Top 10 · work
Top 10 countries by labor force participation
Share of the adult population working or looking for work. World Bank / ILO data, each country's latest year, 2021–2025, covering 178 countries.
The top 10
1st of 178 · 2025
Qatar87 % of adults
- 2ndMadagascar85.5 % of adults
- 3rdSolomon Islands84.3 % of adults
- 4thTanzania83.7 % of adults
- 5thNigeria82.5 % of adults
- 6thCambodia82.4 % of adults
- 7thNorth Korea82.2 % of adults
- 8thUganda80 % of adults
- 9thNiger79.7 % of adults
- 10thMozambique78.7 % of adults
The other end · bottom 5 of 178
- 174thSyria36.9 % of adults
- 175thSomalia33.8 % of adults
- 176thYemen33.1 % of adults
- 177thDjibouti31.7 % of adults
- 178thSão Tomé and Príncipe23.3 % of adults
Where the big countries land
- 90thUnited States61.7 % of adults
- 67thChina64.6 % of adults
- 131stIndia55.7 % of adults
- 97thGermany60.6 % of adults
- 82ndBrazil63.1 % of adults
Common questions
Questions people ask about labor force participation
Which country ranks highest for labor force participation?
Qatar ranks 1st of 178 countries at 87 % of adults (2025 data). Source: World Bank / ILO.
Which countries are in the top 10 for labor force participation?
The top 10 are Qatar, Madagascar, Solomon Islands, Tanzania, Nigeria, Cambodia, North Korea, Uganda, Niger and Mozambique — computed from World Bank / ILO data, each country's latest year, 2021–2025.
Where does the United States rank in labor force participation?
The United States ranks 90th of 178 countries at 61.7 % of adults (2025 data). Source: World Bank / ILO.
What is the median labor force participation worldwide?
Across the 178 countries covered, the median is 61.8 % of adults. Values run from 87 % of adults (Qatar, ranked 1st) to 23.3 % of adults (São Tomé and Príncipe, ranked 178th).
Is labor force participation higher in Europe or the US?
The median across 40 European countries is 60.5 % of adults, against 61.7 % of adults in the United States — it is higher in the US. Source: World Bank / ILO.
Which country ranks lowest for labor force participation?
São Tomé and Príncipe sits at the other end of the list: 23.3 % of adults ranks 178th of 178 (2025 data). Source: World Bank / ILO.
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More on work
- Paid maternity leaveStatutory paid leave available to mothers, in weeks.
- Statutory paid holidayStatutory minimum paid annual leave, in working days.
- Minimum wageStatutory hourly minimum wage, PPP-adjusted USD.
- UnemploymentUnemployed share of the labour force.
- Average wagesAverage monthly pay of employees, adjusted for price levels.
- Life expectancyPeriod life expectancy at birth.
Who leads the world
- Monacotops life expectancy86.5 years
- Singaporetops homicide rate0.1 per 100k
- Bulgariatops paid maternity leave59 weeks
Qatar leads on labor force participation — see where it lands on every other measure, and which US state it most resembles.
From the blog: How reliable is World Bank data? · Census, BEA, CDC, BLS: why US state data is unusually good
All 68 measures →Every country ranked →Every US state →All the Top 10s →The overall board →How we read the data →