Photo: Poco a poco derivative work: Jjtkk · CC BY-SA 3.0 · via Wikimedia Commons, shown in greyscale
Topic 03 of 18 · Country Index 2026
Spain: Work & Labour
Can people find work, and on what terms?
Spain is placed 77th 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 51.45 (2025); Labour Income Share 59.68 (2025).
Work & Labour
77th
of 182 countries placed
Placed from 4 of 4 key statistics
01The evidence
The 4 key statistics that decide it
Only these place Spain 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
51.45
Employed share of the population aged 15+ (%)
Higher is better
Spain: 51.45. 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 Southern Europe
- 62.13 Malta
- Land neighbours
- France 51.17 · Portugal 54.58
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
10.38
Unemployment (% of labour force)
Lower is better
Spain: 10.38. 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 Southern Europe
- 2.896 Malta
- Land neighbours
- France 7.542 · Portugal 6.164
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
10.07
Vulnerable employment (% of total employment)
Lower is better
Spain: 10.07. 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 Southern Europe
- 6.346 Croatia
- Land neighbours
- France 8.499 · Portugal 9.657
Each grey tick is one of 182 countries in the 2025 edition.
02Over time
Which way Spain 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
SpainWorld median
Spain rose from 45.6 in 2000 to 51.45 in 2025; the world median went from 55.86 to 57.72.
Every year’s figures
Year Spain World median 2025 51.45 57.720 2024 51.25 57.694 2023 50.57 58.158 2022 50.07 57.688 2021 48.73 56.066 2020 47.64 55.691 2019 49.50 57.871 2018 48.84 56.911 2017 48.05 56.738 2016 46.87 56.845 2015 45.69 56.788 2014 44.38 56.774 2013 43.70 56.229 2012 44.68 56.289 2011 46.67 56.297 2010 47.57 56.212 2009 48.67 56.255 2008 52.44 57.308 2007 53.53 56.933 2006 52.95 56.685 2005 51.68 56.129 2004 49.55 55.465 2003 48.63 55.630 2002 47.68 55.843 2001 46.70 56.018 2000 45.60 55.861 Labour Income Share
Labour income share of GDP (%) · higher is better
SpainWorld median
Spain fell from 62.31 in 2004 to 59.68 in 2025; the world median went from 46.01 to 46.23.
Every year’s figures
Year Spain World median 2025 59.68 46.230 2024 58.94 46.060 2023 58.43 45.900 2022 58.25 45.615 2021 59.82 45.433 2020 62.58 47.267 2019 59.75 46.277 2018 56.99 46.187 2017 56.88 46.467 2016 57.89 46.798 2015 59.37 46.876 2014 58.51 47.281 2013 58.38 46.887 2012 61.13 46.231 2011 62.50 45.679 2010 63.94 46.024 2009 64.57 47.071 2008 64.71 45.312 2007 62.11 45.246 2006 61.82 45.670 2005 61.87 46.265 2004 62.31 46.012 Unemployment Rate
Unemployment (% of labour force) · lower is better
SpainWorld median
Spain fell from 13.79 in 2000 to 10.38 in 2025; the world median went from 6.918 to 5.084.
Every year’s figures
Year Spain World median 2025 10.38 5.08 2024 11.40 5.15 2023 12.18 5.21 2022 13.03 5.34 2021 14.91 6.04 2020 15.53 6.38 2019 14.10 5.36 2018 15.26 5.35 2017 17.22 5.59 2016 19.64 5.90 2015 22.06 6.41 2014 24.44 6.58 2013 26.09 6.71 2012 24.79 6.79 2011 21.39 6.90 2010 19.86 7.04 2009 17.86 6.67 2008 11.25 5.79 2007 8.23 6.00 2006 8.45 6.50 2005 9.15 7.09 2004 11.09 6.80 2003 11.28 6.95 2002 11.15 6.91 2001 10.35 6.96 2000 13.79 6.92 Vulnerable Employment
Vulnerable employment (% of total employment) · lower is better
SpainWorld median
Spain fell from 15.07 in 2000 to 10.07 in 2025; the world median went from 35.67 to 28.67.
Every year’s figures
Year Spain World median 2025 10.07 28.67 2024 10.26 29.04 2023 10.41 29.33 2022 10.83 29.67 2021 11.44 30.01 2020 11.58 30.54 2019 11.11 29.98 2018 11.43 30.15 2017 11.95 29.93 2016 11.98 29.91 2015 12.58 30.26 2014 13.01 30.47 2013 12.65 31.14 2012 12.30 31.00 2011 11.84 31.41 2010 12.12 32.37 2009 12.11 32.59 2008 12.74 31.76 2007 12.64 33.47 2006 12.93 34.27 2005 13.22 34.66 2004 13.20 35.51 2003 13.33 35.90 2002 13.96 35.96 2001 14.81 35.27 2000 15.07 35.67
03In context
Spain 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.
Spain 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) |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|
 Portugal | =58th | 54.58 | 57.59 | 6.164 | 9.657 |
 France | 61st | 51.17 | 60 | 7.542 | 8.499 |
| Spain | 77th | 51.45 | 59.68 | 10.38 | 10.07 |
 Andorra | not placed | — | — | — | — |
“—” means the publisher gives no reading for that country in that edition. A country needs readings on enough keys to be placed.
Across Southern Europe
Every country in the sub-region, by its place among all 182.
Placed either side on work & labour
The countries immediately above and below Spain in the topic’s list.
04Context, no vote
Where Spain is ahead of the world, and behind
17 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 median6
Statistics on which Spain does better than the middle country measured.
Labour Productivity per Hour WorkedILO · 2025 · world median 22.1668.1122.16No real change since 2015
Spain: 68.11 · 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 24th 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 47,384109,69347,384▼ Worsened since 2015
Spain: 109,693 · 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 28th of 168 — derived here by ordering the published values, 1st = best. The publisher ranks no country on this.
Informal Employment RateILO · 2025 · world median 36.833.79936.83No earlier reading
Spain: 3.799 · 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 81st 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 14.319.39214.31▲ Improved since 2014
Spain: 9.392 · 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 76th of 97 — derived here by ordering the published values, 1st = worst. The publisher ranks no country on this.
Fatal Occupational InjuriesILO · 2023 · world median 2.0051.7122.005▼ Worsened since 2013
Spain: 1.712 · world median 2.005 · Fatal occupational injuries per 100,000 workers. International Labour Organization (ILO), 2023 edition, data for 2023.
Published values in that edition run from 0.12 to 8.409; lower is better.
Female Share of Senior and Middle ManagementILO · 2024 · world median 35.8636.9535.86▲ Improved since 2014
Spain: 36.95 · world median 35.86 · Women in senior and middle management (% of managers). International Labour Organization (ILO), 2024 edition, data for 2024.
Published values in that edition run from 7.226 to 56.69; higher is better.
Position 40th of 86 — derived here by ordering the published values, 1st = best. The publisher ranks no country on this.
Behind the world median5
Statistics on which Spain does worse than the middle country measured.
Female Labour Force Participation RateILO · 2025 · world median 53.3652.8353.36▼ Worsened since 2015
Spain: 52.83 · 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 96th of 182 — derived here by ordering the published values, 1st = best. The publisher ranks no country on this.
Trade Union DensityILO · 2020 · world median 16.6812.4516.68No earlier reading
Spain: 12.45 · 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 87th of 139 — derived here by ordering the published values, 1st = best. The publisher ranks no country on this.
Labour Force Participation RateILO · 2025 · world median 61.6657.4161.66▼ Worsened since 2015
Spain: 57.41 · 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 124th 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 19.1613.4519.16No earlier reading
Spain: 13.45 · 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 126th of 179 — derived here by ordering the published values, 1st = best. The publisher ranks no country on this.
Youth Unemployment RateILO · 2025 · world median 12.8324.7512.83▲ Improved since 2015
Spain: 24.75 · 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 30th 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 59.5176.7759.51Moved since 2015
Spain: 76.77 · 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 33rd 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 15.0124.8115.01No earlier reading
Spain: 24.81 · 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 30th of 135 — 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 18.8819.8518.88No real change since 2015
Spain: 19.85 · 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 80th 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 14.383.37414.38Moved since 2015
Spain: 3.374 · 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 140th of 182 — 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 31.8414.5431.84Moved since 2015
Spain: 14.54 · 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 140th 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 38.8931.9538.89Moved since 2015
Spain: 31.95 · 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 156th 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 Spain
Working Poverty Rate. Listed rather than hidden, so the page can be checked against it.
05Country Index 2026
Work & Labour among Spain’s 16 topics
Work & Labour is Spain’s 15th 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.
- Health & Wellbeing12th of 2003/4 keys
- Gender & Equalityjoint 12th of 1834/4 keys
- Economy & Innovation16th of 1764/4 keys
- Governance & Institutionsjoint 23rd of 1944/4 keys
- Digital & Technology24th of 1983/3 keys
- Development & Human Capital28th of 1963/3 keys
- Energy28th of 1933/3 keys
- Mobility & Trade22nd of 1473/3 keys
- Education & Knowledgejoint 28th of 1713/4 keys
- Democracy & Civil Liberties45th of 1983/3 keys
- Peace & Security48th of 1774/4 keys
- Food & Agriculture48th of 1754/4 keys
- Risk & Resilience62nd of 1923/3 keys
- Poverty & Inequalityjoint 60th of 1592/2 keys
- Work & Labour77th of 1824/4 keys
- Environment & Sustainability141st of 1813/3 keys
06The top of the list
Who leads on work & labour
The three countries placed highest of 182, and the leaders Spain 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 Europe
Iceland1st4/4 keysHighest in Southern Europe
Slovenia18th4/4 keysThis page
Spain77th4/4 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 Spain 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
Spain 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 Spain rank on work & labour?
Spain is placed 77th 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 Spain?
51.45 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 Spain?
59.68 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 Spain compare with France on work & labour?
France is placed 61st of 182, and Spain 77th. Employment-to-Population Ratio: France 51.17, Spain 51.45; Labour Income Share: France 60, Spain 59.68; Unemployment Rate: France 7.542, Spain 10.38; Vulnerable Employment: France 8.499, Spain 10.07.
How have Spain’s work & labour figures changed?
Employment-to-Population Ratio rose from 45.6 in 2000 to 51.45 in 2025; Labour Income Share fell from 62.31 in 2004 to 59.68 in 2025; Unemployment Rate fell from 13.79 in 2000 to 10.38 in 2025; Vulnerable Employment fell from 15.07 in 2000 to 10.07 in 2025.
Which work & labour statistics are missing for Spain?
No current reading is published for Spain on Working Poverty Rate. They are listed rather than hidden, so the evidence on the page can be checked against it.
09Keep reading
Explore further
Spain, topic by topic
- Governance & Institutions=23rd of 194
- Economy & Innovation16th of 176
- Education & Knowledge=28th of 171
- Health & Wellbeing12th of 200
- Development & Human Capital28th of 196
- Environment & Sustainability141st of 181
- Gender & Equality=12th of 183
- Democracy & Civil Liberties45th of 198
- Peace & Security48th of 177
- Risk & Resilience62nd of 192
- Mobility & Trade22nd of 147
- Food & Agriculture48th of 175
- Poverty & Inequality=60th of 159
- Energy28th of 193
- Digital & Technology24th of 198
- The full Spain 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 17 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
Spain’s banner and the countries placed highest, from their profiles: Wikimedia Commons, shown in greyscale, each used under the licence named.
- Spain (banner) — Poco a poco derivative work: Jjtkk, 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). Spain: Work & Labour — standing and statistics, Country Index 2026. https://nationsinquiry.com/countries/spain/work