Countries by Employment to population ratio, 15+, male (%) (modeled ILO estimate)

Qatar ranks first among 186 countries in the male employment to population ratio with 95.49%, meaning nearly all males aged 15 and older are employed. At the other end, Sao Tome and Principe records 21.80%, less than a quarter of the same age group. The 73.7 percentage point gap reflects the wide variation in male labor market participation across economies of vastly different structures.

Labour category

Ranking 2025

Values shown in %.

Countries by Employment to population ratio, 15+, male (%) (modeled ILO estimate)
Rank	Country	%
1	Qatar	95.49
2	United Arab Emirates	90.10
3	Kuwait	87.68
4	Cambodia	87.56
5	Tanzania	86.48
6	Oman	86.44
7	Niger	86.10
8	Madagascar	85.64
9	Bahrain	85.51
10	Solomon Islands	84.95
11	North Korea	83.77
12	Uganda	82.75
13	Nigeria	82.36
14	Bolivia	82.19
15	Saudi Arabia	82.09
16	Guatemala	79.85
17	Eritrea	79.69
18	Indonesia	79.49
19	Mali	78.82
20	Paraguay	78.46
21	Liberia	78.39
22	Central African Republic	78.16
23	Nicaragua	77.70
24	Bangladesh	77.32
25	Peru	77.17
26	Ethiopia	76.75
27	Iceland	76.54
28	Malaysia	76.28
29	Benin	76.17
29	Burundi	76.17
31	Pakistan	76.16
32	Vietnam	76.03
33	Mozambique	75.65
34	Mexico	75.08
35	El Salvador	74.86
36	Ecuador	74.75
37	Jamaica	74.48
38	Thailand	74.42
39	India	74.33
40	Burkina Faso	74.00
41	Dominican Republic	73.92
42	Singapore	73.28
43	Fiji	73.05
44	Maldives	72.88
45	Côte d'Ivoire	72.85
46	Panama	72.50
47	Macao	71.66
48	Cameroon	71.59
49	Uzbekistan	71.35
50	Timor-Leste	71.12
51	New Zealand	71.08
52	Philippines	70.97
53	Moldova	70.91
54	Chad	70.78
55	Colombia	70.62
56	Honduras	70.51
57	Kazakhstan	70.34
58	South Korea	70.08
59	Bahamas	70.06
60	Bhutan	69.89
61	Brazil	69.75
62	Japan	69.63
63	Laos	69.62
64	Malta	69.44
65	Cyprus	69.42
66	Netherlands	69.24
67	Kyrgyzstan	69.10
68	Brunei	68.96
69	Kenya	68.77
70	Uruguay	68.59
71	Saint Lucia	68.53
72	South Sudan	68.08
73	Switzerland	68.01
74	Australia	67.77
75	Myanmar	67.74
76	Russia	67.61
77	Belize	67.42
77	Zimbabwe	67.42
79	Egypt	67.30
80	Guinea-Bissau	67.24
81	Argentina	67.08
82	Belarus	67.02
83	Türkiye	66.94
84	Ireland	66.80
85	Mauritius	66.69
86	Angola	66.65
87	Israel	66.32
88	China	66.27
89	Trinidad and Tobago	66.11
90	Sri Lanka	65.90
91	Czechia	65.88
92	Chile	65.82
93	Norway	65.71
94	Denmark	65.47
95	Costa Rica	65.44
96	Barbados	64.56
97	Malawi	64.52
98	Hungary	64.38
99	Mongolia	64.25
100	United States	64.23
101	Venezuela	64.15
102	Guam	64.07
103	Lithuania	64.06
104	Senegal	64.06
105	Cuba	64.00
106	Canada	63.96
107	Estonia	63.82
108	Zambia	63.77
109	Poland	63.74
110	Georgia	63.62
111	Rwanda	63.50
112	Germany	63.43
113	DR Congo	63.31
114	Iraq	62.96
115	Azerbaijan	62.95
116	Slovakia	62.78
117	Albania	62.70
118	Iran	62.65
119	United Kingdom	62.28
120	Morocco	62.25
121	Equatorial Guinea	62.06
122	Serbia	62.01
123	Latvia	61.76
124	Comoros	61.72
125	Sweden	61.70
126	Austria	61.53
127	Luxembourg	61.41
128	Saint Vincent and the Grenadines	61.39
129	Haiti	61.19
130	Armenia	61.12
131	Afghanistan	61.04
132	Slovenia	60.94
133	Vanuatu	60.38
134	Lebanon	60.25
135	Ghana	60.14
136	Bulgaria	60.02
137	Hong Kong	59.99
138	Algeria	59.91
139	Guinea	59.79
140	Suriname	59.32
141	Portugal	58.53
142	Botswana	58.08
143	Tonga	58.07
144	Sudan	57.99
145	Togo	57.88
146	Romania	57.79
147	Palestine	57.56
148	Lesotho	57.11
149	Republic of Congo	57.00
150	Montenegro	56.94
151	Ukraine	56.83
152	Finland	56.67
153	Spain	56.64
154	Tunisia	56.54
155	Guyana	56.51
156	Greece	56.09
157	New Caledonia	55.57
158	Cabo Verde	55.56
159	Belgium	55.33
160	France	55.06
161	Italy	54.97
162	Syria	54.73
163	Croatia	54.56
164	Bosnia and Herzegovina	54.34
165	North Macedonia	53.74
166	Jordan	53.16
167	Sierra Leone	52.88
168	Libya	52.88
169	Samoa	52.49
170	Mauritania	52.03
171	French Polynesia	51.68
172	Papua New Guinea	51.66
173	Gabon	51.39
174	Tajikistan	51.23
175	Yemen	51.22
176	Namibia	50.36
177	U.S. Virgin Islands	50.22
178	Nepal	47.80
179	Puerto Rico	46.23
180	Gambia	46.09
181	Turkmenistan	43.40
182	South Africa	42.61
183	Somalia	39.48
184	Eswatini	36.49
185	Djibouti	34.85
186	Sao Tome and Principe	21.80

Analysis

The employment to population ratio is the proportion of a country's population that is employed, as defined by the World Bank World Development Indicators (indicator code SL.EMP.TOTL.SP.MA.ZS). This edition covers males aged 15 and older, expressed as a percentage, where a higher figure indicates a greater share of that group is employed. The 2025 dataset covers 186 countries, with 100% of data points classified as official-quality estimates modeled by the ILO. All 186 countries have data from within the last seven years, and 181 of 186 (97.3%) report a value for the latest reference year. The indicator captures both formal and informal employment, which means it does not distinguish between full-time, part-time, or subsistence work.

The top of the ranking is dominated by Gulf states and high-migration labor economies. Qatar leads at 95.49% (rank 1), followed by the United Arab Emirates at 90.10% (rank 2) and Kuwait at 87.68% (rank 3). Bahrain ranks 9th at 85.51% and Oman ranks 6th at 86.44%, with Saudi Arabia at rank 15 (82.09%). These economies draw large male migrant labor forces, which inflates the ratio relative to resident populations. Outside the Gulf, Cambodia ranks 4th at 87.56% and Tanzania ranks 5th at 86.48%, pointing to high rates of agricultural and informal employment among males in those countries. Niger (rank 7, 86.10%) and Madagascar (rank 8, 85.64%) follow a similar pattern.

Several high-income countries appear in the middle range of the ranking. Iceland ranks 27th at 76.54%, the highest placement for a European country, while New Zealand ranks 51st (71.08%), Australia 74th (67.77%), and the United States 100th (64.23%). Germany ranks 112th at 63.43% and the United Kingdom 119th at 62.28%. Southern European countries cluster near the lower portion: Spain ranks 153rd (56.64%), Greece 156th (56.09%), and Italy 161st (54.97%). At the very bottom, South Africa ranks 182nd at 42.61%, Eswatini 184th at 36.49%, Djibouti 185th at 34.85%, and Sao Tome and Principe last at 21.80%. The viability check identified 10 extreme outliers at the 3-sigma threshold, indicating the distribution has meaningful tails at both ends.

Because the ratio includes informal and subsistence work, countries with large agricultural sectors or widespread self-employment can show high ratios that do not reflect wage employment or job quality. The metric also does not account for hours worked, earnings, or underemployment. Modeled ILO estimates are used where direct survey data is absent or inconsistent, and the degree of modeling varies by country, which can affect cross-country comparability. The wide value range — from 21.80% to 95.49%, a spread of 338% — limits direct comparisons between economies with very different labor market definitions and data collection practices. Gulf state figures are particularly sensitive to how migrant workers are counted relative to the reference population.

Methodology

Data are drawn from the World Bank World Development Indicators, indicator code SL.EMP.TOTL.SP.MA.ZS, for the reference year 2025. The metric is defined as follows: employment to population ratio is the proportion of a country's population that is employed. This edition isolates males aged 15 and older, expressed as a percentage. Estimates are modeled ILO figures. The dataset covers 186 countries, exceeding the 80-country coverage threshold. All 186 countries (100%) have data from within the last seven years, and 100% of data points meet the official-quality threshold. The latest reference year includes data for 181 of 186 countries (97.3%). The viability check identified 10 extreme outliers using a 3-sigma threshold, and average year-over-year change is 1.6%, well within the 50% volatility threshold. The value range spans 21.80% to 95.49%, a 338% spread, indicating high cross-country variance. Rankings should be interpreted with awareness that the ratio includes informal, part-time, and subsistence employment and does not measure job quality or hours worked.

Sources

World Bank