Social & Inequality
Self-employment
SL.EMP.SELF.ZS ยท %
Annual series published by the World Bank, compared across Italy, Spain, Netherlands, United States, China, South Sudan, Sudan, North Korea. The chart carries the trajectory, the table carries the year by year figures, and the definition at the foot of the page is the World Bank's own, quoted as it stands.
- Latest value, Italy
- 21.12%2025
- Period covered
- 1991 - 202535 annual values
- Highest of the compared countries
- 82.55%South Sudan, 2023
- Lowest of the compared countries
- 6.07%United States, 2025
8 countries compared, that is the maximum. Remove one to add another.
Latest known valuesorted by value
South Sudan82.55%2023
North Korea62.05%2025
Sudan46.52%2022
China37.67%2025
Italy21.12%2025
Netherlands16.79%2025
Spain14.54%2025
United States6.07%2025
Year by year values
Click the Year header to reverse the order. An empty cell means the World Bank publishes nothing for that country that year.
| Italy | Spain | Netherlands | United States | China | South Sudan | Sudan | North Korea | |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| 2025 | 21.12% | 14.54% | 16.79% | 6.07% | 37.67% | 62.05% | ||
| 2024 | 21.25% | 14.7% | 16.83% | 6.19% | 38.05% | 62.13% | ||
| 2023 | 21.3% | 14.84% | 16.79% | 6.08% | 38.45% | 82.55% | 62.18% | |
| 2022 | 21.42% | 15.37% | 16.65% | 6.28% | 38.86% | 82.97% | 46.52% | 62.27% |
| 2021 | 21.83% | 16.13% | 15.81% | 6.58% | 39.27% | 83.42% | 47% | 62.23% |
| 2020 | 22.57% | 16.13% | 15.89% | 6.31% | 39.54% | 83.97% | 47.78% | 62.73% |
| 2019 | 22.81% | 15.74% | 14.62% | 6.54% | 39.56% | 83.55% | 47.96% | 61.62% |
| 2018 | 22.99% | 16.1% | 14.78% | 6.73% | 40.03% | 84.22% | 47.78% | 61.58% |
| 2017 | 23.2% | 16.69% | 14.75% | 6.7% | 40.51% | 84.79% | 47.53% | 61.51% |
| 2016 | 23.93% | 16.68% | 14.92% | 6.83% | 41% | 85.1% | 47.25% | 61.49% |
| 2015 | 24.38% | 17.4% | 14.98% | 6.89% | 41.51% | 85% | 47.14% | 61.54% |
| 2014 | 24.68% | 17.94% | 14.85% | 6.89% | 42.04% | 85.06% | 46.89% | 61.53% |
| 2013 | 24.82% | 17.48% | 14.64% | 7.04% | 42.6% | 85.2% | 46.97% | 61.54% |
| 2012 | 24.91% | 17.06% | 13.75% | 7.2% | 43.19% | 84.69% | 46.69% | 61.56% |
| 2011 | 25.04% | 16.46% | 13.58% | 7.27% | 43.83% | 83.26% | 46.47% | 61.57% |
| 2010 | 25.28% | 16.86% | 13.38% | 7.49% | 44.52% | 82.86% | 46.3% | 61.58% |
| 2009 | 24.97% | 16.9% | 13.75% | 7.54% | 45.24% | 82.7% | 46.14% | 61.59% |
| 2008 | 25.45% | 17.79% | 13.26% | 7.47% | 45.99% | 82.41% | 45.88% | 61.63% |
| 2007 | 26.13% | 17.6% | 13.05% | 7.67% | 46.77% | 82.47% | 46.03% | 61.69% |
| 2006 | 26.41% | 17.86% | 12.89% | 7.85% | 47.59% | 82.55% | 46.59% | 61.74% |
| 2005 | 26.69% | 18.13% | 12.52% | 7.92% | 48.35% | 82.6% | 46.8% | 61.82% |
| 2004 | 27.93% | 18.13% | 10.92% | 8.02% | 49.08% | 82.61% | 47.02% | 61.96% |
| 2003 | 27.29% | 18.2% | 10.23% | 8.01% | 49.79% | 82.64% | 47.2% | 62.07% |
| 2002 | 27.44% | 18.98% | 10.52% | 7.81% | 50.47% | 82.74% | 47.42% | 62.18% |
| 2001 | 27.88% | 20.03% | 10.38% | 7.93% | 51.12% | 82.85% | 47.76% | 62.26% |
| 2000 | 28.16% | 20.19% | 10.27% | 8.01% | 51.73% | 83.01% | 48.12% | 62.33% |
| 1999 | 28.3% | 21.52% | 10.32% | 8.1% | 52.31% | 83.22% | 48.41% | 62.32% |
| 1998 | 28.7% | 22.84% | 10.48% | 8.39% | 52.89% | 83.52% | 48.75% | 62.28% |
| 1997 | 28.82% | 23.82% | 11.21% | 8.72% | 53.5% | 83.99% | 49.28% | 62.06% |
| 1996 | 29.05% | 24.93% | 11.09% | 8.89% | 54.14% | 84.56% | 49.99% | 61.77% |
| 1995 | 29.08% | 25.32% | 11.52% | 9% | 54.82% | 84.57% | 50.18% | 61.5% |
| 1994 | 28.63% | 26.13% | 11.21% | 9.25% | 55.52% | 84.61% | 50.23% | 61.21% |
| 1993 | 28.53% | 26.26% | 10.57% | 9.36% | 56.21% | 84.71% | 50.06% | 60.91% |
| 1992 | 28.87% | 26.2% | 10.2% | 9.24% | 56.85% | 85.36% | 50.19% | 60.59% |
| 1991 | 28.38% | 25.65% | 10.26% | 9.55% | 57.42% | 86.06% | 50.33% | 60.29% |
World Bank definition
Self-employed, total (% of total employment) (modeled ILO estimate)
Self-employed workers are those workers who, working on their own account or with one or a few partners or in cooperative, hold the type of jobs defined as a "self-employment jobs." i.e. jobs where the remuneration is directly dependent upon the profits derived from the goods and services produced. Self-employed workers include sub-categories of employers, own-account workers and members of producers' cooperatives and contributing family workers.
Text published by the World Bank for indicator SL.EMP.SELF.ZS, reproduced unchanged.
The same indicator across Europe & Central Asia
Source: World Bank, World Bank Open Data Annual series, fetched server side and cached for 24 hours. The World Bank is never called from your browser.
