Data for 2020

Self-Employment Rate, 2020

2020, as ILO’s 2026 release gives it · stored as published, never rewritten

Self-Employment Rate, 2020 covers 187 countries. Chad is highest, at 91.838; Qatar is lowest, at 0.857. The middle country reads 33.113. Against 2019, 187 values changed (121 up, 66 down), the same countries are covered.

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Self-Employment Rate · Data for 2020

HighestChad

91.838

LowestQatar

0.857

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
2020the 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, 2020, 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, 2020: every country, as published by International Labour Organization (ILO).
derived
1	ChadTCDMiddle Africa	91.838
2	NigerNERWestern Africa	91.333
3	Sierra LeoneSLEWestern Africa	90.149
4	MadagascarMDGEastern Africa	89.440
5	NigeriaNGAWestern Africa	87.612
6	TanzaniaTZAEastern Africa	86.591
7	DR CongoCODMiddle Africa	86.587
8	Central African RepublicCAFMiddle Africa	86.286
9	MozambiqueMOZEastern Africa	86.176
10	EthiopiaETHEastern Africa	85.908
11	BurundiBDIEastern Africa	85.468
12	MaliMLIWestern Africa	85.304
13	AfghanistanAFGSouthern Asia	84.334
14	Burkina FasoBFAWestern Africa	84.161
15	South SudanSSDEastern Africa	83.969
16	GuineaGINWestern Africa	83.452
17	BeninBENWestern Africa	83.094
18	UgandaUGAEastern Africa	80.891
19	TogoTGOWestern Africa	80.396
20	NepalNPLSouthern Asia	79.968
21	LiberiaLBRWestern Africa	79.743
22	Papua New GuineaPNGMelanesia	79.679
23	LaosLAOSouth-eastern Asia	78.610
24	Republic of the CongoCOGMiddle Africa	77.534
25	HaitiHTICaribbean	77.296
26	IndiaINDSouthern Asia	77.202
27	Guinea-BissauGNBWestern Africa	76.725
28	AngolaAGOMiddle Africa	75.422
29	ZambiaZMBEastern Africa	75.324
30	Timor-LesteTLSSouth-eastern Asia	75.196
31	Côte d’IvoireCIVWestern Africa	73.906
32	GambiaGMBWestern Africa	71.736
33	CameroonCMRMiddle Africa	71.528
34	ZimbabweZWEEastern Africa	71.353
35	BhutanBTNSouthern Asia	71.260
36	Solomon IslandsSLBMelanesia	70.983
37	GhanaGHAWestern Africa	70.200
38	BoliviaBOLSouth America	69.798
39	AzerbaijanAZEWestern Asia	68.075
40	SenegalSENWestern Africa	66.526
41	MyanmarMMRSouth-eastern Asia	65.724
42	KenyaKENEastern Africa	64.355
43	North KoreaPRKEastern Asia	62.728
44	MalawiMWIEastern Africa	61.945
45	BangladeshBGDSouthern Asia	61.469
46	VanuatuVUTMelanesia	61.070
47	MoldovaMDAEastern Europe	59.332
48	PakistanPAKSouthern Asia	59.074
49	MauritaniaMRTWestern Africa	58.896
50	ComorosCOMEastern Africa	58.681
51	CambodiaKHMSouth-eastern Asia	56.949
52	PeruPERSouth America	55.916
53	VietnamVNMSouth-eastern Asia	55.851
54	EcuadorECUSouth America	54.378
55	AlbaniaALBSouthern Europe	53.842
56	EritreaERIEastern Africa	53.559
57	IndonesiaIDNSouth-eastern Asia	53.495
58	YemenYEMWestern Asia	52.911
59	SomaliaSOMEastern Africa	52.824
60	DjiboutiDJIEastern Africa	52.250
61	ThailandTHASouth-eastern Asia	50.523
62	GeorgiaGEOWestern Asia	49.912
63	TongaTONPolynesia	48.155
64	SudanSDNNorthern Africa	47.779
65	ColombiaCOLSouth America	47.308
66	UzbekistanUZBCentral Asia	46.609
67	NicaraguaNICCentral America	45.635
68	HondurasHNDCentral America	45.591
69	ParaguayPRYSouth America	45.521
70	MongoliaMNGEastern Asia	45.091
71	SamoaWSMPolynesia	45.075
72	São Tomé and PríncipeSTPMiddle Africa	44.904
73	IranIRNSouthern Asia	43.730
74	RwandaRWAEastern Africa	43.430
75	SyriaSYRWestern Asia	43.285
76	Dominican RepublicDOMCaribbean	43.114
77	Sri LankaLKASouthern Asia	42.547
78	GuatemalaGTMCentral America	41.707
79	MoroccoMARNorthern Africa	41.432
80	PanamaPANCentral America	41.242
81	Cabo VerdeCPVWestern Africa	40.541
82	ArmeniaARMWestern Asia	39.702
83	VenezuelaVENSouth America	39.691
84	ChinaCHNEastern Asia	39.538
85	LesothoLSOSouthern Africa	39.186
86	El SalvadorSLVCentral America	38.823
87	JamaicaJAMCaribbean	38.672
88	NamibiaNAMSouthern Africa	37.771
89	PhilippinesPHLSouth-eastern Asia	36.773
90	BelizeBLZCentral America	35.976
91	FijiFJIMelanesia	35.481
92	GuyanaGUYSouth America	35.256
93	KyrgyzstanKGZCentral Asia	33.975
94	EswatiniSWZSouthern Africa	33.113
95	TurkmenistanTKMCentral Asia	33.079
96	GabonGABMiddle Africa	33.023
97	TajikistanTJKCentral Asia	32.629
98	BrazilBRASouth America	32.506
99	GreeceGRCSouthern Europe	32.003
100	IraqIRQWestern Asia	31.384
101	AlgeriaDZANorthern Africa	31.243
102	TürkiyeTURWestern Asia	30.403
103	MexicoMEXCentral America	30.360
104	Saint LuciaLCACaribbean	29.112
105	BotswanaBWASouthern Africa	29.003
106	LebanonLBNWestern Asia	28.973
107	Costa RicaCRICentral America	28.791
108	UruguayURYSouth America	28.431
109	PalestinePSEWestern Asia	27.684
110	EgyptEGYNorthern Africa	27.355
111	Equatorial GuineaGNQMiddle Africa	27.242
112	LibyaLBYNorthern Africa	27.237
113	ArgentinaARGSouth America	27.000
114	SerbiaSRBSouthern Europe	26.989
115	Saint Vincent and the GrenadinesVCTCaribbean	26.674
116	KazakhstanKAZCentral Asia	26.521
117	CubaCUBCaribbean	26.518
118	MalaysiaMYSSouth-eastern Asia	25.960
119	TunisiaTUNNorthern Africa	25.704
120	Trinidad and TobagoTTOCaribbean	25.619
121	ChileCHLSouth America	25.100
122	South KoreaKOREastern Asia	24.428
123	PolandPOLEastern Europe	24.316
124	Bosnia and HerzegovinaBIHSouthern Europe	23.677
125	SurinameSURSouth America	23.380
126	ItalyITASouthern Europe	22.567
127	MontenegroMNESouthern Europe	21.524
128	MaldivesMDVSouthern Asia	21.391
129	UkraineUKREastern Europe	21.267
130	BarbadosBRBCaribbean	20.161
131	New ZealandNZLAustralia and New Zealand	19.615
132	MauritiusMUSEastern Africa	18.973
133	French PolynesiaPYFPolynesia	18.960
134	North MacedoniaMKDSouthern Europe	17.599
135	New CaledoniaNCLMelanesia	16.921
136	CzechiaCZEEastern Europe	16.886
137	South AfricaZAFSouthern Africa	16.722
138	AustraliaAUSAustralia and New Zealand	16.701
139	SpainESPSouthern Europe	16.135
140	GuamGUMMicronesia	15.914
141	NetherlandsNLDWestern Europe	15.892
142	IcelandISLNorthern Europe	15.767
143	PortugalPRTSouthern Europe	15.694
144	RomaniaROUEastern Europe	15.537
145	BelgiumBELWestern Europe	15.457
146	SlovakiaSVKEastern Europe	15.262
147	BahamasBHSCaribbean	15.162
148	CanadaCANNorthern America	15.161
149	SloveniaSVNSouthern Europe	14.793
150	CroatiaHRVSouthern Europe	14.777
151	MaltaMLTSouthern Europe	14.550
152	IrelandIRLNorthern Europe	14.522
153	United KingdomGBRNorthern Europe	14.517
154	SwitzerlandCHEWestern Europe	14.289
155	SingaporeSGPSouth-eastern Asia	13.842
156	CyprusCYPWestern Asia	13.782
157	LatviaLVANorthern Europe	13.492
158	FinlandFINNorthern Europe	13.438
159	AustriaAUTWestern Europe	12.869
160	Puerto RicoPRICaribbean	12.740
161	FranceFRAWestern Europe	12.404
162	EstoniaESTNorthern Europe	12.146
163	HungaryHUNEastern Europe	12.001
164	LithuaniaLTUNorthern Europe	11.760
165	IsraelISRWestern Asia	11.334
166	JordanJORWestern Asia	11.134
167	BulgariaBGREastern Europe	10.730
168	SwedenSWENorthern Europe	10.725
169	JapanJPNEastern Asia	9.881
170	BruneiBRNSouth-eastern Asia	9.600
171	LuxembourgLUXWestern Europe	9.488
172	United States Virgin IslandsVIRCaribbean	9.207
173	Channel IslandsCHINorthern Europe	9.088
174	GermanyDEUWestern Europe	8.875
175	Hong KongHKGEastern Asia	8.691
176	DenmarkDNKNorthern Europe	8.521
177	BelarusBLREastern Europe	7.573
178	RussiaRUSEastern Europe	6.800
179	MacauMACEastern Asia	6.752
180	United StatesUSANorthern America	6.307
181	Saudi ArabiaSAUWestern Asia	5.579
182	OmanOMNWestern Asia	5.145
183	NorwayNORNorthern Europe	4.940
184	United Arab EmiratesAREWestern Asia	4.779
185	BahrainBHRWestern Asia	2.753
186	KuwaitKWTWestern Asia	2.750
187	QatarQATWestern Asia	0.857

02In 2020

At either end

The 5 countries at each end of the headline.

Highest

1Chad91.838
2Niger91.333
3Sierra Leone90.149
4Madagascar89.440
5Nigeria87.612

Lowest

187Qatar0.857
186Kuwait2.750
185Bahrain2.753
184United Arab Emirates4.779
183Norway4.940

Neither end is better. The values describe a shape, not a score. The middle country reads 33.113. “Shared” marks a value another country also holds.

032019 → 2020

Since 2019

What changed between 2019 and this one: who joined or left, and how far the headline moved.

+0 / −0countries joined / left
187values changed, of 187 in both
121 · 66rose · fell
0unchanged

Rose most

Guatemala36.561 → 41.707+5.146
New Caledonia14.213 → 16.921+2.708
Paraguay42.925 → 45.521+2.596
Mali82.733 → 85.304+2.571
Kenya62.006 → 64.355+2.350

Fell most

North Macedonia20.604 → 17.599−3.005
Puerto Rico14.934 → 12.740−2.194
Tonga49.804 → 48.155−1.649
Egypt28.900 → 27.355−1.545
Türkiye31.776 → 30.403−1.373

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 2020.
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-2020-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) (2020). Self-Employment Rate, 2020 [data set], describing 2020. As held by Nations Inquiry, https://nationsinquiry.com/datasets/self-employment/2020

0635 held

Other years

‹ The year before
Self-Employment Rate, 2019
187 countries
The year after ›
Self-Employment Rate, 2021
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