83.7%	82.2%	85.2%
4	Tanzania	82.9%	79.3%	86.8%
5	United Arab Emirates	82.7%	56.2%	92.8%
6	Ethiopia	80.6%	75.1%	86.1%
7	Burundi	79.8%	81.5%	78.0%
8	Mozambique	78.6%	78.3%	78.8%
9	Eritrea	77.7%	71.1%	84.8%
10	Angola	77.0%	75.1%	79.1%
11	Liberia	76.8%	72.6%	81.1%
12	Iceland	76.6%	72.5%	80.5%
13	Cambodia	75.5%	69.4%	81.9%
14	North Korea	74.8%	69.8%	79.9%
15	Kenya	74.4%	72.8%	76.1%
16	Vietnam	73.6%	69.1%	78.4%
17	Niger	73.5%	62.5%	84.2%
18	Bahamas	72.4%	66.3%	79.3%
19	Bahrain	71.9%	44.7%	86.8%
20	Cameroon	71.7%	67.4%	76.1%
20	Paraguay	71.7%	60.1%	83.5%
20	Kuwait	71.7%	48.1%	85.9%
23	South Sudan	71.2%	71.2%	71.2%
24	Central African Republic	70.7%	63.7%	77.7%
25	New Zealand	70.5%	66.0%	75.1%
26	Peru	70.4%	64.4%	76.6%
27	Jamaica	70.2%	63.7%	76.9%
28	Bolivia	69.9%	59.8%	80.1%
29	Uganda	69.8%	67.7%	72.0%
29	Kazakhstan	69.8%	65.2%	74.9%
31	Saint Lucia	69.6%	65.4%	73.9%
32	Singapore	69.3%	62.2%	75.7%
33	Vanuatu	69.2%	60.6%	78.0%
34	Macau	68.7%	63.8%	74.4%
35	Ghana	68.6%	65.1%	72.2%
36	Oman	68.2%	33.3%	87.6%
37	Mali	68.0%	55.2%	80.6%
38	Republic of the Congo	67.7%	67.0%	68.4%
39	Malawi	67.5%	63.2%	72.1%
40	Switzerland	67.2%	62.2%	72.3%
40	Timor-Leste	67.2%	61.7%	72.5%
42	Indonesia	67.1%	53.1%	81.0%
43	Ecuador	67.0%	55.2%	79.0%
44	DR Congo	66.3%	63.1%	69.5%
44	Panama	66.3%	55.6%	77.2%
46	China	66.2%	60.4%	72.0%
47	Zimbabwe	66.1%	61.3%	71.9%
48	Nicaragua	66.0%	49.4%	83.5%
49	Malaysia	65.8%	52.7%	78.6%
49	Netherlands	65.8%	60.8%	70.9%
49	Haiti	65.8%	62.3%	69.3%
52	Australia	65.7%	61.2%	70.2%
53	Thailand	65.6%	57.9%	74.0%
53	Azerbaijan	65.6%	63.0%	68.5%
55	Ivory Coast	65.4%	57.5%	73.1%
56	Burkina Faso	65.3%	58.0%	72.9%
57	Estonia	65.0%	59.8%	70.8%
57	Belize	65.0%	50.2%	79.9%
59	Botswana	64.9%	60.0%	70.0%
60	Dominican Republic	64.8%	53.0%	76.6%
60	Saint Vincent and the Grenadines	64.8%	54.9%	74.3%
62	Ireland	64.7%	59.3%	70.3%
63	Sweden	64.6%	61.5%	67.7%
64	Norway	64.4%	63.7%	65.1%
64	Lesotho	64.4%	57.4%	71.6%
66	Canada	64.3%	60.2%	68.5%
67	Brunei	64.2%	55.8%	72.1%
68	Colombia	63.7%	51.9%	76.2%
68	Uruguay	63.7%	56.9%	71.1%
68	Maldives	63.7%	43.1%	78.1%
71	Honduras	63.6%	49.8%	77.3%
71	Israel	63.6%	60.2%	67.1%
73	Georgia	63.4%	55.3%	73.0%
74	Malta	63.3%	53.8%	71.9%
75	Cyprus	63.2%	57.3%	69.2%
76	Japan	63.1%	54.6%	72.1%
77	South Korea	63.0%	53.6%	72.4%
78	Lithuania	62.9%	58.4%	68.2%
79	Brazil	62.7%	53.3%	72.7%
79	Belarus	62.7%	57.1%	69.5%
79	Denmark	62.7%	58.3%	67.1%
82	United Kingdom	62.6%	58.7%	66.6%
83	Benin	62.5%	56.2%	68.9%
84	Armenia	62.3%	57.6%	68.5%
85	Russia	62.2%	55.3%	70.4%
85	Bhutan	62.2%	54.1%	69.2%
87	United States	62.0%	56.5%	67.6%
88	Germany	61.7%	56.5%	67.1%
88	Slovakia	61.7%	55.6%	68.3%
88	Costa Rica	61.7%	50.4%	73.2%
88	Guam	61.7%	55.7%	67.8%
92	Gambia	61.6%	57.4%	65.9%
93	Latvia	61.4%	55.6%	68.3%
94	Austria	61.3%	55.9%	66.8%
95	Mexico	61.1%	45.8%	77.6%
95	Luxembourg	61.1%	57.3%	64.8%
97	Barbados	60.7%	57.9%	63.9%
98	Zambia	60.5%	53.9%	67.4%
98	Czechia	60.5%	52.7%	68.6%
100	Mongolia	60.2%	53.1%	67.7%
101	Myanmar	60.1%	44.7%	76.0%
102	Finland	59.9%	57.0%	62.9%
103	Chad	59.5%	48.3%	70.8%
104	Argentina	59.4%	50.0%	69.3%
104	Albania	59.4%	52.3%	66.6%
106	Kyrgyzstan	59.3%	45.3%	74.6%
107	Saudi Arabia	59.2%	28.1%	80.2%
107	Hungary	59.2%	51.8%	67.3%
107	El Salvador	59.2%	45.8%	74.7%
110	Nigeria	59.0%	52.2%	65.6%
110	Namibia	59.0%	55.8%	62.5%
112	Philippines	58.8%	46.3%	71.0%
112	Guatemala	58.8%	37.2%	81.3%
112	Portugal	58.8%	54.6%	63.5%
112	Laos	58.8%	55.4%	62.2%
116	Bangladesh	58.7%	37.7%	80.5%
117	Taiwan	58.5%	50.9%	66.3%
117	Hong Kong	58.5%	53.4%	64.8%
119	Poland	58.3%	50.7%	66.6%
119	Mauritius	58.3%	45.7%	71.5%
121	Slovenia	58.2%	53.8%	62.5%
122	South Africa	58.0%	51.9%	64.7%
122	Chile	58.0%	47.9%	68.4%
122	Togo	58.0%	56.4%	59.6%
125	Spain	57.6%	52.5%	62.9%
126	Bulgaria	57.2%	51.1%	63.7%
127	Montenegro	57.0%	50.1%	64.5%
128	Fiji	56.8%	38.2%	75.5%
129	Western Sahara	56.7%	30.4%	76.9%
130	New Caledonia	56.6%	52.3%	60.9%
131	Serbia	56.5%	48.5%	65.3%
132	Cape Verde	56.4%	50.3%	62.7%
133	Uzbekistan	56.2%	39.8%	73.0%
134	France	55.8%	52.0%	59.9%
135	Suriname	55.7%	46.0%	65.7%
136	French Polynesia	55.6%	49.1%	62.0%
137	Equatorial Guinea	55.3%	51.3%	58.7%
138	Cuba	55.2%	41.9%	68.9%
139	Trinidad and Tobago	54.8%	46.9%	63.1%
140	Belgium	54.7%	50.3%	59.2%
141	Ukraine	54.6%	47.8%	62.9%
141	North Macedonia	54.6%	43.7%	65.8%
143	Rwanda	54.1%	47.8%	60.9%
144	Romania	54.0%	44.2%	64.6%
145	Sao Tome and Principe	53.8%	38.0%	69.9%
146	Venezuela	53.7%	41.2%	66.8%
146	Samoa	53.7%	41.0%	66.2%
148	Tonga	53.4%	42.4%	65.1%
149	Sierra Leone	53.2%	51.0%	55.4%
150	Pakistan	52.6%	24.6%	80.7%
150	Turkey	52.6%	34.3%	71.1%
152	United States Virgin Islands	52.4%	43.0%	63.6%
153	Guinea	52.3%	41.6%	63.6%
154	Croatia	51.8%	46.0%	58.1%
155	Senegal	51.4%	38.8%	64.9%
156	Greece	50.7%	43.9%	57.9%
157	Sri Lanka	50.6%	33.0%	70.3%
158	Eswatini	50.5%	47.2%	54.0%
159	Guyana	49.7%	39.3%	60.9%
160	India	49.6%	24.1%	73.8%
161	Italy	49.5%	41.1%	58.5%
162	Bosnia and Herzegovina	49.2%	39.0%	59.9%
163	Sudan	48.8%	29.5%	68.6%
164	Gabon	48.0%	39.4%	56.2%
165	Libya	47.9%	34.8%	60.8%
166	Lebanon	47.5%	29.3%	67.6%
167	Papua New Guinea	46.9%	46.2%	47.5%
168	Turkmenistan	46.0%	47.2%	44.7%
169	Tunisia	45.9%	26.4%	66.5%
170	Morocco	45.4%	21.6%	69.2%
171	Syria	44.6%	17.1%	72.6%
172	Comoros	44.2%	33.3%	55.1%
173	Iran	42.8%	16.1%	69.3%
174	Moldova	42.1%	38.4%	46.3%
175	Egypt	41.8%	15.2%	68.2%
176	Afghanistan	41.6%	16.5%	66.7%
177	Iraq	41.0%	12.0%	70.7%
178	Tajikistan	40.9%	31.1%	50.8%
179	Algeria	40.8%	16.6%	64.2%
179	Mauritania	40.8%	26.4%	56.5%
181	Nepal	40.2%	28.8%	53.3%
182	Puerto Rico	39.9%	31.0%	50.0%
183	Jordan	39.7%	14.9%	62.4%
184	Yemen	38.6%	6.4%	70.7%
185	Somalia	33.9%	21.2%	46.9%
186	Djibouti	31.5%	18.3%	45.0%

What correlates with Labor Force Participation (latest)?

Pearson r against 1,425 other country metrics sharing at least 112 countries. Correlation is not causation.

Higher together

Places that have a higher Labor Force Participation tend to score higher on these

Workforce Participation RateWorkforce Participation by Country
r = +0.88 · very strong · n = 180
Plot
Workforce Participation WomenWorkforce Participation by Country
r = +0.80 · very strong · n = 180
Plot
Workforce Participation MenWorkforce Participation by Country
r = +0.70 · strong · n = 180
Plot
Women’s Employment 2020 to 2024Most Dangerous Countries for Women
r = +0.64 · strong · n = 181
Plot
Women’s Employment 2018 to 2022Most Dangerous Countries for Women
r = +0.63 · strong · n = 176
Plot
Women’s Employment 2011 to 2016Most Dangerous Countries for Women
r = +0.60 · strong · n = 167
Plot

Opposite directions

Places that have a higher Labor Force Participation tend to score lower on these

Unemployment Rate - CIAUnemployment by Country
r = −0.42 · moderate · n = 181
Plot
Wheat Consumption per CapitaWheat Consumption by Country
r = −0.42 · moderate · n = 176
Plot
Unemployment Rate (%)Economic Indicators by Country (World Bank)
r = −0.41 · moderate · n = 180
Plot
Unemployment Rate - ILOUnemployment by Country
r = −0.40 · moderate · n = 142
Plot
% Muslim via PewMuslim Population by Country
r = −0.35 · moderate · n = 183
Plot
% MuslimsReligious People by Country
r = −0.34 · moderate · n = 186
Plot

Quick answers

Which country has the highest Labor Force Participation?: Qatar has the highest Labor Force Participation, at 88.3%, followed by Madagascar (85.9%) and Solomon Islands (83.7%).
Which country has the lowest Labor Force Participation?: Djibouti has the lowest Labor Force Participation, at 31.5%.
What is the median Labor Force Participation across countries?: The median is 61.3% across the 186 countries with data.
Where does this labor force participation rate by country data come from?: Rankodex compiles it from World Population Review and the primary sources it cites: Labor Force Participation Rate, Female - World Bank Group; Labor Force Participation Rate, Male - World Bank Group.