Data for 2016

Self-Employment Rate, 2016

2016, as ILO’s 2026 release gives it · stored as published, never rewritten

Self-Employment Rate, 2016 covers 187 countries. Niger is highest, at 91.11; Qatar is lowest, at 0.51. The middle country reads 34.23. Against 2015, 187 values changed (63 up, 124 down), the same countries are covered.

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Self-Employment Rate · Data for 2016

HighestNiger

91.11

LowestQatar

0.51

Shaded by value in five groups of equal size, darkest at the highest end. Neither end is better. The values describe a shape, not a score.

187countries
1measure
2016the year it describes
187distinct values15 decimals, as published
Sep 10, 2026read from the publisher
CC BY 4.0licence

01Position · derived

The table

Every country and every column of Self-Employment Rate, 2016, 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

Self-Employment Rate, 2016: every country, as published by International Labour Organization (ILO).
derived
1	NigerNERWestern Africa	91.11
2	ChadTCDMiddle Africa	91.01
3	MadagascarMDGEastern Africa	89.28
4	Sierra LeoneSLEWestern Africa	89.12
5	NigeriaNGAWestern Africa	87.26
6	TanzaniaTZAEastern Africa	86.95
7	EthiopiaETHEastern Africa	86.71
8	BurundiBDIEastern Africa	86.63
9	MozambiqueMOZEastern Africa	86.11
10	Central African RepublicCAFMiddle Africa	85.67
11	South SudanSSDEastern Africa	85.10
12	AfghanistanAFGSouthern Asia	84.86
13	GuineaGINWestern Africa	84.84
14	DR CongoCODMiddle Africa	83.97
15	BeninBENWestern Africa	83.64
16	Burkina FasoBFAWestern Africa	82.87
17	TogoTGOWestern Africa	81.19
18	MaliMLIWestern Africa	81.13
19	NepalNPLSouthern Asia	80.90
20	LaosLAOSouth-eastern Asia	80.20
21	Papua New GuineaPNGMelanesia	79.81
22	IndiaINDSouthern Asia	78.97
23	LiberiaLBRWestern Africa	78.82
24	UgandaUGAEastern Africa	78.47
25	Guinea-BissauGNBWestern Africa	76.58
26	Republic of the CongoCOGMiddle Africa	76.40
27	CameroonCMRMiddle Africa	75.29
28	Timor-LesteTLSSouth-eastern Asia	75.09
29	HaitiHTICaribbean	75.03
30	GhanaGHAWestern Africa	74.94
31	ZambiaZMBEastern Africa	74.64
32	AngolaAGOMiddle Africa	74.61
33	Côte d’IvoireCIVWestern Africa	73.86
34	GambiaGMBWestern Africa	72.99
35	BhutanBTNSouthern Asia	72.53
36	SenegalSENWestern Africa	72.31
37	BoliviaBOLSouth America	71.43
38	ZimbabweZWEEastern Africa	71.33
39	Solomon IslandsSLBMelanesia	70.37
40	AzerbaijanAZEWestern Asia	68.19
41	MyanmarMMRSouth-eastern Asia	66.09
42	VanuatuVUTMelanesia	64.26
43	KenyaKENEastern Africa	62.89
44	MalawiMWIEastern Africa	62.10
45	MoldovaMDAEastern Europe	61.91
46	North KoreaPRKEastern Asia	61.49
47	BangladeshBGDSouthern Asia	60.90
48	PakistanPAKSouthern Asia	59.44
49	VietnamVNMSouth-eastern Asia	58.76
50	AlbaniaALBSouthern Europe	58.60
51	ComorosCOMEastern Africa	58.50
52	MauritaniaMRTWestern Africa	58.48
53	CambodiaKHMSouth-eastern Asia	57.76
54	PeruPERSouth America	55.32
55	GeorgiaGEOWestern Asia	53.55
56	EritreaERIEastern Africa	53.13
57	TongaTONPolynesia	52.64
58	SomaliaSOMEastern Africa	52.59
59	DjiboutiDJIEastern Africa	52.53
60	IndonesiaIDNSouth-eastern Asia	51.62
61	EcuadorECUSouth America	51.57
62	ThailandTHASouth-eastern Asia	50.94
63	YemenYEMWestern Asia	50.87
64	ColombiaCOLSouth America	47.47
65	SudanSDNNorthern Africa	47.25
66	UzbekistanUZBCentral Asia	46.92
67	SamoaWSMPolynesia	45.62
68	NicaraguaNICCentral America	45.47
69	MongoliaMNGEastern Asia	45.41
70	IranIRNSouthern Asia	45.24
71	São Tomé and PríncipeSTPMiddle Africa	44.27
72	ParaguayPRYSouth America	44.23
73	ArmeniaARMWestern Asia	43.96
74	Dominican RepublicDOMCaribbean	43.73
75	RwandaRWAEastern Africa	43.67
76	SyriaSYRWestern Asia	42.77
77	HondurasHNDCentral America	42.75
78	MoroccoMARNorthern Africa	42.33
79	Sri LankaLKASouthern Asia	42.18
80	ChinaCHNEastern Asia	41.00
81	Cabo VerdeCPVWestern Africa	40.71
82	El SalvadorSLVCentral America	40.02
83	JamaicaJAMCaribbean	39.79
84	LesothoLSOSouthern Africa	39.03
85	KyrgyzstanKGZCentral Asia	38.34
86	PhilippinesPHLSouth-eastern Asia	38.13
87	PanamaPANCentral America	37.92
88	GuatemalaGTMCentral America	37.65
89	EswatiniSWZSouthern Africa	35.81
90	FijiFJIMelanesia	35.42
91	GuyanaGUYSouth America	35.30
92	VenezuelaVENSouth America	35.18
93	TurkmenistanTKMCentral Asia	34.42
94	GreeceGRCSouthern Europe	34.23
95	BelizeBLZCentral America	33.53
96	TajikistanTJKCentral Asia	33.49
97	GabonGABMiddle Africa	33.31
98	TürkiyeTURWestern Asia	32.69
99	AlgeriaDZANorthern Africa	31.56
100	SerbiaSRBSouthern Europe	31.42
101	IraqIRQWestern Asia	31.21
102	BrazilBRASouth America	30.90
103	PalestinePSEWestern Asia	30.54
104	BotswanaBWASouthern Africa	30.18
105	EgyptEGYNorthern Africa	30.17
106	MexicoMEXCentral America	29.97
107	NamibiaNAMSouthern Africa	29.78
108	LebanonLBNWestern Asia	29.53
109	Saint LuciaLCACaribbean	28.60
110	Costa RicaCRICentral America	28.31
111	LibyaLBYNorthern Africa	27.62
112	UruguayURYSouth America	27.53
113	KazakhstanKAZCentral Asia	26.93
114	TunisiaTUNNorthern Africa	26.65
115	MalaysiaMYSSouth-eastern Asia	26.48
116	Saint Vincent and the GrenadinesVCTCaribbean	26.22
117	Equatorial GuineaGNQMiddle Africa	25.85
118	CubaCUBCaribbean	25.64
119	South KoreaKOREastern Asia	25.51
120	PolandPOLEastern Europe	24.81
121	ArgentinaARGSouth America	24.79
122	ChileCHLSouth America	24.09
123	MaldivesMDVSouthern Asia	24.03
124	ItalyITASouthern Europe	23.93
125	North MacedoniaMKDSouthern Europe	23.86
126	Trinidad and TobagoTTOCaribbean	23.55
127	Bosnia and HerzegovinaBIHSouthern Europe	23.53
128	SurinameSURSouth America	23.21
129	MontenegroMNESouthern Europe	21.47
130	UkraineUKREastern Europe	20.75
131	New ZealandNZLAustralia and New Zealand	20.13
132	MauritiusMUSEastern Africa	19.95
133	French PolynesiaPYFPolynesia	19.05
134	RomaniaROUEastern Europe	18.38
135	BarbadosBRBCaribbean	18.16
136	CzechiaCZEEastern Europe	17.16
137	AustraliaAUSAustralia and New Zealand	16.96
138	SpainESPSouthern Europe	16.68
139	PortugalPRTSouthern Europe	16.55
140	IcelandISLNorthern Europe	16.47
141	CroatiaHRVSouthern Europe	16.46
142	IrelandIRLNorthern Europe	16.23
143	SloveniaSVNSouthern Europe	16.11
144	GuamGUMMicronesia	15.86
145	SlovakiaSVKEastern Europe	15.78
146	United KingdomGBRNorthern Europe	15.25
147	South AfricaZAFSouthern Africa	15.12
148	SwitzerlandCHEWestern Europe	15.01
149	JordanJORWestern Asia	14.99
150	CanadaCANNorthern America	14.95
151	NetherlandsNLDWestern Europe	14.92
152	BelgiumBELWestern Europe	14.83
153	BahamasBHSCaribbean	14.76
154	MaltaMLTSouthern Europe	14.54
155	New CaledoniaNCLMelanesia	14.29
156	CyprusCYPWestern Asia	14.28
157	SingaporeSGPSouth-eastern Asia	13.95
158	LatviaLVANorthern Europe	13.92
159	FinlandFINNorthern Europe	13.79
160	Puerto RicoPRICaribbean	13.62
161	AustriaAUTWestern Europe	13.48
162	LithuaniaLTUNorthern Europe	12.33
163	EstoniaESTNorthern Europe	12.30
164	IsraelISRWestern Asia	12.15
165	FranceFRAWestern Europe	11.81
166	BulgariaBGREastern Europe	11.56
167	LuxembourgLUXWestern Europe	11.46
168	HungaryHUNEastern Europe	10.82
169	SwedenSWENorthern Europe	10.79
170	GermanyDEUWestern Europe	10.53
171	JapanJPNEastern Asia	10.46
172	Channel IslandsCHINorthern Europe	8.99
173	BruneiBRNSouth-eastern Asia	8.96
174	DenmarkDNKNorthern Europe	8.79
175	Hong KongHKGEastern Asia	8.70
176	United States Virgin IslandsVIRCaribbean	8.53
177	BelarusBLREastern Europe	7.88
178	RussiaRUSEastern Europe	7.53
179	United StatesUSANorthern America	6.83
180	MacauMACEastern Asia	6.42
181	NorwayNORNorthern Europe	5.80
182	OmanOMNWestern Asia	4.85
183	United Arab EmiratesAREWestern Asia	3.57
184	Saudi ArabiaSAUWestern Asia	3.15
185	BahrainBHRWestern Asia	2.67
186	KuwaitKWTWestern Asia	1.82
187	QatarQATWestern Asia	0.51

02In 2016

At either end

The 5 countries at each end of the headline.

Highest

1Niger91.11
2Chad91.01
3Madagascar89.28
4Sierra Leone89.12
5Nigeria87.26

Lowest

187Qatar0.51
186Kuwait1.82
185Bahrain2.67
184Saudi Arabia3.15
183United Arab Emirates3.57

Neither end is better. The values describe a shape, not a score. The middle country reads 34.23. “Shared” marks a value another country also holds.

032015 → 2016

Since 2015

What changed between 2015 and this one: who joined or left, and how far the headline moved.

+0 / −0countries joined / left
187values changed, of 187 in both
63 · 124rose · fell
0unchanged

Rose most

Senegal66.64 → 72.31+5.66
Ecuador47.78 → 51.57+3.79
Panama35.84 → 37.92+2.09
Puerto Rico11.80 → 13.62+1.81
Trinidad and Tobago22.23 → 23.55+1.32

Fell most

Fiji39.16 → 35.42−3.74
Honduras45.89 → 42.75−3.15
Mongolia48.21 → 45.41−2.80
Romania20.75 → 18.38−2.37
North Macedonia26.06 → 23.86−2.20

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 2016.
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
Neither end is better. The values describe a shape, not a score.
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 · 7.1 KB · UTF-8, opens in Excel
Opens with 11 lines of source notes; the table starts on row 13.
Download self-employment-2016-nations-inquiry.csv
↗
The publisher’s original
ILO’s own file, on its own site.
SL.EMP.SELF.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) (2016). Self-Employment Rate, 2016 [data set], describing 2016. As held by Nations Inquiry, https://nationsinquiry.com/datasets/self-employment/2016

0635 held

Other years

‹ The year before
Self-Employment Rate, 2015
187 countries
The year after ›
Self-Employment Rate, 2017
187 countries
All of them
Self-Employment Rate: every year
35 held, with the data dictionary, coverage and licence.
How it has moved, charted by country

07Questions