Data for 1998

Labour Force Participation Rate, 1998

1998, as ILO’s 2026 release gives it · stored as published, never rewritten

Labour Force Participation Rate, 1998 covers 187 countries. Tanzania is highest, at 86.465; São Tomé and Príncipe is lowest, at 24.417. The middle country reads 60.992. Against 1997, 186 values changed (76 up, 110 down), the same countries are covered.

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Labour Force Participation Rate · Data for 1998

HighestTanzania

86.465

LowestSão Tomé and Príncipe

24.417

Shaded by value in five groups of equal size, darkest at the better end. A higher value is the better result.

187countries
1measure
1998the year it describes
187distinct values3 decimals, as published
Sep 10, 2026read from the publisher
CC BY 4.0licence

01Position · derived

The table

Every country and every column of Labour Force Participation Rate, 1998, as published. ILO ranks nobody on this measure; the position is derived here by ordering the published values. “=” marks a shared position.

Search this table

Showing 25 of 187 countries · select a heading to sort

Labour Force Participation Rate, 1998: every country, as published by International Labour Organization (ILO).
derived
1	TanzaniaTZAEastern Africa	86.465
2	MadagascarMDGEastern Africa	86.204
3	MozambiqueMOZEastern Africa	84.305
4	BurundiBDIEastern Africa	84.217
5	NigeriaNGAWestern Africa	83.670
6	Solomon IslandsSLBMelanesia	83.009
7	QatarQATWestern Asia	82.606
8	Burkina FasoBFAWestern Africa	82.501
9	North KoreaPRKEastern Asia	82.298
10	CameroonCMRMiddle Africa	82.028
11	EthiopiaETHEastern Africa	82.009
12	MalawiMWIEastern Africa	80.857
13	EritreaERIEastern Africa	80.648
14	CambodiaKHMSouth-eastern Asia	80.543
15	NigerNERWestern Africa	78.924
16	AzerbaijanAZEWestern Asia	78.887
17	AngolaAGOMiddle Africa	77.394
18	LiberiaLBRWestern Africa	77.132
19	VanuatuVUTMelanesia	76.859
20	VietnamVNMSouth-eastern Asia	75.327
21	ChinaCHNEastern Asia	75.246
22	GeorgiaGEOWestern Asia	75.020
23	IcelandISLNorthern Europe	75.006
24	United Arab EmiratesAREWestern Asia	74.875
25	ThailandTHASouth-eastern Asia	74.492
26	South SudanSSDEastern Africa	74.442
27	BahamasBHSCaribbean	74.245
28	UgandaUGAEastern Africa	74.243
29	LesothoLSOSouthern Africa	73.072
30	Central African RepublicCAFMiddle Africa	72.674
31	GhanaGHAWestern Africa	72.613
32	DR CongoCODMiddle Africa	72.520
33	KenyaKENEastern Africa	72.467
34	BeninBENWestern Africa	71.914
35	KazakhstanKAZCentral Asia	71.645
36	Timor-LesteTLSSouth-eastern Asia	71.180
37	BoliviaBOLSouth America	70.491
38	MaliMLIWestern Africa	70.340
39	BhutanBTNSouthern Asia	70.142
40	ChadTCDMiddle Africa	70.023
41	ParaguayPRYSouth America	69.945
42	BarbadosBRBCaribbean	69.151
43	GuamGUMMicronesia	68.815
44	Republic of the CongoCOGMiddle Africa	68.458
45	ColombiaCOLSouth America	68.159
46	BruneiBRNSouth-eastern Asia	68.118
47	KyrgyzstanKGZCentral Asia	68.046
48	JamaicaJAMCaribbean	67.968
49	SwitzerlandCHEWestern Europe	67.862
50	MyanmarMMRSouth-eastern Asia	67.685
51	NetherlandsNLDWestern Europe	67.292
52	IndonesiaIDNSouth-eastern Asia	66.930
53	PeruPERSouth America	66.850
54	GuatemalaGTMCentral America	66.797
55	EcuadorECUSouth America	66.380
56	KuwaitKWTWestern Asia	66.338
57	HondurasHNDCentral America	66.011
58	United StatesUSANorthern America	66.010
59	NorwayNORNorthern Europe	65.954
60	ZimbabweZWEEastern Africa	65.939
61	New CaledoniaNCLMelanesia	65.416
62	MacauMACEastern Asia	65.415
63	DenmarkDNKNorthern Europe	65.315
64	SingaporeSGPSouth-eastern Asia	65.176
65	Côte d’IvoireCIVWestern Africa	65.170
66	BahrainBHRWestern Asia	65.164
67	BrazilBRASouth America	64.922
68	CanadaCANNorthern America	64.670
69	New ZealandNZLAustralia and New Zealand	64.576
70	Sierra LeoneSLEWestern Africa	64.556
71	VenezuelaVENSouth America	64.450
72	Saint Vincent and the GrenadinesVCTCaribbean	64.397
73	GuineaGINWestern Africa	64.127
74	Guinea-BissauGNBWestern Africa	63.896
75	Saint LuciaLCACaribbean	63.813
76	AlbaniaALBSouthern Europe	63.712
77	HaitiHTICaribbean	63.702
78	JapanJPNEastern Asia	63.329
79	IrelandIRLNorthern Europe	63.325
80	AustraliaAUSAustralia and New Zealand	63.133
81	ArgentinaARGSouth America	63.084
82	Trinidad and TobagoTTOCaribbean	63.068
83	RwandaRWAEastern Africa	62.902
84	PanamaPANCentral America	62.849
85	El SalvadorSLVCentral America	62.631
86	ArmeniaARMWestern Asia	62.514
87	SwedenSWENorthern Europe	62.076
88	LaosLAOSouth-eastern Asia	61.951
89	Equatorial GuineaGNQMiddle Africa	61.910
90	PhilippinesPHLSouth-eastern Asia	61.311
91	Hong KongHKGEastern Asia	61.146
92	CzechiaCZEEastern Europe	61.061
93	UruguayURYSouth America	61.008
94	LithuaniaLTUNorthern Europe	60.992
95	United KingdomGBRNorthern Europe	60.765
96	CyprusCYPWestern Asia	60.621
97	PortugalPRTSouthern Europe	60.568
98	MexicoMEXCentral America	60.475
99	IsraelISRWestern Asia	60.445
100	United States Virgin IslandsVIRCaribbean	60.425
101	EstoniaESTNorthern Europe	60.226
102	South KoreaKOREastern Asia	60.213
103	FinlandFINNorthern Europe	60.166
104	BotswanaBWASouthern Africa	60.120
105	MoldovaMDAEastern Europe	59.864
106	Costa RicaCRICentral America	59.690
107	ZambiaZMBEastern Africa	59.598
108	NicaraguaNICCentral America	59.480
109	SloveniaSVNSouthern Europe	59.452
110	IndiaINDSouthern Asia	59.404
111	MauritiusMUSEastern Africa	59.248
112	MongoliaMNGEastern Asia	59.193
113	French PolynesiaPYFPolynesia	59.160
114	FijiFJIMelanesia	59.139
115	SlovakiaSVKEastern Europe	59.083
116	LatviaLVANorthern Europe	59.020
117	TongaTONPolynesia	58.943
118	MalaysiaMYSSouth-eastern Asia	58.903
119	Sri LankaLKASouthern Asia	58.820
120	Cabo VerdeCPVWestern Africa	58.786
121	Channel IslandsCHINorthern Europe	58.718
122	BelizeBLZCentral America	58.700
123	TogoTGOWestern Africa	58.619
124	BelarusBLREastern Europe	58.602
125	AustriaAUTWestern Europe	58.404
126	Dominican RepublicDOMCaribbean	58.244
127	GermanyDEUWestern Europe	58.173
128	RussiaRUSEastern Europe	58.115
129	GuyanaGUYSouth America	58.065
130	BangladeshBGDSouthern Asia	57.966
131	South AfricaZAFSouthern Africa	57.742
132	UkraineUKREastern Europe	57.671
133	UzbekistanUZBCentral Asia	57.310
134	OmanOMNWestern Asia	56.854
135	ChileCHLSouth America	56.752
136	PolandPOLEastern Europe	56.743
137	SamoaWSMPolynesia	56.398
138	TurkmenistanTKMCentral Asia	55.978
139	SerbiaSRBSouthern Europe	55.488
140	FranceFRAWestern Europe	55.041
141	TajikistanTJKCentral Asia	55.008
142	EswatiniSWZSouthern Africa	53.733
143	NamibiaNAMSouthern Africa	53.710
144	CroatiaHRVSouthern Europe	53.461
145	MaldivesMDVSouthern Asia	53.408
146	CubaCUBCaribbean	53.325
147	Bosnia and HerzegovinaBIHSouthern Europe	53.172
148	North MacedoniaMKDSouthern Europe	53.171
149	TürkiyeTURWestern Asia	52.796
150	GreeceGRCSouthern Europe	51.752
151	LuxembourgLUXWestern Europe	51.420
152	SudanSDNNorthern Africa	51.362
153	MoroccoMARNorthern Africa	51.295
154	SpainESPSouthern Europe	51.242
155	RomaniaROUEastern Europe	50.843
156	HungaryHUNEastern Europe	50.819
157	BelgiumBELWestern Europe	50.744
158	SenegalSENWestern Africa	50.466
159	MaltaMLTSouthern Europe	50.290
160	PakistanPAKSouthern Asia	49.950
161	BulgariaBGREastern Europe	49.789
162	SyriaSYRWestern Asia	49.720
163	MontenegroMNESouthern Europe	49.352
164	TunisiaTUNNorthern Africa	48.781
165	Saudi ArabiaSAUWestern Asia	48.689
166	GambiaGMBWestern Africa	48.367
167	Papua New GuineaPNGMelanesia	48.337
168	GabonGABMiddle Africa	48.090
169	ItalyITASouthern Europe	47.566
170	Puerto RicoPRICaribbean	47.550
171	SurinameSURSouth America	46.952
172	AfghanistanAFGSouthern Asia	46.667
173	LibyaLBYNorthern Africa	46.285
174	MauritaniaMRTWestern Africa	46.096
175	EgyptEGYNorthern Africa	46.000
176	YemenYEMWestern Asia	45.595
177	AlgeriaDZANorthern Africa	44.719
178	LebanonLBNWestern Asia	44.095
179	IranIRNSouthern Asia	43.950
180	IraqIRQWestern Asia	42.205
181	ComorosCOMEastern Africa	41.915
182	NepalNPLSouthern Asia	41.405
183	PalestinePSEWestern Asia	40.175
184	JordanJORWestern Asia	39.448
185	DjiboutiDJIEastern Africa	34.297
186	SomaliaSOMEastern Africa	34.028
187	São Tomé and PríncipeSTPMiddle Africa	24.417

02In 1998

At either end

The 5 countries at each end of the headline.

Highest

1Tanzania86.465
2Madagascar86.204
3Mozambique84.305
4Burundi84.217
5Nigeria83.670

Lowest

187São Tomé and Príncipe24.417
186Somalia34.028
185Djibouti34.297
184Jordan39.448
183Palestine40.175

A higher value is the better result. The middle country reads 60.992. “Shared” marks a value another country also holds.

031997 → 1998

Since 1997

What changed between 1997 and this one: who joined or left, and how far the headline moved.

+0 / −0countries joined / left
186values changed, of 187 in both
76 · 110rose · fell
1unchanged

Rose most

Sri Lanka55.240 → 58.820+3.580
Ecuador64.250 → 66.380+2.130
El Salvador60.510 → 62.631+2.121
Costa Rica58.130 → 59.690+1.560
Iceland73.525 → 75.006+1.481

Fell most

South Korea62.022 → 60.213−1.809
Estonia61.491 → 60.226−1.265
Albania64.955 → 63.712−1.243
Azerbaijan79.953 → 78.887−1.066
Russia59.045 → 58.115−0.930

Both years come from the same release, so a difference here is a change in the data, not a revision of it. Every country’s full history is charted on the statistic page.

04Caveats

Read before you use

What this edition’s numbers are and are not, worked out from the file itself.

The site’s method

One year of the 2026 release
Every year in this series comes from ILO’s 2026 release, recalculated on one method. It can differ from what was first published for 1998.
The position is ours
ILO publishes values only. The order here sorts the published values, and the page says so wherever it prints one.
Which end is better
A higher value is the better result.
Nothing missing
Every one of the 187 countries has every column.

05The files

Download and cite

The table as a file, digit for digit, what this site changed, and a citation for this edition.

Licence in full

.csv
For a spreadsheet or code
187 rows · 5.3 KB · UTF-8, opens in Excel
Opens with 11 lines of source notes; the table starts on row 13.
Download labour-participation-1998-nations-inquiry.csv
↗
The publisher’s original
ILO’s own file, on its own site.
SL.TLF.CACT.ZS

What this site changed: Reshaped into one row per country: regional and income-group totals are left out, only the columns listed are kept, each row gets its ISO 3166 code, and some country names are brought to one spelling. No value is recalculated, rescaled or rounded.

Licence: CC BY 4.0. Share, adapt and use commercially. Credit the publisher and say if you changed anything.

Cite this edition

International Labour Organization (ILO) (1998). Labour Force Participation Rate, 1998 [data set], describing 1998. As held by Nations Inquiry, https://nationsinquiry.com/datasets/labour-participation/1998

0636 held

Other years

‹ The year before
Labour Force Participation Rate, 1997
187 countries
The year after ›
Labour Force Participation Rate, 1999
187 countries
All of them
Labour Force Participation Rate: every year
36 held, with the data dictionary, coverage and licence.
How it has moved, charted by country

07Questions