Data for 2018

Self-Employment Rate, 2018

2018, as ILO’s 2026 release gives it · stored as published, never rewritten

Self-Employment Rate, 2018 covers 187 countries. Chad is highest, at 91.127; Qatar is lowest, at 0.566. The middle country reads 33.860. Against 2017, 187 values changed (51 up, 136 down), the same countries are covered.

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Self-Employment Rate · Data for 2018

HighestChad

91.127

LowestQatar

0.566

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
2018the 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, 2018, 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, 2018: every country, as published by International Labour Organization (ILO).
derived
1	ChadTCDMiddle Africa	91.127
2	NigerNERWestern Africa	91.054
3	Sierra LeoneSLEWestern Africa	89.023
4	MadagascarMDGEastern Africa	88.963
5	NigeriaNGAWestern Africa	86.792
6	TanzaniaTZAEastern Africa	86.386
7	BurundiBDIEastern Africa	86.018
8	MozambiqueMOZEastern Africa	85.826
9	EthiopiaETHEastern Africa	85.799
10	Central African RepublicCAFMiddle Africa	85.626
11	DR CongoCODMiddle Africa	84.811
12	South SudanSSDEastern Africa	84.217
13	AfghanistanAFGSouthern Asia	83.983
14	GuineaGINWestern Africa	83.249
15	BeninBENWestern Africa	83.059
16	Burkina FasoBFAWestern Africa	82.838
17	MaliMLIWestern Africa	81.036
18	TogoTGOWestern Africa	80.372
19	NepalNPLSouthern Asia	80.243
20	Papua New GuineaPNGMelanesia	79.440
21	LaosLAOSouth-eastern Asia	79.251
22	UgandaUGAEastern Africa	79.190
23	LiberiaLBRWestern Africa	78.567
24	IndiaINDSouthern Asia	77.785
25	Republic of the CongoCOGMiddle Africa	76.529
26	Guinea-BissauGNBWestern Africa	76.206
27	Timor-LesteTLSSouth-eastern Asia	75.024
28	HaitiHTICaribbean	74.981
29	AngolaAGOMiddle Africa	74.778
30	ZambiaZMBEastern Africa	74.167
31	Côte d’IvoireCIVWestern Africa	73.973
32	CameroonCMRMiddle Africa	72.967
33	GhanaGHAWestern Africa	71.946
34	BhutanBTNSouthern Asia	71.811
35	GambiaGMBWestern Africa	71.512
36	ZimbabweZWEEastern Africa	70.980
37	BoliviaBOLSouth America	70.357
38	Solomon IslandsSLBMelanesia	70.103
39	AzerbaijanAZEWestern Asia	68.315
40	SenegalSENWestern Africa	68.022
41	MyanmarMMRSouth-eastern Asia	66.103
42	KenyaKENEastern Africa	62.275
43	VanuatuVUTMelanesia	62.143
44	MalawiMWIEastern Africa	61.961
45	North KoreaPRKEastern Asia	61.583
46	BangladeshBGDSouthern Asia	60.633
47	MoldovaMDAEastern Europe	59.815
48	MauritaniaMRTWestern Africa	58.461
49	ComorosCOMEastern Africa	58.343
50	CambodiaKHMSouth-eastern Asia	57.083
51	PakistanPAKSouthern Asia	57.043
52	VietnamVNMSouth-eastern Asia	56.056
53	PeruPERSouth America	55.949
54	AlbaniaALBSouthern Europe	55.481
55	EritreaERIEastern Africa	53.070
56	EcuadorECUSouth America	52.928
57	IndonesiaIDNSouth-eastern Asia	52.469
58	SomaliaSOMEastern Africa	51.958
59	YemenYEMWestern Asia	51.941
60	DjiboutiDJIEastern Africa	51.809
61	TongaTONPolynesia	51.777
62	ThailandTHASouth-eastern Asia	51.466
63	GeorgiaGEOWestern Asia	49.596
64	ColombiaCOLSouth America	48.021
65	SudanSDNNorthern Africa	47.785
66	HondurasHNDCentral America	46.537
67	UzbekistanUZBCentral Asia	46.499
68	MongoliaMNGEastern Asia	46.010
69	IranIRNSouthern Asia	45.524
70	SamoaWSMPolynesia	45.452
71	NicaraguaNICCentral America	45.041
72	Dominican RepublicDOMCaribbean	44.020
73	São Tomé and PríncipeSTPMiddle Africa	43.685
74	RwandaRWAEastern Africa	43.244
75	ParaguayPRYSouth America	43.012
76	SyriaSYRWestern Asia	42.975
77	Sri LankaLKASouthern Asia	42.197
78	ArmeniaARMWestern Asia	42.015
79	MoroccoMARNorthern Africa	41.678
80	Cabo VerdeCPVWestern Africa	40.849
81	GuatemalaGTMCentral America	40.581
82	ChinaCHNEastern Asia	40.034
83	PanamaPANCentral America	39.507
84	JamaicaJAMCaribbean	39.045
85	LesothoLSOSouthern Africa	38.981
86	El SalvadorSLVCentral America	38.855
87	VenezuelaVENSouth America	37.690
88	NamibiaNAMSouthern Africa	37.551
89	PhilippinesPHLSouth-eastern Asia	35.882
90	KyrgyzstanKGZCentral Asia	35.046
91	FijiFJIMelanesia	34.969
92	GuyanaGUYSouth America	34.464
93	EswatiniSWZSouthern Africa	34.270
94	TurkmenistanTKMCentral Asia	33.860
95	GreeceGRCSouthern Europe	33.627
96	GabonGABMiddle Africa	33.190
97	TajikistanTJKCentral Asia	33.035
98	TürkiyeTURWestern Asia	32.249
99	BrazilBRASouth America	31.898
100	AlgeriaDZANorthern Africa	31.635
101	BelizeBLZCentral America	31.437
102	EgyptEGYNorthern Africa	31.263
103	PalestinePSEWestern Asia	30.262
104	MexicoMEXCentral America	29.935
105	BotswanaBWASouthern Africa	29.772
106	IraqIRQWestern Asia	29.770
107	LebanonLBNWestern Asia	29.522
108	Costa RicaCRICentral America	28.400
109	SerbiaSRBSouthern Europe	28.258
110	Saint LuciaLCACaribbean	28.072
111	UruguayURYSouth America	27.868
112	LibyaLBYNorthern Africa	27.702
113	Equatorial GuineaGNQMiddle Africa	27.267
114	KazakhstanKAZCentral Asia	26.848
115	CubaCUBCaribbean	26.838
116	MalaysiaMYSSouth-eastern Asia	26.148
117	Saint Vincent and the GrenadinesVCTCaribbean	26.072
118	ArgentinaARGSouth America	25.529
119	TunisiaTUNNorthern Africa	25.393
120	South KoreaKOREastern Asia	25.120
121	ChileCHLSouth America	24.566
122	PolandPOLEastern Europe	24.197
123	Trinidad and TobagoTTOCaribbean	24.058
124	SurinameSURSouth America	23.576
125	ItalyITASouthern Europe	22.990
126	North MacedoniaMKDSouthern Europe	22.629
127	MaldivesMDVSouthern Asia	22.508
128	MontenegroMNESouthern Europe	21.862
129	UkraineUKREastern Europe	20.827
130	Bosnia and HerzegovinaBIHSouthern Europe	20.479
131	BarbadosBRBCaribbean	20.310
132	New ZealandNZLAustralia and New Zealand	19.721
133	MauritiusMUSEastern Africa	19.189
134	French PolynesiaPYFPolynesia	18.860
135	RomaniaROUEastern Europe	16.991
136	CzechiaCZEEastern Europe	16.944
137	Puerto RicoPRICaribbean	16.650
138	AustraliaAUSAustralia and New Zealand	16.623
139	SloveniaSVNSouthern Europe	16.255
140	IcelandISLNorthern Europe	16.117
141	SpainESPSouthern Europe	16.101
142	GuamGUMMicronesia	15.763
143	South AfricaZAFSouthern Africa	15.572
144	PortugalPRTSouthern Europe	15.513
145	CroatiaHRVSouthern Europe	15.506
146	SlovakiaSVKEastern Europe	15.154
147	United KingdomGBRNorthern Europe	15.091
148	CanadaCANNorthern America	15.070
149	IrelandIRLNorthern Europe	15.016
150	NetherlandsNLDWestern Europe	14.782
151	SwitzerlandCHEWestern Europe	14.737
152	BahamasBHSCaribbean	14.729
153	BelgiumBELWestern Europe	14.578
154	MaltaMLTSouthern Europe	14.354
155	New CaledoniaNCLMelanesia	14.224
156	SingaporeSGPSouth-eastern Asia	13.748
157	CyprusCYPWestern Asia	13.279
158	LatviaLVANorthern Europe	13.198
159	FinlandFINNorthern Europe	12.869
160	AustriaAUTWestern Europe	12.782
161	JordanJORWestern Asia	12.728
162	EstoniaESTNorthern Europe	12.208
163	BulgariaBGREastern Europe	11.996
164	LithuaniaLTUNorthern Europe	11.666
165	FranceFRAWestern Europe	11.646
166	IsraelISRWestern Asia	11.389
167	SwedenSWENorthern Europe	10.519
168	HungaryHUNEastern Europe	10.495
169	JapanJPNEastern Asia	10.163
170	GermanyDEUWestern Europe	9.919
171	LuxembourgLUXWestern Europe	9.114
172	Channel IslandsCHINorthern Europe	8.954
173	United States Virgin IslandsVIRCaribbean	8.588
174	Hong KongHKGEastern Asia	8.531
175	DenmarkDNKNorthern Europe	8.137
176	BelarusBLREastern Europe	7.868
177	BruneiBRNSouth-eastern Asia	7.572
178	RussiaRUSEastern Europe	6.892
179	United StatesUSANorthern America	6.729
180	MacauMACEastern Asia	6.282
181	NorwayNORNorthern Europe	5.320
182	OmanOMNWestern Asia	4.774
183	United Arab EmiratesAREWestern Asia	3.974
184	Saudi ArabiaSAUWestern Asia	2.632
185	BahrainBHRWestern Asia	2.550
186	KuwaitKWTWestern Asia	2.007
187	QatarQATWestern Asia	0.566

02In 2018

At either end

The 5 countries at each end of the headline.

Highest

1Chad91.127
2Niger91.054
3Sierra Leone89.023
4Madagascar88.963
5Nigeria86.792

Lowest

187Qatar0.566
186Kuwait2.007
185Bahrain2.550
184Saudi Arabia2.632
183United Arab Emirates3.974

Neither end is better. The values describe a shape, not a score. The middle country reads 33.860. “Shared” marks a value another country also holds.

032017 → 2018

Since 2017

What changed between 2017 and this one: who joined or left, and how far the headline moved.

+0 / −0countries joined / left
187values changed, of 187 in both
51 · 136rose · fell
0unchanged

Rose most

Namibia33.673 → 37.551+3.879
Panama37.191 → 39.507+2.316
Venezuela36.195 → 37.690+1.495
Puerto Rico15.440 → 16.650+1.210
Thailand50.597 → 51.466+0.869

Fell most

Bosnia and Herzegovina23.683 → 20.479−3.204
Georgia52.049 → 49.596−2.453
Senegal70.376 → 68.022−2.354
Serbia30.573 → 28.258−2.315
Jordan14.805 → 12.728−2.078

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 2018.
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-2018-nations-inquiry.csv
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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) (2018). Self-Employment Rate, 2018 [data set], describing 2018. As held by Nations Inquiry, https://nationsinquiry.com/datasets/self-employment/2018

0635 held

Other years

‹ The year before
Self-Employment Rate, 2017
187 countries
The year after ›
Self-Employment Rate, 2019
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