Self-employed
% of employment · no best or worst — smallest to largest
186 of 216 countries report a figure for self-employed
World average: 38.7%
| Rank | Country | Value | Year | |
|---|---|---|---|---|
| #186 | Qatar | 0.8% | 2025 | |
| #185 | Bahrain | 2.4% | 2025 | |
| #184 | Kuwait | 3.2% | 2025 | |
| #183 | Norway | 4.9% | 2025 | |
| #182 | Oman | 5.0% | 2025 | |
| #181 | United Arab Emirates | 5.1% | 2025 | |
| #180 | Saudi Arabia | 5.5% | 2025 | |
| #179 | United States | 6.1% | 2025 | |
| #178 | Russia | 6.3% | 2025 | |
| #177 | Macau | 6.8% | 2025 | |
| #176 | Belarus | 6.8% | 2025 | |
| #175 | Brunei | 7.3% | 2025 | |
| #174 | Hong Kong | 7.7% | 2025 | |
| #173 | Denmark | 7.9% | 2025 | |
| #172 | Germany | 8.1% | 2025 | |
| #171 | Japan | 9.1% | 2025 | |
| #170 | United States Virgin Islands | 9.1% | 2025 | |
| #169 | Cyprus | 10.2% | 2025 | |
| #168 | Sweden | 10.2% | 2025 | |
| #167 | Luxembourg | 10.3% | 2025 | |
| #166 | Jordan | 11.2% | 2025 | |
| #165 | Israel | 11.3% | 2025 | |
| #164 | Lithuania | 11.5% | 2025 | |
| #163 | Hungary | 11.6% | 2025 | |
| #162 | Bulgaria | 11.8% | 2025 | |
| #161 | Estonia | 12.1% | 2025 | |
| #160 | Austria | 12.2% | 2025 | |
| #159 | Finland | 12.5% | 2025 | |
| #158 | Puerto Rico | 12.6% | 2025 | |
| #157 | Singapore | 12.7% | 2025 | |
| #156 | Croatia | 12.7% | 2025 | |
| #155 | Canada | 12.9% | 2025 | |
| #154 | United Kingdom | 13.1% | 2025 | |
| #153 | France | 13.3% | 2025 | |
| #152 | Iceland | 13.3% | 2025 | |
| #151 | Ireland | 13.4% | 2025 | |
| #150 | Latvia | 13.7% | 2025 | |
| #149 | Malta | 13.9% | 2025 | |
| #148 | Slovenia | 14.0% | 2025 | |
| #147 | Portugal | 14.4% | 2025 | |
| #146 | Romania | 14.5% | 2025 | |
| #145 | Spain | 14.5% | 2025 | |
| #144 | Belgium | 14.6% | 2025 | |
| #143 | Slovakia | 14.9% | 2025 | |
| #142 | Guam | 15.5% | 2025 | |
| #141 | Czech Republic | 15.7% | 2025 | |
| #140 | Australia | 16.1% | 2025 | |
| #139 | North Macedonia | 16.6% | 2025 | |
| #138 | Kingdom of the Netherlands | 16.8% | 2025 | |
| #137 | Switzerland | 16.9% | 2025 | |
| #136 | The Bahamas | 17.1% | 2025 | |
| #135 | New Caledonia | 17.1% | 2025 | |
| #134 | South Africa | 17.3% | 2025 | |
| #133 | Montenegro | 17.4% | 2025 | |
| #132 | Mauritius | 17.8% | 2025 | |
| #131 | French Polynesia | 18.2% | 2025 | |
| #130 | New Zealand | 18.4% | 2025 | |
| #129 | Poland | 18.9% | 2025 | |
| #128 | Barbados | 19.5% | 2025 | |
| #127 | Maldives | 20.0% | 2025 | |
| #126 | Ukraine | 21.0% | 2021 | |
| #125 | Italy | 21.1% | 2025 | |
| #124 | Bosnia and Herzegovina | 22.1% | 2025 | |
| #123 | Suriname | 22.5% | 2025 | |
| #122 | South Korea | 22.7% | 2025 | |
| #121 | Palestine | 23.8% | 2022 | |
| #120 | Chile | 23.9% | 2025 | |
| #119 | Cuba | 24.9% | 2025 | |
| #118 | Tunisia | 24.9% | 2025 | |
| #117 | Malaysia | 25.4% | 2025 | |
| #116 | Argentina | 25.6% | 2025 | |
| #115 | Saint Vincent and the Grenadines | 25.7% | 2025 | |
| #114 | Trinidad and Tobago | 25.7% | 2025 | |
| #113 | Libya | 25.9% | 2025 | |
| #112 | Kazakhstan | 26.1% | 2025 | |
| #111 | Costa Rica | 26.6% | 2025 | |
| #110 | Saint Lucia | 26.7% | 2025 | |
| #109 | Egypt | 27.0% | 2025 | |
| #108 | Serbia | 27.0% | 2025 | |
| #107 | Equatorial Guinea | 27.5% | 2025 | |
| #106 | Uruguay | 28.0% | 2025 | |
| #105 | Botswana | 28.1% | 2025 | |
| #104 | Lebanon | 28.4% | 2023 | |
| #103 | Turkey | 28.5% | 2025 | |
| #102 | Algeria | 30.2% | 2025 | |
| #101 | Eswatini | 30.2% | 2025 | |
| #100 | Brazil | 30.3% | 2025 | |
| #99 | Greece | 30.5% | 2025 | |
| #98 | Kyrgyzstan | 30.5% | 2025 | |
| #97 | Mexico | 30.8% | 2025 | |
| #96 | Guyana | 31.1% | 2025 | |
| #95 | Tajikistan | 31.3% | 2025 | |
| #94 | Iraq | 31.7% | 2025 | |
| #93 | Turkmenistan | 32.0% | 2025 | |
| #92 | Gabon | 32.4% | 2025 | |
| #91 | Armenia | 33.7% | 2025 | |
| #90 | Fiji | 34.1% | 2025 | |
| #89 | Belize | 35.2% | 2025 | |
| #88 | El Salvador | 35.7% | 2025 | |
| #87 | Jamaica | 35.7% | 2025 | |
| #86 | Philippines | 36.1% | 2025 | |
| #85 | Namibia | 36.5% | 2025 | |
| #84 | People's Republic of China | 37.7% | 2025 | |
| #83 | Cape Verde | 38.5% | 2025 | |
| #82 | Lesotho | 38.5% | 2025 | |
| #81 | Guatemala | 39.1% | 2025 | |
| #80 | Morocco | 40.1% | 2025 | |
| #79 | Venezuela | 40.4% | 2025 | |
| #78 | Rwanda | 40.4% | 2025 | |
| #77 | Panama | 40.6% | 2025 | |
| #76 | Mongolia | 41.2% | 2025 | |
| #75 | Paraguay | 41.3% | 2025 | |
| #74 | Tonga | 41.8% | 2025 | |
| #73 | Sri Lanka | 42.1% | 2025 | |
| #72 | Dominican Republic | 42.1% | 2025 | |
| #71 | Syria | 42.4% | 2025 | |
| #70 | Iran | 42.9% | 2025 | |
| #69 | São Tomé and Príncipe | 44.0% | 2025 | |
| #68 | Honduras | 44.1% | 2025 | |
| #67 | Nicaragua | 44.3% | 2025 | |
| #66 | Samoa | 44.5% | 2025 | |
| #65 | Uzbekistan | 45.4% | 2025 | |
| #64 | Colombia | 45.6% | 2025 | |
| #63 | Georgia | 46.1% | 2025 | |
| #62 | Sudan | 46.5% | 2022 | |
| #61 | Albania | 50.3% | 2025 | |
| #60 | Thailand | 50.7% | 2025 | |
| #59 | Djibouti | 51.1% | 2025 | |
| #58 | Peru | 51.3% | 2025 | |
| #57 | Somalia | 52.2% | 2025 | |
| #56 | Ecuador | 52.3% | 2025 | |
| #55 | Eritrea | 52.4% | 2025 | |
| #54 | Yemen | 52.6% | 2025 | |
| #53 | Indonesia | 53.3% | 2025 | |
| #52 | Vietnam | 53.3% | 2025 | |
| #51 | Cambodia | 55.5% | 2025 | |
| #50 | Pakistan | 57.0% | 2025 | |
| #49 | Mauritania | 57.4% | 2025 | |
| #48 | Comoros | 57.9% | 2025 | |
| #47 | Moldova | 58.8% | 2025 | |
| #46 | Vanuatu | 60.6% | 2025 | |
| #45 | Bangladesh | 61.0% | 2025 | |
| #44 | Malawi | 61.3% | 2025 | |
| #43 | North Korea | 62.1% | 2025 | |
| #42 | Senegal | 64.3% | 2025 | |
| #41 | Kenya | 64.8% | 2025 | |
| #40 | Myanmar | 65.5% | 2025 | |
| #39 | Bolivia | 66.3% | 2025 | |
| #38 | Azerbaijan | 67.0% | 2025 | |
| #37 | Ghana | 67.5% | 2025 | |
| #36 | The Gambia | 68.6% | 2025 | |
| #35 | Cameroon | 69.3% | 2025 | |
| #34 | Bhutan | 69.5% | 2025 | |
| #33 | Solomon Islands | 69.9% | 2025 | |
| #32 | Zimbabwe | 70.8% | 2025 | |
| #31 | Ivory Coast | 71.0% | 2025 | |
| #30 | Zambia | 71.7% | 2025 | |
| #29 | Timor-Leste | 74.9% | 2025 | |
| #28 | India | 74.9% | 2025 | |
| #27 | Guinea-Bissau | 75.5% | 2025 | |
| #26 | Angola | 75.9% | 2025 | |
| #25 | Mali | 76.4% | 2025 | |
| #24 | Togo | 76.6% | 2025 | |
| #23 | Republic of the Congo | 76.8% | 2025 | |
| #22 | Haiti | 76.8% | 2025 | |
| #21 | Laos | 77.1% | 2025 | |
| #20 | Liberia | 78.3% | 2025 | |
| #19 | Nepal | 78.6% | 2025 | |
| #18 | Papua New Guinea | 78.7% | 2025 | |
| #17 | Benin | 79.8% | 2025 | |
| #16 | Uganda | 80.5% | 2025 | |
| #15 | Guinea | 81.9% | 2025 | |
| #14 | South Sudan | 82.5% | 2023 | |
| #13 | Burkina Faso | 82.6% | 2025 | |
| #12 | Afghanistan | 83.4% | 2025 | |
| #11 | Ethiopia | 84.3% | 2025 | |
| #10 | Burundi | 84.9% | 2025 | |
| #9 | Democratic Republic of the Congo | 85.1% | 2025 | |
| #8 | Mozambique | 85.3% | 2025 | |
| #7 | Tanzania | 85.3% | 2025 | |
| #6 | Central African Republic | 85.4% | 2025 | |
| #5 | Nigeria | 86.2% | 2025 | |
| #4 | Madagascar | 88.3% | 2025 | |
| #3 | Sierra Leone | 88.8% | 2025 | |
| #2 | Niger | 89.5% | 2025 | |
| #1 | Chad | 91.6% | 2025 | |
| — | American Samoa | — | — | |
| — | Andorra | — | — | |
| — | Antigua and Barbuda | — | — | |
| — | Aruba | — | — | |
| — | Bermuda | — | — | |
| — | British Virgin Islands | — | — | |
| — | Cayman Islands | — | — | |
| — | Curaçao | — | — | |
| — | Dominica | — | — | |
| — | Faroe Islands | — | — | |
| — | Gibraltar | — | — | |
| — | Greenland | — | — | |
| — | Grenada | — | — | |
| — | Isle of Man | — | — | |
| — | Kiribati | — | — | |
| — | Kosovo | — | — | |
| — | Liechtenstein | — | — | |
| — | Marshall Islands | — | — | |
| — | Federated States of Micronesia | — | — | |
| — | Monaco | — | — | |
| — | Nauru | — | — | |
| — | Northern Mariana Islands | — | — | |
| — | Palau | — | — | |
| — | San Marino | — | — | |
| — | Seychelles | — | — | |
| — | Sint Maarten | — | — | |
| — | Saint Kitts and Nevis | — | — | |
| — | Saint-Martin | — | — | |
| — | Turks and Caicos Islands | — | — | |
| — | Tuvalu | — | — |
Source: World Bank, World Development Indicators (CC BY 4.0)