| Code | SL.EMP.TOTL.SP.NE.ZS |
| Indicator Name | Employment to population ratio, 15+, total (%) (national estimate) |
| Short definition | Employment to population ratio is the proportion of a country's population that is employed. |
| Long definition | Employment to population ratio is the proportion of a country's population that is employed. |
| Source | Labour Force Statistics database (LFS), International Labour Organization (ILO), uri: https://ilostat.ilo.org/data/bulk/, publisher: ILOSTAT, type: external database, date accessed: September 25, 2025 |
| Topic | Social Protection & Labor: Economic activity |
| Dataset | WDI |
| Unit of measure | % of total population ages 15+ |
| Periodicity | Annual |
| Reference period | 1960-2023 |
| Aggregation method | Weighted average |
| Statistical concept and methodology | Methodology: The employment-to-population ratio (EPR) is calculated as follows:
EPR (%) = 100 x Persons employed / Working-age population
For a given component group of the working-age population, the EPR is the percentage of this group that is employed. For example, the EPR for women would be calculated as:
EPRw (%) = 100 x Employed women / Working-age women
Statistical concept(s): Employment is defined as persons of working age who, during a short reference period, were engaged in any activity to produce goods or provide services for pay or profit, whether at work during the reference period (i.e. who worked in a job for at least one hour) or not at work due to temporary absence from a job, or to working-time arrangements. Ages 15 and older are generally considered the working-age population. |
| Development relevance | The notion that employment – specifically, access to decent work – is central to poverty reduction was firmly acknowledged in the framework of the Millennium Development Goals (MDGs) with the adoption of an employment-based target under the goal of halving the share of the world’s population living in extreme poverty. The employment-to-population ratio was adopted as one of four indicators to measure progress towards target 1b on “achieving full and productive employment and decent work for all, including women and young people”. After the MDGs came to an end in 2015, the crucial role of decent work in poverty reduction was reinforced in the Sustainable Development Goals (SDGs). In fact, the eighth SDG constitutes the goal of “promoting inclusive and sustainable economic growth, employment and decent work for all”.
The employment-to-population ratio provides information on the ability of an economy to create employment; for many countries the indicator is often more insightful than the unemployment rate. Although a high overall ratio is typically considered as positive, the indicator alone is not sufficient for assessing the level of decent work or decent work deficits. The ratio could be high for reasons that are not necessarily positive – for example, where education options are limited, young people tend to take up any work available rather than staying in school to build their human capital. For these reasons, it is strongly advised that indicators should be reviewed collectively in any evaluation of country-specific labor market policies. |
| Limitations and exceptions | Comparability of employment-to-population ratios across countries is affected most significantly by variations in the definitions used for the employment and population figures. Differences result from age coverage, such as the lower and upper bounds for labor force activity. Estimates of both employment and population are also likely to vary according to whether members of the armed forces are included. Another area with scope for measurement differences has to do with the national treatment of particular groups of workers. The international definition of employment calls for inclusion of all persons who worked for at least one hour during the reference period. Workers could be in paid employment or in self-employment, including in less obvious forms of work, some of which are dealt with in detail in the resolution adopted by the 19th ICLS, such as unpaid family work, apprenticeship or non-market production. The majority of exceptions to coverage of all persons employed in a labor force survey have to do with national variations to the international recommendation applicable to the alternate employment statuses. For example, some countries measure persons employed in paid employment only and some countries measure “all persons engaged”, meaning paid employees plus working proprietors who receive some remuneration based on corporate shares. Other possible variations to the norms pertaining to measurement of total employment include hours limits (beyond one hour) placed on contributing family members for inclusion in employment. Comparisons can also be problematic when the frequency of data collection varies. The range of information collection can run from one month to 12 months in a year. Given the fact that seasonality of various kinds is undoubtedly present in all countries, employment-to-population ratios can vary for this reason alone. Countries with employment-to-population ratios based on less than full-year survey periods can be expected to have ratios that are not directly comparable with those from full-year, month-by-month collections. For example, an annual average based on 12 months of observations, all other things being equal, is likely to be different from an annual average based on four (quarterly) observations. |
| Other notes | The series for ILO estimates is also available in the WDI database. Caution should be used when comparing ILO estimates with national estimates. |
| License URL | https://datacatalog.worldbank.org/public-licenses#cc-by |
| License Type | CC BY-4.0 |
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