Photo: Alexandre Buisse ( ) · CC BY-SA 3.0 · via Wikimedia Commons, shown in greyscale
Topic 03 of 18 · Country Index 2026
Chile: Work & Labour
Can people find work, and on what terms?
Chile is placed 94th of 182 countries on work & labour in the Country Index 2026, from 4 of its 4 key statistics. Readings behind it: Employment-to-Population Ratio 56.71 (2025); Labour Income Share 51.83 (2025).
Work & Labour
94th
of 182 countries placed
Placed from 4 of 4 key statistics
01The evidence
The 4 key statistics that decide it
Only these place Chile on work & labour — one vote each. Every value is the publisher’s own, read at the edition the Country Index 2026 used; the grey ticks are every other country it was compared with, lowest on the left.
Key 1 of 4
Employment-to-Population Ratio
International Labour Organization (ILO)
Why it is a key: How much of the working-age population is actually in work — the half of the picture unemployment hides, because people who stop looking stop being counted.
2025 edition · data for 2025 · CC BY 4.0
56.71
Employed share of the population aged 15+ (%)
Higher is better
Chile: 56.71. Across the 182 countries in this edition, values run from 21.21 (São Tomé and Príncipe) to 86.9 (Qatar); the world median is 57.72.
- World median
- 57.72
- Best in South America
- 76.29 Bolivia
- Land neighbours
- Argentina 57.49 · Bolivia 76.29 · Peru 69.13
Each grey tick is one of 182 countries in the 2025 edition.
Key 3 of 4
Unemployment Rate
International Labour Organization (ILO)
Why it is a key: The share of people looking for work who cannot find it.
2025 edition · data for 2025 · CC BY 4.0
8.974
Unemployment (% of labour force)
Lower is better
Chile: 8.974. Across the 182 countries in this edition, values run from 0.13 (Qatar) to 34.2 (Eswatini); the world median is 5.084.
- World median
- 5.084
- Best in South America
- 2.967 Bolivia
- Land neighbours
- Argentina 7.145 · Bolivia 2.967 · Peru 5.117
Each grey tick is one of 182 countries in the 2025 edition.
Key 4 of 4
Vulnerable Employment
International Labour Organization (ILO)
Why it is a key: How much work is own-account or unpaid family labour, carrying no contract and no protection.
2025 edition · data for 2025 · CC BY 4.0
20.93
Vulnerable employment (% of total employment)
Lower is better
Chile: 20.93. Across the 182 countries in this edition, values run from 0.456 (Qatar) to 90.22 (Chad); the world median is 28.67.
- World median
- 28.67
- Best in South America
- 18.38 Suriname
- Land neighbours
- Argentina 22.27 · Bolivia 62.69 · Peru 47.51
Each grey tick is one of 182 countries in the 2025 edition.
02Over time
Which way Chile is moving
Each key’s published value, edition by edition, beside the world median. The Country Index 2026 is the first edition of the standing, so the standing itself has no history to chart yet.
Employment-to-Population Ratio
Employed share of the population aged 15+ (%) · higher is better
ChileWorld median
Chile rose from 50.04 in 2000 to 56.71 in 2025; the world median went from 55.86 to 57.72.
Every year’s figures
Year Chile World median 2025 56.713 57.720 2024 56.864 57.694 2023 55.976 58.158 2022 55.177 57.688 2021 52.211 56.066 2020 50.196 55.691 2019 58.346 57.871 2018 58.389 56.911 2017 58.383 56.738 2016 58.008 56.845 2015 58.149 56.788 2014 57.918 56.774 2013 57.880 56.229 2012 57.499 56.289 2011 57.091 56.297 2010 55.209 56.212 2009 51.744 56.255 2008 53.110 57.308 2007 52.515 56.933 2006 51.743 56.685 2005 50.529 56.129 2004 49.768 55.465 2003 49.657 55.630 2002 48.969 55.843 2001 49.298 56.018 2000 50.044 55.861 Labour Income Share
Labour income share of GDP (%) · higher is better
ChileWorld median
Chile fell from 55.21 in 2004 to 51.83 in 2025; the world median went from 46.01 to 46.23.
Every year’s figures
Year Chile World median 2025 51.83 46.230 2024 51.81 46.060 2023 54.14 45.900 2022 52.44 45.615 2021 49.88 45.433 2020 51.85 47.267 2019 54.91 46.277 2018 54.27 46.187 2017 52.07 46.467 2016 51.77 46.798 2015 50.98 46.876 2014 50.55 47.281 2013 49.74 46.887 2012 49.39 46.231 2011 48.49 45.679 2010 47.59 46.024 2009 51.10 47.071 2008 50.71 45.312 2007 46.21 45.246 2006 46.74 45.670 2005 52.19 46.265 2004 55.21 46.012 Unemployment Rate
Unemployment (% of labour force) · lower is better
ChileWorld median
Chile fell from 10.49 in 2000 to 8.974 in 2025; the world median went from 6.918 to 5.084.
Every year’s figures
Year Chile World median 2025 8.974 5.08 2024 8.718 5.15 2023 9.013 5.21 2022 8.249 5.34 2021 9.281 6.04 2020 10.934 6.38 2019 7.493 5.36 2018 7.623 5.35 2017 7.257 5.59 2016 6.926 5.90 2015 6.605 6.41 2014 6.761 6.58 2013 6.361 6.71 2012 6.790 6.79 2011 7.492 6.90 2010 8.547 7.04 2009 11.313 6.67 2008 9.285 5.79 2007 8.427 6.00 2006 9.024 6.50 2005 9.340 7.09 2004 10.162 6.80 2003 9.765 6.95 2002 10.168 6.91 2001 10.390 6.96 2000 10.491 6.92 Vulnerable Employment
Vulnerable employment (% of total employment) · lower is better
ChileWorld median
Chile fell from 21.76 in 2000 to 20.93 in 2025; the world median went from 35.67 to 28.67.
Every year’s figures
Year Chile World median 2025 20.926 28.67 2024 21.056 29.04 2023 21.493 29.33 2022 21.396 29.67 2021 21.841 30.01 2020 21.745 30.54 2019 20.848 29.98 2018 20.975 30.15 2017 21.185 29.93 2016 20.667 29.91 2015 19.841 30.26 2014 19.940 30.47 2013 19.195 31.14 2012 19.157 31.00 2011 19.936 31.41 2010 19.947 32.37 2009 20.115 32.59 2008 20.283 31.76 2007 20.424 33.47 2006 20.656 34.27 2005 20.983 34.66 2004 21.219 35.51 2003 21.465 35.90 2002 21.569 35.96 2001 21.649 35.27 2000 21.760 35.67
03In context
Chile beside its neighbours
A position reads best beside the countries around it. Every position below is a place among all 182 countries on work & labour, never a place within the region.
Chile and the countries it borders
The standing is each country’s place among all 182 placed on the topic; the other columns are the publishers’ own values, read at the edition the standing used.
| Country | Standing | Employment-to-Population RatioEmployed share of the population aged 15+ (%) | Labour Income ShareLabour income share of GDP (%) | Unemployment RateUnemployment (% of labour force) | Vulnerable EmploymentVulnerable employment (% of total employment) |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|
 Bolivia | =29th | 76.29 | 55.38 | 2.967 | 62.69 |
 Peru | 87th | 69.13 | 43.62 | 5.117 | 47.51 |
 Argentina | =92nd | 57.49 | 50.19 | 7.145 | 22.27 |
| Chile | 94th | 56.71 | 51.83 | 8.974 | 20.93 |
“—” means the publisher gives no reading for that country in that edition. A country needs readings on enough keys to be placed.
Across South America
Every country in the sub-region, by its place among all 182.
Placed either side on work & labour
The countries immediately above and below Chile in the topic’s list.
04Context, no vote
Where Chile is ahead of the world, and behind
16 more statistics filed under work & labour, published in full and deliberately given no vote in the standing. Select a row for the publisher, the rank and the links.
Ahead of the world median7
Statistics on which Chile does better than the middle country measured.
Working Poverty RateILO · 2025 · world median 4.8850.14.885▼ Worsened since 2015
Chile: 0.1 · world median 4.885 · Employed people living in extreme poverty (%). International Labour Organization (ILO), 2025 edition, data for 2025.
Published values in that edition run from 0.007 to 86.02; lower is better.
Labour Productivity per Hour WorkedILO · 2025 · world median 22.1634.3922.16No real change since 2015
Chile: 34.39 · world median 22.16 · Output per hour worked (constant 2021 international $ at PPP). International Labour Organization (ILO), 2025 edition, data for 2025.
Published values in that edition run from 0.92 to 164.65; higher is better.
Position 61st of 182 — derived here by ordering the published values, 1st = best. The publisher ranks no country on this.
GDP per Person EmployedWorld Bank Group · 2025 · world median 47,38465,21147,384No real change since 2015
Chile: 65,211 · world median 47,384 · GDP per person employed (constant 2021 international $). World Bank Group, 2025 edition, data for 2025.
Published values in that edition run from 2,456 to 262,554; higher is better.
Position 61st of 168 — derived here by ordering the published values, 1st = best. The publisher ranks no country on this.
Informal Employment RateILO · 2025 · world median 36.8326.1836.83No earlier reading
Chile: 26.18 · world median 36.83 · Informal employment (% of total employment). International Labour Organization (ILO), 2025 edition, data for 2025.
Published values in that edition run from 0.857 to 94.44; lower is better.
Position 58th of 97 — derived here by ordering the published values, 1st = worst. The publisher ranks no country on this.
Youth Not in Education, Employment or TrainingILO · 2024 · world median 14.3113.7614.31▲ Improved since 2014
Chile: 13.76 · world median 14.31 · Youth not in education, employment or training (%). International Labour Organization (ILO), 2024 edition, data for 2024.
Published values in that edition run from 3.975 to 65.73; lower is better.
Position 54th of 97 — derived here by ordering the published values, 1st = worst. The publisher ranks no country on this.
Labour Force Participation RateILO · 2025 · world median 61.6662.361.66No real change since 2015
Chile: 62.3 · world median 61.66 · Population aged 15+ in the labour force (%). International Labour Organization (ILO), 2025 edition, data for 2025.
Published values in that edition run from 23.34 to 87.01; higher is better.
Position 86th of 182 — derived here by ordering the published values, 1st = best. The publisher ranks no country on this.
Trade Union DensityILO · 2020 · world median 16.6817.0916.68No earlier reading
Chile: 17.09 · world median 16.68 · Employees who are trade union members (%). International Labour Organization (ILO), 2020 edition, data for 2020.
Published values in that edition run from 0.2 to 91.42; higher is better.
Position 66th of 139 — derived here by ordering the published values, 1st = best. The publisher ranks no country on this.
Behind the world median3
Statistics on which Chile does worse than the middle country measured.
Female Labour Force Participation RateILO · 2025 · world median 53.3652.8953.36▲ Improved since 2015
Chile: 52.89 · world median 53.36 · Women aged 15+ in the labour force (%). International Labour Organization (ILO), 2025 edition, data for 2025.
Published values in that edition run from 4.663 to 82.91; higher is better.
Position 94th of 182 — derived here by ordering the published values, 1st = best. The publisher ranks no country on this.
Firms with a Female Top ManagerWorld Bank Group · 2025 · world median 19.1616.919.16No earlier reading
Chile: 16.9 · world median 19.16 · Firms with a female top manager (%). World Bank Group, 2025 edition, data for 2025.
Published values in that edition run from 1.429 to 62.9; higher is better.
Position 107th of 179 — derived here by ordering the published values, 1st = best. The publisher ranks no country on this.
Youth Unemployment RateILO · 2025 · world median 12.8321.6412.83▼ Worsened since 2015
Chile: 21.64 · world median 12.83 · Unemployment, ages 15-24 (% of youth labour force). International Labour Organization (ILO), 2025 edition, data for 2025.
Published values in that edition run from 0.457 to 76.77; lower is better.
Position 39th of 182 — derived here by ordering the published values, 1st = worst. The publisher ranks no country on this.
No better end6
These describe the shape of a country — more is not better or worse, only different — so they are never ahead or behind.
Employment in ServicesILO · 2025 · world median 59.5172.4359.51No real change since 2015
Chile: 72.43 · world median 59.51 · Employment in services (% of total employment). International Labour Organization (ILO), 2025 edition, data for 2025.
Published values in that edition run from 11.56 to 92.17.
Position 49th of 182 — derived here by ordering the published values, counted from the highest value. The publisher ranks no country on this.
Employment in IndustryILO · 2025 · world median 18.8821.518.88Moved since 2015
Chile: 21.5 · world median 18.88 · Employment in industry (% of total employment). International Labour Organization (ILO), 2025 edition, data for 2025.
Published values in that edition run from 3.103 to 39.44.
Position 66th of 182 — derived here by ordering the published values, counted from the highest value. The publisher ranks no country on this.
Public Sector EmploymentWorld Bank Group · 2022 · world median 15.0115.2815.01No earlier reading
Chile: 15.28 · world median 15.01 · Public sector employment (% of total employment). World Bank Group, 2022 edition, data for 2022.
Published values in that edition run from 1.672 to 47.1.
Position 67th of 135 — derived here by ordering the published values, counted from the highest value. The publisher ranks no country on this.
Self-Employment RateILO · 2025 · world median 31.8423.9231.84Moved since 2015
Chile: 23.92 · world median 31.84 · Self-employed (% of total employment). International Labour Organization (ILO), 2025 edition, data for 2025.
Published values in that edition run from 0.832 to 91.56.
Position 117th of 182 — derived here by ordering the published values, counted from the highest value. The publisher ranks no country on this.
Average Weekly Hours WorkedILO · 2025 · world median 38.8936.3838.89Moved since 2015
Chile: 36.38 · world median 38.89 · Average weekly hours actually worked per employed person. International Labour Organization (ILO), 2025 edition, data for 2025.
Published values in that edition run from 23.64 to 54.7.
Position 120th of 182 — derived here by ordering the published values, counted from the highest value. The publisher ranks no country on this.
Employment in AgricultureILO · 2025 · world median 14.386.06614.38No real change since 2015
Chile: 6.066 · world median 14.38 · Employment in agriculture (% of total employment). International Labour Organization (ILO), 2025 edition, data for 2025.
Published values in that edition run from 0.095 to 85.34.
Position 123rd of 182 — derived here by ordering the published values, counted from the highest value. The publisher ranks no country on this.
No current reading for Chile
Fatal Occupational Injuries (last 2018) and Female Share of Senior and Middle Management (last 2022). Listed rather than hidden, so the page can be checked against it.
05Country Index 2026
Work & Labour among Chile’s 16 topics
Work & Labour is Chile’s 14th best-placed topic of 16. Strongest first; each marker sits at the position divided by that topic’s field, so fields of different sizes compare fairly.
- Governance & Institutionsjoint 23rd of 1944/4 keys
- Democracy & Civil Liberties39th of 1983/3 keys
- Education & Knowledge35th of 1713/4 keys
- Energyjoint 41st of 1933/3 keys
- Health & Wellbeingjoint 45th of 2004/4 keys
- Economy & Innovation41st of 1764/4 keys
- Digital & Technology47th of 1983/3 keys
- Food & Agriculture43rd of 1754/4 keys
- Development & Human Capitaljoint 50th of 1963/3 keys
- Risk & Resilience85th of 1923/3 keys
- Peace & Security79th of 1774/4 keys
- Mobility & Tradejoint 66th of 1473/3 keys
- Gender & Equality86th of 1834/4 keys
- Work & Labour94th of 1824/4 keys
- Poverty & Inequality100th of 1592/2 keys
- Environment & Sustainabilityjoint 116th of 1813/3 keys
06The top of the list
Who leads on work & labour
The three countries placed highest of 182, and the leaders Chile can most readily be measured against.
1
IcelandNorthern Europe
1st of 182 · 4 of 4 keys
Photo: Hansueli Krapf · CC BY-SA 3.0, greyscale
2
JapanEastern Asia
2nd of 182 · 4 of 4 keys
Photo: JurriaanH · CC BY-SA 3.0, greyscale
3
South KoreaEastern Asia
3rd of 182 · 4 of 4 keys
Photo: Unknown author · CC BY-SA 2.0, greyscale
Placed highest nearby
Highest in Americas
United States14th4/4 keysHighest in South America
Bolivia=29th4/4 keysThis page
Chile94th4/4 keys
Positions out of 182 placed on the topic. A country needs readings on enough keys to be placed, and the top of the list is often held on fewer of them.
07Analysis
Charts and analysis about Chile and work & labour
On work & labour
Countries in Asia with the highest average salaries 2024
Thirteen Asian countries by gross average monthly wage, each carrying its WORLD rank rather than an Asian one — so the numbers skip, from 11th place to 45th.
On work & labour
Countries With The Highest Average Salaries in 2024
The ten highest-paying countries of 2024, their bars coloured by continent, and six more added for comparison — from Australia in 13th place to India in 85th.
On work & labour
Countries With The Lowest Average Salaries in 2024
The bottom ten of 196 countries, and six more added for comparison. Niger, Madagascar and Liberia are all published at US$47 a month and still carry three different ranks.
08Questions
Chile on work & labour: questions answered
Every answer is built from the numbers on this page, so none can say something the page does not.
How does Chile rank on work & labour?
Chile is placed 94th of 182 countries on Work & Labour in the Country Index 2026, from 4 of its 4 key statistics (Employment-to-Population Ratio, Labour Income Share, Unemployment Rate and Vulnerable Employment). The position is this site’s ordering of published statistics, not a rank any publisher printed.
What is the latest Employment-to-Population Ratio figure for Chile?
56.71 in 2025 (employed share of the population aged 15+ (%)), according to International Labour Organization (ILO). The world median in the same edition was 57.72.
What is the latest Labour Income Share figure for Chile?
51.83 in 2025 (labour income share of GDP (%)), according to International Labour Organization (ILO). The world median in the same edition was 46.23.
How does Chile compare with Argentina on work & labour?
Argentina is placed joint 92nd of 182, and Chile 94th. Employment-to-Population Ratio: Argentina 57.49, Chile 56.71; Labour Income Share: Argentina 50.19, Chile 51.83; Unemployment Rate: Argentina 7.145, Chile 8.974; Vulnerable Employment: Argentina 22.27, Chile 20.93.
How have Chile’s work & labour figures changed?
Employment-to-Population Ratio rose from 50.04 in 2000 to 56.71 in 2025; Labour Income Share fell from 55.21 in 2004 to 51.83 in 2025; Unemployment Rate fell from 10.49 in 2000 to 8.974 in 2025; Vulnerable Employment fell from 21.76 in 2000 to 20.93 in 2025.
Which work & labour statistics are missing for Chile?
No current reading is published for Chile on Fatal Occupational Injuries and Female Share of Senior and Middle Management. They are listed rather than hidden, so the evidence on the page can be checked against it.
09Keep reading
Explore further
Chile, topic by topic
- Governance & Institutions=23rd of 194
- Economy & Innovation41st of 176
- Education & Knowledge35th of 171
- Health & Wellbeing=45th of 200
- Development & Human Capital=50th of 196
- Environment & Sustainability=116th of 181
- Gender & Equality86th of 183
- Democracy & Civil Liberties39th of 198
- Peace & Security79th of 177
- Risk & Resilience85th of 192
- Mobility & Trade=66th of 147
- Food & Agriculture43rd of 175
- Poverty & Inequality100th of 159
- Energy=41st of 193
- Digital & Technology47th of 198
- The full Chile profile
Nearby, on work & labour
The key statistics, for every country
10Method
Method, sources and how to cite
What this topic does not measure
Wages in money terms are not a key here, because pay figures are hard to compare fairly across countries with very different prices. Labour productivity, working hours, youth unemployment and the balance between farming, industry and services are published on this page as context. The size and growth of the wider economy belong to Economy & Innovation.
How the Work & Labour standing is decided, step by step
A standing is a place in a list, not a mark out of anything. This one is part of the Country Index 2026, and it is worked out like this.
- A few key indicators decide it; the rest are context. 4 indicators on this topic are keys and 18 are charted alongside them without a vote. That split is the point: if every statistic voted, importing five more of one kind would quietly change what the topic is about.
- Each key is read at one edition. All of them describe 2025.
- Every country’s published value is turned into a place within that one key’s own field, and then expressed as a share of that field — how far down this key’s list the country sits, rather than how many countries are above it. Keys where a higher published number is worse (terrorism, hunger, disaster risk) are turned round first, so the good end is always the same end.
- Dividing by the field first is the whole reason this works. A place carries the size of its list inside it: 22nd of 44 and 108th of 215 are the same showing, and averaging the numbers 22 and 108 says loudly that they are not. Fields on this site run from about 44 countries to about 215, so averaging raw places would reward a country for happening to be measured in small ones. Dividing each place by its own field removes the size and leaves only the showing.
- The shares are averaged, plainly. One key, one vote — no key is weighted above another, because any weighting would be this site’s opinion presented as a measurement. Countries are then put in order by that average, and the average itself is never published. It is our arithmetic with nothing anchoring it, so printing it would invite it to be read as a measurement somebody made. The position it produces, the band, and the keys it was built from are all published instead — every one of them checkable against the tables on this page.
- A country needs 2 of this topic’s 4 keys — half, rounded up, and never fewer than 2. A standing built from one reading, printed beside one built from four, is two different things sharing a column heading. 182 countries clear the bar here.
- A key has to earn its vote every edition. It must measure at least 120 countries (below that it starts measuring who was surveyed rather than the world), it must not have more than 10% of its field tied at either end, and it must not repeat another key in the same topic — Spearman correlation above 0.92 counts as repeating. A topic needs at least 2 surviving keys to place anyone at all; this one has 4.
- A standing is relative, and the grouping is ours. It says where a country places against the others measured alongside it, so it moves when they move. The publishers listed on this page did not agree to be read together, and each measures its subject its own way: the underlying numbers are theirs, the ordering on top is this site’s — the same method as the rest of the Country Index, applied to one subject instead of all of them.
The key statistics and their licences
- Employment-to-Population Ratio — International Labour Organization (ILO), CC BY 4.0
- Labour Income Share — International Labour Organization (ILO), CC BY 4.0
- Unemployment Rate — International Labour Organization (ILO), CC BY 4.0
- Vulnerable Employment — International Labour Organization (ILO), CC BY 4.0
The other 16 statistics on this page come from 2 publishers, each named beside its numbers, with every edition and licence on the datasets pages.
The standing itself is part of the Country Index 2026, published under CC BY-SA 4.0.
Photographs
Chile’s banner and the countries placed highest, from their profiles: Wikimedia Commons, shown in greyscale, each used under the licence named.
- Chile (banner) — Alexandre Buisse ( ), CC BY-SA 3.0
- Iceland — Hansueli Krapf, CC BY-SA 3.0
- Japan — JurriaanH, CC BY-SA 3.0
- South Korea — Unknown author, CC BY-SA 2.0
Cite this page
Nations Inquiry (2026). Chile: Work & Labour — standing and statistics, Country Index 2026. https://nationsinquiry.com/countries/chile/work