Developmentrelevance: The poverty rate as defined by national poverty lines reflects the share of the population that fails to meet the standard a country thinks is necessarty to cover basic needs.

Generalcomments: This series only includes estimates that to the best of our knowledge are reasonably comparable over time for a country. Due to differences in estimation methodologies and poverty lines, estimates should not be compared across countries.

IndicatorName: Poverty headcount ratio at national poverty lines (% of population)

Longdefinition: National poverty headcount ratio is the percentage of the population living below the national poverty line(s). National estimates are based on population-weighted subgroup estimates from household surveys. For economies for which the data are from EU-SILC, the reported year is the income reference year, which is the year before the survey year.

Source: World Bank, Poverty and Inequality Platform. Data are compiled from official government sources or are computed by World Bank staff using national (i.e. country–specific) poverty lines.

Statisticalconceptandmethodology:
Poverty headcount ratio among the population is measured based on national (i.e. country-specific) poverty lines. A country may have a unique national poverty line or separate poverty lines for rural and urban areas, or for different geographic areas to reflect differences in the cost of living or sometimes to reflect differences in diets and consumption baskets.

Poverty estimates at national poverty lines are computed from household survey data collected from nationally representative samples of households. These data must contain sufficiently detailed information to compute a comprehensive estimate of total household income or consumption (including consumption or income from own production), from which it is possible to construct a correctly weighted distribution of per capita consumption or income.

National poverty lines are the benchmark for estimating poverty indicators that are consistent with the country's specific economic and social circumstances. National poverty lines reflect local perceptions of the level and composition of consumption or income needed to be non-poor. The perceived boundary between poor and non-poor typically rises with the average income of a country and thus does not provide a uniform measure for comparing poverty rates across countries. While poverty rates at national poverty lines should not be used for comparing poverty rates across countries, they are appropriate for guiding and monitoring the results of country-specific national poverty reduction strategies.

Almost all national poverty lines in developing economies are anchored to the cost of a food bundle - based on the prevailing national diet of the poor - that provides adequate nutrition for good health and normal activity, plus an allowance for nonfood spending. National poverty lines must be adjusted for inflation between survey years to remain constant in real terms and thus allow for meaningful comparisons of poverty over time. Because diets and consumption baskets change over time, countries periodically recalculate the poverty line based on new survey data. In such cases the new poverty lines should be deflated to obtain comparable poverty estimates from earlier years.

This series only includes estimates that to the best of our knowledge are reasonably comparable over time for a country. For economies for which the data are from EU-SILC, the reported year is the income reference year, which is the year before the survey year. For all other economies, the year reported is the year in which the underlying household survey data were collected or, when the data collection period bridged two calendar years, the year in which data collection started.


Developmentrelevance: Monitoring poverty is important on the global development agenda as well as on the national development agenda of many countries. The first Sustainable Development Goal calls for ending poverty in all forms by 2030. Typically, countries' poverty lines increase in real value as their economies get richer. Essentially, this is because in a richer country it is costlier to participate in society (i.e., be considered non-poor). Yet as relative poverty lines can take on very low values for poor countries, one may want to ensure a lower bound which provides a fixed, absolute element to the SPL, which the study interprets as the cost of consuming some minimum bundle of goods. The Societal Poverty Line tracks poverty rates consistent with these considerations.

Generalcomments: The World Bank’s internationally comparable poverty monitoring database now draws on income or detailed consumption data from more than 2000 household surveys across 169 countries. See the Poverty and Inequality Platform (PIP) for details (www.pip.worldbank.org).

IndicatorName: Poverty headcount ratio at societal poverty line (% of population)

License_Type: CC BY-4.0

Limitationsandexceptions:
Despite progress in the last decade, the challenges of measuring poverty remain. The timeliness, frequency, quality, and comparability of household surveys need to increase substantially, particularly in the poorest countries. The availability and quality of poverty monitoring data remains low in small states, countries with fragile situations, and low-income countries and even some middle-income countries. The low frequency and lack of comparability of the data available in some countries create uncertainty over the magnitude of poverty reduction.

Besides the frequency and timeliness of survey data, other data quality issues arise in measuring household living standards. The surveys ask detailed questions on sources of income and how it was spent, which must be carefully recorded by trained personnel. Income is generally more difficult to measure accurately, and consumption comes closer to the notion of living standards. And income can vary over time even if living standards do not. But consumption data are not always available: the latest estimates reported here use consumption data for about two-thirds of countries.

However, even similar surveys may not be strictly comparable because of differences in timing or in the quality and training of enumerators. Comparisons of countries at different levels of development also pose a potential problem because of differences in the relative importance of the consumption of nonmarket goods. The local market value of all consumption in kind (including own production, particularly important in underdeveloped rural economies) should be included in total consumption expenditure but may not be. Most survey data now include valuations for consumption or income from own production, but valuation methods vary.

Longdefinition: The poverty headcount ratio at societal poverty line is the percentage of a population living in poverty according to the World Bank's Societal Poverty Line. The Societal Poverty Line is expressed in purchasing power adjusted 2017 U.S. dollars and defined as max($2.15, $1.15 + 0.5*Median). This means that when the national median is sufficiently low, the Societal Poverty line is equivalent to the extreme poverty line, $2.15. For countries with a sufficiently high national median, the Societal Poverty Line grows as countries’ median income grows.

Periodicity: Annual

Relatedsourcelinks: World Bank, Poverty and Inequality Platform: https://pip.worldbank.org/

Shortdefinition: The poverty headcount ratio at societal poverty line is the percentage of a population living in poverty according to the World Bank's societal poverty line.

Source: World Bank, Poverty and Inequality Platform. Data are based on primary household survey data obtained from government statistical agencies and World Bank country departments. Data for high-income economies are mostly from the Luxembourg Income Study database. For more information and methodology, please see http://pip.worldbank.org.

Statisticalconceptandmethodology: The Societal Poverty Line (SPL) adopted by the World Bank is calculated in 2017 PPP U.S. dollars as follows: SPL = max (US$2.15, US$1.15 + 0.5 median consumption). By this definition, societal poverty represents a combination of extreme poverty, which is fixed in value for everyone, and a relative dimension of well-being that differs in every country depending on the median level of consumption in that country. In countries with low median consumption (less than US$2.00 per person per day), a rise in median consumption does not change the SPL. Indeed, the SPL has the same value as the IPL in all countries with median consumption at less than US$2.00. However, as countries with median consumption at more than US$2.00 become richer, and the median consumption increases, the value of the SPL also rises. The slope of one-half, the rate at which the SPL is rising as countries become richer, comes from the empirical association observed between national poverty lines and different measures of overall consumption in society. It indicates that, on average, the national poverty lines are increasing at a rate equal to half the median consumption in the countries. The slope of one-half and the intercept of US$1.15 are the values that most closely fit the data provided by the national poverty lines and overall consumption in each country. The SPL and the International Poverty Line (IPL) share the same empirical underpinning. Both are anchored in the distribution of national poverty lines, which represent countries’ own judgements of what poverty means for them. Whereas the IPL focuses narrowly—and deliberately—on the choices of some of the poorest countries, the SPL is built on information from across the whole range of levels of development. In addition to fitting the data well, the slope coefficient of half the median is widely used by many countries and organizations as a measure of relative poverty and inclusion.

Topic: Poverty: Poverty rates


Developmentrelevance: The World Bank Group is committed to reducing extreme poverty to 3 percent or less, globally, by 2030. Monitoring poverty is important on the global development agenda as well as on the national development agenda of many countries. The World Bank produced its first global poverty estimates for developing countries for World Development Report 1990: Poverty (World Bank 1990) using household survey data for 22 countries (Ravallion, Datt, and van de Walle 1991). Since then there has been considerable expansion in the number of countries that field household income and expenditure surveys.

IndicatorName: Poverty headcount ratio at $6.85 a day (2017 PPP) (% of population)

Longdefinition: Poverty headcount ratio at $6.85 a day is the percentage of the population living on less than $6.85 a day at 2017 international prices.

Statisticalconceptandmethodology:
International comparisons of poverty estimates entail both conceptual and practical problems. Countries have different definitions of poverty, and consistent comparisons across countries can be difficult. Local poverty lines tend to have higher purchasing power in rich countries, where more generous standards are used, than in poor countries.

Since World Development Report 1990, the World Bank has aimed to apply a common standard in measuring extreme poverty, anchored to what poverty means in the world's poorest countries. The welfare of people living in different countries can be measured on a common scale by adjusting for differences in the purchasing power of currencies. The commonly used $1 a day standard, measured in 1985 international prices and adjusted to local currency using purchasing power parities (PPPs), was chosen for World Development Report 1990 because it was typical of the poverty lines in low-income countries at the time. As differences in the cost of living across the world evolve, the international poverty line has to be periodically updated using new PPP price data to reflect these changes. The last change was in September 2022, when we adopted $2.15 as the international poverty line using the 2017 PPP. Poverty measures based on international poverty lines attempt to hold the real value of the poverty line constant across countries, as is done when making comparisons over time. The $3.65 poverty line is derived from typical national poverty lines in countries classified as Lower Middle Income. The $6.85 poverty line is derived from typical national poverty lines in countries classified as Upper Middle Income.

Early editions of World Development Indicators used PPPs from the Penn World Tables to convert values in local currency to equivalent purchasing power measured in U.S dollars. Later editions used 1993, 2005, and 2017 consumption PPP estimates produced by the World Bank. The current extreme poverty line is set at $2.15 a day in 2017 PPP terms, which represents the mean of the poverty lines found in 15 of the poorest countries ranked by per capita consumption. The new poverty line maintains the same standard for extreme poverty - the poverty line typical of the poorest countries in the world - but updates it using the latest information on the cost of living in developing countries. As a result of revisions in PPP exchange rates, poverty rates for individual countries cannot be compared with poverty rates reported in earlier editions.

The statistics reported here are based on consumption data or, when unavailable, on income surveys.


IndicatorName: Poverty gap at $6.85 a day (2017 PPP) (%)

Longdefinition: Poverty gap at $6.85 a day (2017 PPP) is the mean shortfall in income or consumption from the poverty line $6.85 a day (counting the nonpoor as having zero shortfall), expressed as a percentage of the poverty line. This measure reflects the depth of poverty as well as its incidence.


Developmentrelevance: Reducing the cost of remittance transactions has a direct impact on development by freeing additional resources that, instead of being paid as transaction cost, will remain with the senders and receivers of the flows. Remittance cost is highlighted in Sustainable Development Goal 10. Target 10.c calls for reducing to less than 3 percent the transaction costs of migrant remittances and ensure that in no corridor remittance senders are required to pay more than 5 percent by 2030.

IndicatorName: Average transaction cost of sending remittances to a specific country (%)

Limitationsandexceptions: Remittance service providers (RSPs) are excluded when they do not disclose the exchange rate applied to the transaction

Longdefinition: Average transaction cost of sending remittance to a specific country is the average of the total transaction cost in percentage of the amount sent for sending USD 200 charged by each single remittance service provider (RSP) included in the Remittance Prices Worldwide (RPW) database to a specific country.

Periodicity: Quarterly (represented as Annual)

Source: World Bank, Remittance Prices Worldwide, available at http://remittanceprices.worldbank.org

Statisticalconceptandmethodology: The World Bank calculates and tracks the global average cost for sending remittances following each iteration of Remittance Prices Worldwide (RPW). This is intended to provide a tool to track the trend of remittance prices by various policy makers, including measuring progress towards the commitment by the G8 member countries to reduce the cost of remittances by five percentage points over five years (the “5x5 Objective”), as well as the commitment by the G20 member countries to also reduce the global average to 5 percent. The Global Average Total Cost is calculated as the average total cost for sending USD 200 with all remittance service providers (RSPs) worldwide. In other terms, the global average total cost is the simple average of the total cost for sending USD 200 charged by each single RSP included in the RPW database, expressed as the percentage of the amount sent. The regional and national average total costs are calculated using the same methodology used to calculate the Global Average Total Cost. These represent the simple average total cost for sending USD 200 with every single RSP to a specific region of the world (regional), or to a specific country (national). The reference years reflect third quarter data here; for example, data for 2016 refers to data in the third quarter of the year. For all quarterly data, visit http://remittanceprices.worldbank.org.

Topic: Financial Sector: Access


IndicatorName: Average transaction cost of sending remittances from a specific country (%)

Limitationsandexceptions: Remittance service providers (RSPs) are excluded when they do not disclose the exchange rate applied to the transaction.

Longdefinition: Average transaction cost of sending remittance from a specific country is the average of the total transaction cost in percentage of the amount sent for sending USD 200 charged by each single remittance service provider (RSP) included in the Remittance Prices Worldwide (RPW) database from a specific country.

Statisticalconceptandmethodology: The World Bank calculates and tracks the global average cost for sending remittances following each iteration of Remittance Prices Worldwide (RPW). This is intended to provide a tool to track the trend of remittance prices by various policy makers, including measuring progress towards the commitment by the G8 member countries to reduce the cost of remittances by five percentage points over five years (the “5x5 Objective”), as well as the commitment by the G20 member countries to also reduce the global average to 5 percent. The Global Average Total Cost is calculated as the average total cost for sending USD 200 with all remittance service providers (RSPs) worldwide. In other terms, the global average total cost is the simple average of the total cost for sending USD 200 charged by each single RSP included in the RPW database, expressed as the percentage of the amount sent. The regional and national average total costs are calculated using the same methodology used to calculate the Global Average Total Cost. These represent the simple average total cost for sending USD 200 with every single RSP from a specific region of the world (regional), or from a specific country (national). The same applies to other averages such as the G8 average, which calculates the average cost of sending USD 200 from the G8 member countries, or the bank average, which represent the average cost of sending USD 200 with a bank worldwide. The reference years reflect third quarter data here; for example, data for 2016 refers to data in the third quarter of the year. For all quarterly data, visit http://remittanceprices.worldbank.org.


Developmentrelevance: The World Bank Group's goal of promoting shared prosperity has been defined as fostering income growth of the bottom 40 per cent of the welfare distribution in every country.

Generalcomments: The choice of consumption or income for a country is made according to which welfare aggregate is used to estimate extreme poverty in the Poverty and Inequality Platform (PIP). The practice adopted by the World Bank for estimating global and regional poverty is, in principle, to use per capita consumption expenditure as the welfare measure wherever available; and to use income as the welfare measure for countries for which consumption is unavailable. However, in some cases data on consumption may be available but are outdated or not shared with the World Bank for recent survey years. In these cases, if data on income are available, income is used. Whether data are for consumption or income per capita is noted in the footnotes. Because household surveys are infrequent in most countries and are not aligned across countries, comparisons across countries or over time should be made with a high degree of caution.

IndicatorName: Survey mean consumption or income per capita, bottom 40% of population (2017 PPP $ per day)

Longdefinition: Mean consumption or income per capita (2017 PPP $ per day) of the bottom 40%, used in calculating the growth rate in the welfare aggregate of the bottom 40% of the population in the income distribution in a country.

Source: World Bank, Global Database of Shared Prosperity (GDSP) (http://www.worldbank.org/en/topic/poverty/brief/global-database-of-shared-prosperity).

Topic: Poverty: Shared prosperity


Generalcomments: The comparability of welfare aggregates (consumption or income) for the chosen years T0 and T1 is assessed for every country. If comparability across the two surveys is a major concern for a country, the selection criteria are re-applied to select the next best survey year(s). Annualized growth rates are calculated between the survey years, using a compound growth formula. The survey years defining the period for which growth rates are calculated and the type of welfare aggregate used to calculate the growth rates are noted in the footnotes.

IndicatorName: Annualized average growth rate in per capita real survey mean consumption or income, bottom 40% of population (%)

Limitationsandexceptions: Because household surveys are infrequent in most countries and are not aligned across countries, comparisons across countries or over time should be made with a high degree of caution.

Longdefinition:
The growth rate in the welfare aggregate of the bottom 40% is computed as the annualized average growth rate in per capita real consumption or income of the bottom 40% of the population in  the income distribution in a country from household surveys over a roughly 5-year period. Mean per capita real consumption or income is measured at 2017 Purchasing Power Parity (PPP) using the Poverty and Inequality Platform (http://www.pip.worldbank.org). For some countries means are not reported due to grouped and/or confidential data. The annualized growth rate is computed as (Mean in final year/Mean in initial year)^(1/(Final year - Initial year)) - 1.  The reference year is the year in which the underlying household survey data was collected. In cases for which the data collection period bridged two calendar years, the first year in which data were collected is reported. The initial year refers to the nearest survey collected 5 years before the most recent survey available, only surveys collected between 3 and 7 years before the most recent survey are considered.

The coverage and quality of the 2017 PPP price data for Iraq and most other North African and Middle Eastern countries were hindered by the exceptional period of instability they faced at the time of the 2017 exercise of the International Comparison Program. See the Poverty and Inequality Platform for detailed explanations.

Shortdefinition: The growth rate in the welfare aggregate of bottom 40% is computed as the annualized average growth rate in per capita real consumption or income of the bottom 40% of the income distribution in a country from household surveys over a roughly 5-year period.


IndicatorName: Survey mean consumption or income per capita, total population (2017 PPP $ per day)

Longdefinition: Mean consumption or income per capita (2017 PPP $ per day) used in calculating the growth rate in the welfare aggregate of total population.


IndicatorName: Annualized average growth rate in per capita real survey mean consumption or income, total population (%)

Longdefinition:
The growth rate in the welfare aggregate of the total population is computed as the annualized average growth rate in per capita real consumption or income of the total population in  the income distribution in a country from household surveys over a roughly 5-year period. Mean per capita real consumption or income is measured at 2017 Purchasing Power Parity (PPP) using the Poverty and Inequality Platform (http://www.pip.worldbank.org). For some countries means are not reported due to grouped and/or confidential data. The annualized growth rate is computed as (Mean in final year/Mean in initial year)^(1/(Final year - Initial year)) - 1.  The reference year is the year in which the underlying household survey data was collected. In cases for which the data collection period bridged two calendar years, the first year in which data were collected is reported. The initial year refers to the nearest survey collected 5 years before the most recent survey available, only surveys collected between 3 and 7 years before the most recent survey are considered.

The coverage and quality of the 2017 PPP price data for Iraq and most other North African and Middle Eastern countries were hindered by the exceptional period of instability they faced at the time of the 2017 exercise of the International Comparison Program. See the Poverty and Inequality Platform for detailed explanations.

Shortdefinition: The growth rate in the welfare aggregate of total population is computed as annualized average growth rate in per capita real consumption or income of total population from household surveys over a roughly 5-year period.


Developmentrelevance: The World Bank Group's mission is to end extreme poverty and boost shared prosperity on a livable planet. Boosting shared prosperity is key to ensure that development gains are shared across vulnerable groups. The goal of boosting shared prosperity is defined using the prosperity gap.

IndicatorName: Prosperity gap (average shortfall from a prosperity standard of $25/day)

Longdefinition: The average shortfall from a prosperity standard of $25 per day (adjusted for differences in purchasing power parity across countries). It is measured as the average factor by which incomes fall short of $25.

Source: World Bank’s Poverty and Inequality Platform: http://pip.worldbank.org.

Statisticalconceptandmethodology: The Prosperity Gap is a measure of shared prosperity. As a distribution-sensitive measure, the gap narrows when incomes increase anywhere and falls fastest when incomes of the very poorest increase: growth in income of a person earning $2.50 per day gets ten times more weight than growth in income of a person earning $25/day. Improvements (i.e., reductions) in the Prosperity Gap reflect increases in average income, reductions in inequality within countries, and (for global/regional aggregates) reductions in inequality between countries. It is estimated from nationally representative household surveys. When survey data are missing, in order to create global and regional aggregates, data are interpolated and extrapolated following the same methods that are used for global poverty estimates:  https://datanalytics.worldbank.org/PIP-Methodology/lineupestimates.html

Unitofmeasure: Ratio


Developmentrelevance: In most countries more boys are involved in employment, or the gender difference is small. However, girls are often more present in hidden or underreported forms of employment such as domestic service, and in almost all societies girls bear greater responsibility for household chores in their own homes, work that lies outside the System of National Accounts production boundary and is thus not considered in estimates of children's employment.

IndicatorName: Child employment in agriculture, female (% of female economically active children ages 7-14)

Limitationsandexceptions: Although efforts are made to harmonize the definition of employment and the questions on employment in survey questionnaires, significant differences remain in the survey instruments that collect data on children in employment and in the sampling design underlying the surveys. Differences exist not only across different household surveys in the same country but also across the same type of survey carried out in different countries, so estimates of working children are not fully comparable across countries. In addition, the shares of three sectors (Agriculture, Manufacturing and Services) may not add up to 100 percent because of a residual category not included.

Longdefinition: Employment by economic activity refers to the distribution of economically active children by the major industrial categories of the International Standard Industrial Classification (ISIC). Agriculture corresponds to division 1 (ISIC revision 2), categories A and B (ISIC revision 3), or category A (ISIC revision 4) and includes hunting, forestry, and fishing. Economically active children refer to children involved in economic activity for at least one hour in the reference week of the survey.

Source: Understanding Children's Work project based on data from ILO, UNICEF and the World Bank.

Statisticalconceptandmethodology:
Data are from household surveys by the International Labor Organization (ILO), the United Nations Children's Fund (UNICEF), the World Bank, and national statistical offices. The surveys yield data on education, employment, health, expenditure, and consumption indicators related to children's work. Since children's work is captured in the sense of "economic activity," the data refer to children in employment, a broader concept than child labor (see ILO 2009a for details on this distinction).

Household survey data generally include information on work type - for example, whether a child is working for payment in cash or in kind or is involved in unpaid work, working for someone who is not a member of the household, or involved in any type of family work (on the farm or in a business).

Topic: Social Protection & Labor: Economic activity


IndicatorName: Child employment in agriculture, male (% of male economically active children ages 7-14)


IndicatorName: Child employment in agriculture (% of economically active children ages 7-14)


Aggregationmethod: Weighted average

Developmentrelevance:
Sectoral information is particularly useful in identifying broad shifts in employment and stages of development. In the textbook case of economic development, labour flows from agriculture and other labour-intensive primary activities to industry and finally to the services sector; in the process, workers migrate from rural to urban areas.

The breakdown of the indicator by sex allows for analysis of gender segregation of employment by specific sector. Women may be drawn into lower-paying service activities that allow for more flexible work schedules thus making it easier to balance family responsibilities with work life. Segregation of women in certain sectors may also result from cultural attitudes that prevent them from entering industrial employment.
Segregating one sex in a narrow range of occupations significantly reduces economic efficiency by reducing labor market flexibility and thus the economy's ability to adapt to change. This segregation is particularly harmful for women, who have a much narrower range of labor market choices and lower levels of pay than men. But it is also detrimental to men when job losses are concentrated in industries dominated by men and job growth is centered in service occupations, where women have better chances, as has been the recent experience in many countries.

IndicatorName: Employment in agriculture, female (% of female employment) (modeled ILO estimate)

Limitationsandexceptions:
There are many differences in how countries define and measure employment status, particularly members of the armed forces, self-employed workers, and unpaid family workers. Where members of the armed forces are included, they are allocated to the service sector, causing that sector to be somewhat overstated relative to the service sector in economies where they are excluded. Where data are obtained from establishment surveys, data cover only employees; thus self-employed and unpaid family workers are excluded. In such cases the employment share of the agricultural sector is severely underreported. Caution should be also used where the data refer only to urban areas, which record little or no agricultural work. Moreover, the age group and area covered could differ by country or change over time within a country. For detailed information, consult the original source.

Countries also take different approaches to the treatment of unemployed people. In most countries unemployed people with previous job experience are classified according to their last job. But in some countries the unemployed and people seeking their first job are not classifiable by economic activity. Because of these differences, the size and distribution of employment by economic activity may not be fully comparable across countries.

The ILO reports data by major divisions of the ISIC revision 2, revision 3, or revision 4. Broad classification such as employment by agriculture, industry, and services may obscure fundamental shifts within countries' industrial patterns. A slight majority of countries report economic activity according to the ISIC revision 3 instead of revision 2 or revision 4. The use of one classification or the other should not have a significant impact on the information for the employment of the three broad sectorsdata.

Longdefinition: Employment is defined as persons of working age who were engaged in any activity to produce goods or provide services for pay or profit, whether at work during the reference period or not at work due to temporary absence from a job, or to working-time arrangement. The agriculture sector consists of activities in agriculture, hunting, forestry and fishing, in accordance with division 1 (ISIC 2) or categories A-B (ISIC 3) or category A (ISIC 4).

Notesfromoriginalsource: Given the exceptional situation, including the scarcity of relevant data, the  ILO modeled estimates and projections from 2020 onwards are subject to substantial uncertainty.

Source: International Labour Organization. “ILO modelled estimates database” ILOSTAT. Accessed February 07, 2024. https://ilostat.ilo.org/data/.

Statisticalconceptandmethodology:
The International Labour Organization (ILO) classifies economic activity using the International Standard Industrial Classification (ISIC) of All Economic Activities, revision 2 (1968), revision 3 (1990), and revision 4 (2008). Because this classification is based on where work is performed (industry) rather than type of work performed (occupation), all of an enterprise's employees are classified under the same industry, regardless of their trade or occupation. The categories should sum to 100 percent. Where they do not, the differences are due to workers who are not classified by economic activity.

The series is part of the "ILO modeled estimates database," including nationally reported observations and imputed data for countries with missing data, primarily to capture regional and global trends with consistent country coverage. Country-reported microdata is based mainly on nationally representative labor force surveys, with other sources (e.g., household surveys and population censuses) considering differences in the data source, the scope of coverage, methodology, and other country-specific factors. Country analysis requires caution where limited nationally reported data are available. A series of models are also applied to impute missing observations and make projections. However, imputed observations are not based on national data, are subject to high uncertainty, and should not be used for country comparisons or rankings. For more information: https://ilostat.ilo.org/resources/concepts-and-definitions/ilo-modelled-estimates/


IndicatorName: Employment in agriculture, male (% of male employment) (modeled ILO estimate)


IndicatorName: Employment in agriculture (% of total employment) (modeled ILO estimate)


Developmentrelevance: Four targets were added to the UN Millennium Declaration at the 2005 World Summit High-Level Plenary Meeting of the 60th Session of the UN General Assembly. One was full and productive employment and decent work for all, which is seen as the main route for people to escape poverty. Employment to population ratio is a key measure to monitor whether a country is on track to achieve the Millennium Development Goal of eradicating extreme poverty and hunger by 2015. And it continues to be a priority in the Sustainable Development Goal of promoting sustained, inclusive and sustainable economic growth, full and productive employment and decent work for all.

Generalcomments: The series for ILO estimates is also available in the WDI database. Caution should be used when comparing ILO estimates with national estimates.

IndicatorName: Employment to population ratio, ages 15-24, female (%) (national estimate)

Limitationsandexceptions:
Data on employment by status are drawn from labor force surveys and household surveys, supplemented by official estimates and censuses for a small group of countries. The labor force survey is the most comprehensive source for internationally comparable employment, but there are still some limitations for comparing data across countries and over time even within a country.

Comparability of employment ratios across countries is affected by variations in definitions of employment and population. The biggest difference results from the age range used to define labor force activity. The population base for employment ratios can also vary. Most countries use the resident, non-institutionalized population of working age living in private households, which excludes members of the armed forces and individuals residing in mental, penal, or other types of institutions. But some countries include members of the armed forces in the population base of their employment ratio while excluding them from employment data.

The reference period of a census or survey is another important source of differences: in some countries data refer to people's status on the day of the census or survey or during a specific period before the inquiry date, while in others data are recorded without reference to any period. Employment ratios tend to vary during the year as seasonal workers enter and leave.

This indicator also has a gender bias because women who do not consider their work employment or who are not perceived as working tend to be undercounted. This bias has different effects across countries and reflects demographic, social, legal, and cultural trends and norms.

Longdefinition: Employment to population ratio is the proportion of a country's population that is employed. 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 15-24 are generally considered the youth population.

Source: International Labour Organization. “Labour Force Statistics database (LFS)” ILOSTAT. Accessed October 16, 2024. https://ilostat.ilo.org/data/.

Statisticalconceptandmethodology: The employment to population ratio indicates how efficiently an economy provides jobs for people who want to work. A high ratio means that a large proportion of the population is employed. But a lower employment to population ratio can be seen as a positive sign, especially for young people, if it is caused by an increase in their education.


Generalcomments: National estimates are also available in the WDI database. Caution should be used when comparing ILO estimates with national estimates.

IndicatorName: Employment to population ratio, ages 15-24, female (%) (modeled ILO estimate)

Source: International Labour Organization. “ILO Modelled Estimates and Projections database (ILOEST)” ILOSTAT. Accessed February 06, 2024. https://ilostat.ilo.org/data/.

Statisticalconceptandmethodology:
The employment-to-population ratio indicates how efficiently an economy provides jobs for people who want to work. A high ratio means that a large proportion of the population is employed. But a lower employment-to-population ratio can be seen as a positive sign, especially for young people, if an increase in their education causes it.

The series is part of the "ILO modeled estimates database," including nationally reported observations and imputed data for countries with missing data, primarily to capture regional and global trends with consistent country coverage. Country-reported microdata is based mainly on nationally representative labor force surveys, with other sources (e.g., household surveys and population censuses) considering differences in the data source, the scope of coverage, methodology, and other country-specific factors. Country analysis requires caution where limited nationally reported data are available. A series of models are also applied to impute missing observations and make projections. However, imputed observations are not based on national data, are subject to high uncertainty, and should not be used for country comparisons or rankings. For more information: https://ilostat.ilo.org/resources/concepts-and-definitions/ilo-modelled-estimates/


IndicatorName: Employment to population ratio, ages 15-24, male (%) (national estimate)


IndicatorName: Employment to population ratio, ages 15-24, male (%) (modeled ILO estimate)


IndicatorName: Employment to population ratio, ages 15-24, total (%) (national estimate)


IndicatorName: Employment to population ratio, ages 15-24, total (%) (modeled ILO estimate)


Developmentrelevance:
Breaking down employment information by status in employment provides a statistical basis for describing workers' behaviour and conditions of work, and for defining an individual's socio-economic group. A high proportion of wage and salaried workers in a country can signify advanced economic development. If the proportion of own-account workers (self-employed without hired employees) is sizeable, it may be an indication of a large agriculture sector and low growth in the formal economy. A high proportion of contributing family workers — generally unpaid, although compensation might come indirectly in the form of family income — may indicate weak development, little job growth, and often a large rural economy.

Each status group faces different economic risks, and contributing family workers and own-account workers are the most vulnerable - and therefore the most likely to fall into poverty. They are the least likely to have formal work arrangements, are the least likely to have social protection and safety nets to guard against economic shocks, and often are incapable of generating sufficient savings to offset these shocks.

IndicatorName: Employers, female (% of female employment) (modeled ILO estimate)

Limitationsandexceptions: Data are drawn from labor force surveys and household surveys, supplemented by official estimates and censuses for a small group of countries. Due to differences in definitions and coverage across countries, there are limitations for comparing data across countries and over time even within a country. Estimates of women in employment are not comparable internationally, reflecting that demographic, social, legal, and cultural trends and norms determine whether women's activities are regarded as economic.

Longdefinition: Employers are those workers who, working on their own account or with one or a few partners, 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), and, in this capacity, have engaged, on a continuous basis, one or more persons to work for them as employee(s).

Statisticalconceptandmethodology:
The status in employment distinguishes between two categories of the total employed: (a) wage and salaried workers (also known as employees); and (b) self-employed workers, with the subcategories: (i) self-employed workers with employees (employers), (ii) self-employed workers without employees (own-account workers), and (iii) members of producers' cooperatives and contributing family workers (also known as unpaid family workers). Vulnerable employment refers to the sum of (ii) own-account workers and (iii) contributing family workers.

The series is part of the "ILO modeled estimates database," including nationally reported observations and imputed data for countries with missing data, primarily to capture regional and global trends with consistent country coverage. Country-reported microdata is based mainly on nationally representative labor force surveys, with other sources (e.g., household surveys and population censuses) considering differences in the data source, the scope of coverage, methodology, and other country-specific factors. Country analysis requires caution where limited nationally reported data are available. A series of models are also applied to impute missing observations and make projections. However, imputed observations are not based on national data, are subject to high uncertainty, and should not be used for country comparisons or rankings. For more information: https://ilostat.ilo.org/resources/concepts-and-definitions/ilo-modelled-estimates/


IndicatorName: Employers, male (% of male employment) (modeled ILO estimate)


IndicatorName: Employers, total (% of total employment) (modeled ILO estimate)


IndicatorName: Self-employed, female (% of female employment) (modeled ILO estimate)

Longdefinition: 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 four sub-categories of employers, own-account workers, members of producers' cooperatives, and contributing family workers.


IndicatorName: Self-employed, male (% of male employment) (modeled ILO estimate)


IndicatorName: Self-employed, total (% of total employment) (modeled ILO estimate)


Developmentrelevance: The indicator provides information on the proportion of women who are employed in decision-making and management roles in government, large enterprises and institutions.

IndicatorName: Female share of employment in senior and middle management (%)

Longdefinition: The proportion of females in total employment in senior and middle management. It corresponds to major group 1 in both ISCO-08 and ISCO-88 minus category 14 in ISCO-08 (hospitality, retail and other services managers) and minus category 13 in ISCO-88 (general managers), since these comprise mainly managers of small enterprises.

Source: International Labour Organization. “Labour Market-related SDG Indicators database (ILOSDG)” ILOSTAT. Accessed October 16, 2024. https://ilostat.ilo.org/data/.


IndicatorName: Employment to population ratio, 15+, female (%) (national estimate)

Longdefinition: Employment to population ratio is the proportion of a country's population that is employed. 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.


IndicatorName: Employment to population ratio, 15+, female (%) (modeled ILO estimate)


IndicatorName: Employment to population ratio, 15+, male (%) (national estimate)


IndicatorName: Employment to population ratio, 15+, male (%) (modeled ILO estimate)


IndicatorName: Employment to population ratio, 15+, total (%) (national estimate)


IndicatorName: Employment to population ratio, 15+, total (%) (modeled ILO estimate)


IndicatorName: Vulnerable employment, female (% of female employment) (modeled ILO estimate)

Longdefinition: Vulnerable employment is contributing family workers and own-account workers as a percentage of total employment.

Source: World Bank, World Development Indicators database. Estimates are based on data obtained from International Labour Organization, ILOSTAT at https://ilostat.ilo.org/data/.


IndicatorName: Vulnerable employment, male (% of male employment) (modeled ILO estimate)


IndicatorName: Vulnerable employment, total (% of total employment) (modeled ILO estimate)


IndicatorName: Wage and salaried workers, female (% of female employment) (modeled ILO estimate)

Longdefinition: Wage and salaried workers (employees) are those workers who hold the type of jobs defined as "paid employment jobs," where the incumbents hold explicit (written or oral) or implicit employment contracts that give them a basic remuneration that is not directly dependent upon the revenue of the unit for which they work.


IndicatorName: Wage and salaried workers, male (% of male employment) (modeled ILO estimate)


IndicatorName: Wage and salaried workers, total (% of total employment) (modeled ILO estimate)


IndicatorName: Children in employment, unpaid family workers, female (% of female children in employment, ages 7-14)

Limitationsandexceptions: Although efforts are made to harmonize the definition of employment and the questions on employment in survey questionnaires, significant differences remain in the survey instruments that collect data on children in employment and in the sampling design underlying the surveys. Differences exist not only across different household surveys in the same country but also across the same type of survey carried out in different countries, so estimates of working children are not fully comparable across countries. In addition, the shares of three categories (self-employed workers, wage workers, and unpaid family workers) may not add up to 100 percent because of a residual category not included.

Longdefinition: Unpaid family workers are people who work without pay in a market-oriented establishment operated by a related person living in the same household.

Statisticalconceptandmethodology:
Data are from household surveys by the International Labor Organization (ILO), the United Nations Children's Fund (UNICEF), the World Bank, and national statistical offices. The surveys yield data on education, employment, health, expenditure, and consumption indicators related to children's work. Since children's work is captured in the sense of "economic activity," the data refer to children in employment, a broader concept than child labor (see ILO 2009a for details on this distinction).

Household survey data generally include information on work type - for example, whether a child is working for payment in cash or in kind or is involved in unpaid work, working for someone who is not a member of the household, or involved in any type of family work (on the farm or in a business).

In line with the definition of economic activity adopted by the 13th International Conference of Labour Statisticians, the threshold set by the 1993 UN System of National Accounts for classifying a person as employed is to have been engaged at least one hour in any activity relating to the production of goods and services during the reference period. Children seeking work are thus excluded. Economic activity covers all market production and certain nonmarket production, including production of goods for own use. It excludes unpaid household services (commonly called "household chores") - that is, the production of domestic and personal services by household members for a household's own consumption.

Country surveys define the ages for child labor as 5-17. The data here have been recalculated to present statistics for children ages 7-14.


IndicatorName: Children in employment, unpaid family workers, male (% of male children in employment, ages 7-14)


IndicatorName: Children in employment, unpaid family workers (% of children in employment, ages 7-14)


IndicatorName: Contributing family workers, female (% of female employment) (modeled ILO estimate)

Longdefinition: Contributing family workers are those workers who hold "self-employment jobs" as own-account workers in a market-oriented establishment operated by a related person living in the same household.


IndicatorName: Contributing family workers, male (% of male employment) (modeled ILO estimate)


IndicatorName: Contributing family workers, total (% of total employment) (modeled ILO estimate)


Developmentrelevance:
Labor productivity is used to assess a country's economic ability to create and sustain decent employment opportunities with fair and equitable remuneration. Productivity increases obtained through investment, trade, technological progress, or changes in work organization can increase social protection and reduce poverty, which in turn reduce vulnerable employment and working poverty. Productivity increases do not guarantee these improvements, but without them - and the economic growth they bring - improvements are highly unlikely.

GDP per person employed is a key measure to monitor whether a country is on track to achieve the Sustainable Development Goal of promoting sustained, inclusive and sustainable economic growth, full and productive employment and decent work for all. [SDG Indicator 8.2.1]

IndicatorName: GDP per person employed (constant 2021 PPP $)

Limitationsandexceptions: For comparability of individual sectors labor productivity is estimated according to national accounts conventions. However, there are still significant limitations on the availability of reliable data. Information on consistent series of output in both national currencies and purchasing power parity dollars is not easily available, especially in developing countries, because the definition, coverage, and methodology are not always consistent across countries. For example, countries employ different methodologies for estimating the missing values for the nonmarket service sectors and use different definitions of the informal sector.

Longdefinition: GDP per person employed is gross domestic product (GDP) divided by total employment in the economy. Purchasing power parity (PPP) GDP is GDP converted to 2021 constant international dollars using PPP rates. An international dollar has the same purchasing power over GDP that a U.S. dollar has in the United States.

Source: World Bank, World Development Indicators database. Estimates are based on employment, population, GDP, and PPP data obtained from International Labour Organization, United Nations Population Division, Eurostat, OECD, and World Bank.

Statisticalconceptandmethodology:
GDP per person employed represents labor productivity—output per unit of labor input. To compare labor productivity levels across countries, GDP is converted to international dollars using purchasing power parity rates which take account of differences in relative prices between countries.

Estimates are based on employment, population, GDP, and PPP data obtained from International Labour Organization, United Nations Population Division, Eurostat, OECD, and World Bank. The employment rates are part of the "ILO modeled estimates database," including nationally reported observations and imputed data for countries with missing data, primarily to capture regional and global trends with consistent country coverage. Country-reported microdata is based mainly on nationally representative labor force surveys, with other sources (e.g., household surveys and population censuses) considering differences in the data source, the scope of coverage, methodology, and other country-specific factors. Country analysis requires caution where limited nationally reported data are available. A series of models are also applied to impute missing observations and make projections. However, imputed observations are not based on national data, are subject to high uncertainty, and should not be used for country comparisons or rankings. For more information: https://ilostat.ilo.org/resources/concepts-and-definitions/ilo-modelled-estimates/


Developmentrelevance:
Sectoral information is particularly useful in identifying broad shifts in employment and stages of development. In the textbook case of economic development, labour flows from agriculture and other labour-intensive primary activities to industry and finally to the services sector; in the process, workers migrate from rural to urban areas.

The breakdown of the indicator by sex allows for analysis of gender segregation of employment by specific sector. Women may be drawn into lower-paying service activities that allow for more flexible work schedules thus making it easier to balance family responsibilities with work life. Segregation of women in certain sectors may also result from cultural attitudes that prevent them from entering industrial employment.

Segregating one sex in a narrow range of occupations significantly reduces economic efficiency by reducing labor market flexibility and thus the economy's ability to adapt to change. This segregation is particularly harmful for women, who have a much narrower range of labor market choices and lower levels of pay than men. But it is also detrimental to men when job losses are concentrated in industries dominated by men and job growth is centered in service occupations, where women have better chances, as has been the recent experience in many countries.

IndicatorName: Employment in industry, female (% of female employment) (modeled ILO estimate)

Limitationsandexceptions:
There are many differences in how countries define and measure employment status, particularly members of the armed forces, self-employed workers, and unpaid family workers. Where members of the armed forces are included, they are allocated to the service sector, causing that sector to be somewhat overstated relative to the service sector in economies where they are excluded. Where data are obtained from establishment surveys, data cover only employees; thus self-employed and unpaid family workers are excluded. In such cases the employment share of the agricultural sector is severely underreported. Caution should be also used where the data refer only to urban areas, which record little or no agricultural work. Moreover, the age group and area covered could differ by country or change over time within a country. For detailed information, consult the original source.

Countries also take different approaches to the treatment of unemployed people. In most countries unemployed people with previous job experience are classified according to their last job. But in some countries the unemployed and people seeking their first job are not classifiable by economic activity. Because of these differences, the size and distribution of employment by economic activity may not be fully comparable across countries.

The ILO reports data by major divisions of the ISIC revision 2, revision 3, or revision 4. Broad classification such as employment by agriculture, industry, and services may obscure fundamental shifts within countries' industrial patterns. A slight majority of countries report economic activity according to the ISIC revision 3 instead of revision 2 or revision 4. The use of one classification or the other should not have a significant impact on the information for the employment of the three broad sectors data.

Longdefinition: Employment is defined as persons of working age who were engaged in any activity to produce goods or provide services for pay or profit, whether at work during the reference period or not at work due to temporary absence from a job, or to working-time arrangement. The industry sector consists of mining and quarrying, manufacturing, construction, and public utilities (electricity, gas, and water), in accordance with divisions 2-5 (ISIC 2) or categories C-F (ISIC 3) or categories B-F (ISIC 4).


IndicatorName: Employment in industry, male (% of male employment) (modeled ILO estimate)


IndicatorName: Employment in industry (% of total employment) (modeled ILO estimate)


IndicatorName: Child employment in manufacturing, female (% of female economically active children ages 7-14)

Longdefinition: Employment by economic activity refers to the distribution of economically active children by the major industrial categories of the International Standard Industrial Classification (ISIC). Manufacturing corresponds to division 3 (ISIC revision 2), category D (ISIC revision 3), or category C (ISIC revision 4). Economically active children refer to children involved in economic activity for at least one hour in the reference week of the survey.


IndicatorName: Child employment in manufacturing, male (% of male economically active children ages 7-14)


IndicatorName: Child employment in manufacturing (% of economically active children ages 7-14)


IndicatorName: Children in employment, self-employed, female (% of female children in employment, ages 7-14)

Longdefinition: Self-employed workers are people whose remuneration depends directly on the profits derived from the goods and services they produce, with or without other employees, and include employers, own-account workers, and members of producers cooperatives.


IndicatorName: Children in employment, self-employed, male (% of male children in employment, ages 7-14)


IndicatorName: Children in employment, self-employed (% of children in employment, ages 7-14)


IndicatorName: Child employment in services, female (% of female economically active children ages 7-14)

Longdefinition: Employment by economic activity refers to the distribution of economically active children by the major industrial categories of the International Standard Industrial Classification (ISIC). Services correspond to divisions 6-9 (ISIC revision 2), categories G-P (ISIC revision 3), or categories G-U (ISIC revision 4). Services include wholesale and retail trade, hotels and restaurants, transport, financial intermediation, real estate, public administration, education, health and social work, other community services, and private household activity. Economically active children refer to children involved in economic activity for at least one hour in the reference week of the survey.


IndicatorName: Child employment in services, male (% of male economically active children ages 7-14)


IndicatorName: Child employment in services (% of economically active children ages 7-14)


IndicatorName: Employment in services, female (% of female employment) (modeled ILO estimate)

Limitationsandexceptions:
There are many differences in how countries define and measure employment status, particularly members of the armed forces, self-employed workers, and unpaid family workers. Where members of the armed forces are included, they are allocated to the service sector, causing that sector to be somewhat overstated relative to the service sector in economies where they are excluded. Where data are obtained from establishment surveys, data cover only employees; thus self-employed and unpaid family workers are excluded. In such cases the employment share of the agricultural sector is severely underreported. Caution should be also used where the data refer only to urban areas, which record little or no agricultural work. Moreover, the age group and area covered could differ by country or change over time within a country. For detailed information, consult the original source.

Countries also take different approaches to the treatment of unemployed people. In most countries unemployed people with previous job experience are classified according to their last job. But in some countries the unemployed and people seeking their first job are not classifiable by economic activity. Because of these differences, the size and distribution of employment by economic activity may not be fully comparable across countries.

The ILO reports data by major divisions of the ISIC revision 2, revision 3, or revision 4. Broad classification such as employment by agriculture, industry, and services may obscure fundamental shifts within countries' industrial patterns. A slight majority of countries report economic activity according to the ISIC revision 3 instead of revision 2 or revision 4. The use of one classification or the other should not have a significant impact on the information for the employment of three broad sectors data.

Longdefinition: Employment is defined as persons of working age who were engaged in any activity to produce goods or provide services for pay or profit, whether at work during the reference period or not at work due to temporary absence from a job, or to working-time arrangement. The services sector consists of wholesale and retail trade and restaurants and hotels; transport, storage, and communications; financing, insurance, real estate, and business services; and community, social, and personal services, in accordance with divisions 6-9 (ISIC 2) or categories G-Q (ISIC 3) or categories G-U (ISIC 4).


IndicatorName: Employment in services, male (% of male employment) (modeled ILO estimate)


IndicatorName: Employment in services (% of total employment) (modeled ILO estimate)


IndicatorName: Children in employment, female (% of female children ages 7-14)

Limitationsandexceptions: Although efforts are made to harmonize the definition of employment and the questions on employment in survey questionnaires, significant differences remain in the survey instruments that collect data on children in employment and in the sampling design underlying the surveys. Differences exist not only across different household surveys in the same country but also across the same type of survey carried out in different countries, so estimates of working children are not fully comparable across countries. For detailed source information, see footnotes at each data point.

Longdefinition: Children in employment refer to children involved in economic activity for at least one hour in the reference week of the survey.


IndicatorName: Children in employment, male (% of male children ages 7-14)


IndicatorName: Average working hours of children, study and work, female, ages 7-14 (hours per week)

Longdefinition: Average working hours of children studying and working refer to the average weekly working hours of those children who are attending school in combination with economic activity.


IndicatorName: Children in employment, study and work, female (% of female children in employment, ages 7-14)

Longdefinition: Children in employment refer to children involved in economic activity for at least one hour in the reference week of the survey. Study and work refer to children attending school in combination with economic activity.


IndicatorName: Average working hours of children, study and work, male, ages 7-14 (hours per week)


IndicatorName: Children in employment, study and work, male (% of male children in employment, ages 7-14)


IndicatorName: Average working hours of children, study and work, ages 7-14 (hours per week)


IndicatorName: Children in employment, study and work (% of children in employment, ages 7-14)


IndicatorName: Average working hours of children, working only, female, ages 7-14 (hours per week)

Longdefinition: Average working hours of children working only refers to the average weekly working hours of those children who are involved in economic activity and not attending school.


IndicatorName: Children in employment, work only, female (% of female children in employment, ages 7-14)

Longdefinition: Children in employment refer to children involved in economic activity for at least one hour in the reference week of the survey. Work only refers to children involved in economic activity and not attending school.


IndicatorName: Average working hours of children, working only, male, ages 7-14 (hours per week)


IndicatorName: Children in employment, work only, male (% of male children in employment, ages 7-14)


IndicatorName: Average working hours of children, working only, ages 7-14 (hours per week)


IndicatorName: Children in employment, work only (% of children in employment, ages 7-14)


IndicatorName: Children in employment, total (% of children ages 7-14)


Developmentrelevance: Estimates of women in the labor force and employment are generally lower than those of men and are not comparable internationally, reflecting that demographic, social, legal, and cultural trends and norms determine whether women's activities are regarded as economic. In many low-income countries women often work on farms or in other family enterprises without pay, and others work in or near their homes, mixing work and family activities during the day. In many high-income economies, women have been increasingly acquiring higher education that has led to better-compensated, longer-term careers rather than lower-skilled, shorter-term jobs. However, access to good- paying occupations for women remains unequal in many occupations and countries around the world. Labor force statistics by gender is important to monitor gender disparities in employment and unemployment patterns.

IndicatorName: Labor force participation rate for ages 15-24, female (%) (national estimate)

Limitationsandexceptions:
Data on the labor force are compiled by the ILO from labor force surveys, censuses, and establishment censuses and surveys. For some countries a combination of these sources is used. Labor force surveys are the most comprehensive source for internationally comparable labor force data. They can cover all non-institutionalized civilians, all branches and sectors of the economy, and all categories of workers, including people holding multiple jobs. By contrast, labor force data from population censuses are often based on a limited number of questions on the economic characteristics of individuals, with little scope to probe. The resulting data often differ from labor force survey data and vary considerably by country, depending on the census scope and coverage. Establishment censuses and surveys provide data only on the employed population, not unemployed workers, workers in small establishments, or workers in the informal sector.

The reference period of a census or survey is another important source of differences: in some countries data refer to people's status on the day of the census or survey or during a specific period before the inquiry date, while in others data are recorded without reference to any period. In countries, where the household is the basic unit of production and all members contribute to output, but some at low intensity or irregularly, the estimated labor force may be much smaller than the numbers actually working.

Differing definitions of employment age also affect comparability. For most countries the working age is 15 and older, but in some countries children younger than 15 work full- or part-time and are included in the estimates. Similarly, some countries have an upper age limit. As a result, calculations may systematically over- or underestimate actual rates.

Longdefinition: Labor force participation rate for ages 15-24 is the proportion of the population ages 15-24 that is economically active: all people who supply labor for the production of goods and services during a specified period.

Statisticalconceptandmethodology: The labor force is the supply of labor available for producing goods and services in an economy. It includes people who are currently employed and people who are unemployed but seeking work as well as first-time job-seekers. Not everyone who works is included, however. Unpaid workers, family workers, and students are often omitted, and some countries do not count members of the armed forces. Labor force size tends to vary during the year as seasonal workers enter and leave.

Topic: Social Protection & Labor: Labor force structure


IndicatorName: Labor force participation rate for ages 15-24, female (%) (modeled ILO estimate)

Statisticalconceptandmethodology:
The labor force is the supply of labor available for producing goods and services in an economy. It includes people who are currently employed and people who are unemployed but seeking work as well as first-time job-seekers. Not everyone who works is included, however. Unpaid workers, family workers, and students are often omitted, and some countries do not count members of the armed forces. Labor force size tends to vary during the year as seasonal workers enter and leave.

The series is part of the "ILO modeled estimates database," including nationally reported observations and imputed data for countries with missing data, primarily to capture regional and global trends with consistent country coverage. Country-reported microdata is based mainly on nationally representative labor force surveys, with other sources (e.g., household surveys and population censuses) considering differences in the data source, the scope of coverage, methodology, and other country-specific factors. Country analysis requires caution where limited nationally reported data are available. A series of models are also applied to impute missing observations and make projections. However, imputed observations are not based on national data, are subject to high uncertainty, and should not be used for country comparisons or rankings. For more information: https://ilostat.ilo.org/resources/concepts-and-definitions/ilo-modelled-estimates/


IndicatorName: Labor force participation rate for ages 15-24, male (%) (national estimate)


IndicatorName: Labor force participation rate for ages 15-24, male (%) (modeled ILO estimate)


IndicatorName: Labor force participation rate for ages 15-24, total (%) (national estimate)


IndicatorName: Labor force participation rate for ages 15-24, total (%) (modeled ILO estimate)


IndicatorName: Labor force participation rate, female (% of female population ages 15-64) (modeled ILO estimate)

Longdefinition: Labor force participation rate is the proportion of the population ages 15-64 that is economically active: all people who supply labor for the production of goods and services during a specified period.

Source: International Labour Organization. “ILO modelled estimates database” ILOSTAT. Accessed February 06, 2024. https://ilostat.ilo.org/data/.


IndicatorName: Labor force participation rate, male (% of male population ages 15-64) (modeled ILO estimate)


IndicatorName: Labor force participation rate, total (% of total population ages 15-64) (modeled ILO estimate)


IndicatorName: Labor force with advanced education, female (% of female working-age population with advanced education)

Longdefinition: The ratio of the labor force with advanced education to the working-age population with advanced education. Advanced education comprises short-cycle tertiary education, a bachelor’s degree or equivalent education level, a master’s degree or equivalent education level, or doctoral degree or equivalent education level according to the International Standard Classification of Education 2011 (ISCED 2011).

Source: International Labour Organization. “Education and Mismatch Indicators database (EMI)” ILOSTAT. Accessed October 16, 2024. https://ilostat.ilo.org/data/.


IndicatorName: Labor force with advanced education, male (% of male working-age population with advanced education)


IndicatorName: Labor force with advanced education (% of total working-age population with advanced education)


IndicatorName: Labor force with basic education, female (% of female working-age population with basic education)

Longdefinition: The ratio of the labor force with basic education to the working-age population with basic education. Basic education comprises primary education or lower secondary education according to the International Standard Classification of Education 2011 (ISCED 2011).


IndicatorName: Labor force with basic education, male (% of male working-age population with basic education)


IndicatorName: Labor force with basic education (% of total working-age population with basic education)


IndicatorName: Labor force participation rate, female (% of female population ages 15+) (national estimate)

Longdefinition: Labor force participation rate is the proportion of the population ages 15 and older that is economically active: all people who supply labor for the production of goods and services during a specified period.


IndicatorName: Labor force participation rate, female (% of female population ages 15+) (modeled ILO estimate)


IndicatorName: Ratio of female to male labor force participation rate (%) (national estimate)

Longdefinition: Labor force participation rate is the proportion of the population ages 15 and older that is economically active: all people who supply labor for the production of goods and services during a specified period. Ratio of female to male labor force participation rate is calculated by dividing female labor force participation rate by male labor force participation rate and multiplying by 100.


IndicatorName: Ratio of female to male labor force participation rate (%) (modeled ILO estimate)


IndicatorName: Labor force participation rate, male (% of male population ages 15+) (national estimate)


IndicatorName: Labor force participation rate, male (% of male population ages 15+) (modeled ILO estimate)


IndicatorName: Labor force participation rate, total (% of total population ages 15+) (national estimate)


IndicatorName: Labor force participation rate, total (% of total population ages 15+) (modeled ILO estimate)


IndicatorName: Labor force with intermediate education, female (% of female working-age population with intermediate education)

Longdefinition: The ratio of the labor force with intermediate education to the working-age population with intermediate education. Intermediate education comprises upper secondary or post-secondary non tertiary education according to the International Standard Classification of Education 2011 (ISCED 2011).


IndicatorName: Labor force with intermediate education, male (% of male working-age population with intermediate education)


IndicatorName: Labor force with intermediate education (% of total working-age population with intermediate education)


Generalcomments: Relevance to gender indicator: More and more women are working part-time and one of the concern is that part time work does not provide the stability that full time work does.

IndicatorName: Part time employment, female (% of total female employment)

Longdefinition: Part time employment refers to regular employment in which working time is substantially less than normal. Definitions of part time employment differ by country.

Source: International Labour Organization. “Wages and Working Time Statistics database (COND)” ILOSTAT. Accessed October 16, 2024. https://ilostat.ilo.org/data/.


IndicatorName: Part time employment, male (% of total male employment)


IndicatorName: Part time employment, total (% of total employment)


IndicatorName: Labor force, female (% of total labor force)

Longdefinition: Female labor force as a percentage of the total show the extent to which women are active in the labor force. Labor force comprises people ages 15 and older who supply labor for the production of goods and services during a specified period.

Source: World Bank, World Development Indicators database. Estimates are based on data obtained from International Labour Organization and United Nations Population Division.

Statisticalconceptandmethodology:
The standard definition of unemployed persons is those individuals without work, seeking work in a recent past period, and currently available for work, including people who have lost their jobs or voluntarily left work. In addition, persons who did not look for work but have an arrangement for a future job are also counted as unemployed. Still, some unemployment is unavoidable—at any time, some workers are temporarily unemployed between jobs as employers look for the right workers and workers search for better jobs. The labor force or the economically active portion of the population serves as the base for this indicator, not the total population.

Estimates are based on labor force participation rates and population data from International Labour Organization and United Nations Population Division. The labor force participation rates are part of the "ILO modeled estimates database," including nationally reported observations and imputed data for countries with missing data, primarily to capture regional and global trends with consistent country coverage. Country-reported microdata is based mainly on nationally representative labor force surveys, with other sources (e.g., household surveys and population censuses) considering differences in the data source, the scope of coverage, methodology, and other country-specific factors. Country analysis requires caution where limited nationally reported data are available. A series of models are also applied to impute missing observations and make projections. However, imputed observations are not based on national data, are subject to high uncertainty, and should not be used for country comparisons or rankings. For more information: https://ilostat.ilo.org/resources/concepts-and-definitions/ilo-modelled-estimates/


Aggregationmethod: Sum

IndicatorName: Labor force, total

Longdefinition: Labor force comprises people ages 15 and older who supply labor for the production of goods and services during a specified period. It includes people who are currently employed and people who are unemployed but seeking work as well as first-time job-seekers. Not everyone who works is included, however. Unpaid workers, family workers, and students are often omitted, and some countries do not count members of the armed forces. Labor force size tends to vary during the year as seasonal workers enter and leave.


Developmentrelevance:
Paradoxically, low unemployment rates can disguise substantial poverty in a country, while high unemployment rates can occur in countries with a high level of economic development and low rates of poverty. In countries without unemployment or welfare benefits people eke out a living in vulnerable employment. In countries with well-developed safety nets workers can afford to wait for suitable or desirable jobs. But high and sustained unemployment indicates serious inefficiencies in resource allocation.

Youth unemployment is an important policy issue for many economies. Young men and women today face increasing uncertainty in their hopes of undergoing a satisfactory transition in the labour market, and this uncertainty and disillusionment can, in turn, have damaging effects on individuals, communities, economies and society at large. Unemployed or underemployed youth are less able to contribute effectively to national development and have fewer opportunities to exercise their rights as citizens. They have less to spend as consumers, less to invest as savers and often have no "voice" to bring about change in their lives and communities. Widespread youth unemployment and underemployment also prevents companies and countries from innovating and developing competitive advantages based on human capital investment, thus undermining future prospects.

Unemployment is a key measure to monitor whether a country is on track to achieve the Sustainable Development Goal of promoting sustained, inclusive and sustainable economic growth, full and productive employment and decent work for all. [SDG Indicator 8.5.2]

IndicatorName: Unemployment, youth female (% of female labor force ages 15-24) (national estimate)

Limitationsandexceptions:
The criteria for people considered to be seeking work, and the treatment of people temporarily laid off or seeking work for the first time, vary across countries. In many cases it is especially difficult to measure employment and unemployment in agriculture. The timing of a survey can maximize the effects of seasonal unemployment in agriculture. And informal sector employment is difficult to quantify where informal activities are not tracked.

There may be also persons not currently in the labour market who want to work but do not actively "seek" work because they view job opportunities as limited, or because they have restricted labour mobility, or face discrimination, or structural, social or cultural barriers. The exclusion of people who want to work but are not seeking work (often called the "hidden unemployed" or "discouraged workers") is a criterion that will affect the unemployment count of both women and men.

However, women tend to be excluded from the count for various reasons. Women suffer more from discrimination and from structural, social, and cultural barriers that impede them from seeking work. Also, women are often responsible for the care of children and the elderly and for household affairs. They may not be available for work during the short reference period, as they need to make arrangements before starting work. Further, women are considered to be employed when they are working part-time or in temporary jobs, despite the instability of these jobs or their active search for more secure employment.

Longdefinition: Youth unemployment refers to the share of the labor force ages 15-24 without work but available for and seeking employment. Definitions of labor force and unemployment differ by country.

Statisticalconceptandmethodology:
The standard definition of unemployed persons is those individuals without work, seeking work in a recent past period, and currently available for work, including people who have lost their jobs or who have voluntarily left work. Persons who did not look for work but have an arrangements for a future job are also counted as unemployed.

Some unemployment is unavoidable. At any time some workers are temporarily unemployed between jobs as employers look for the right workers and workers search for better jobs. It is the labour force or the economically active portion of the population that serves as the base for this indicator, not the total population.

Topic: Social Protection & Labor: Unemployment


IndicatorName: Unemployment, youth female (% of female labor force ages 15-24) (modeled ILO estimate)

Longdefinition: Youth unemployment refers to the share of the labor force ages 15-24 without work but available for and seeking employment.

Source: International Labour Organization. “ILO Modelled Estimates and Projections database (ILOEST)” ILOSTAT. Accessed June 18, 2024. https://ilostat.ilo.org/data/.

Statisticalconceptandmethodology:
The standard definition of unemployed persons is those individuals without work, seeking work in a recent past period, and currently available for work, including people who have lost their jobs or voluntarily left work. In addition, persons who did not look for work but have an arrangement for a future job are also counted as unemployed. Still, some unemployment is unavoidable—at any time, some workers are temporarily unemployed between jobs as employers look for the right workers and workers search for better jobs. The labor force or the economically active portion of the population serves as the base for this indicator, not the total population.

The series is part of the "ILO modeled estimates database," including nationally reported observations and imputed data for countries with missing data, primarily to capture regional and global trends with consistent country coverage. Country-reported microdata is based mainly on nationally representative labor force surveys, with other sources (e.g., household surveys and population censuses) considering differences in the data source, the scope of coverage, methodology, and other country-specific factors. Country analysis requires caution where limited nationally reported data are available. A series of models are also applied to impute missing observations and make projections. However, imputed observations are not based on national data, are subject to high uncertainty, and should not be used for country comparisons or rankings. For more information: https://ilostat.ilo.org/resources/concepts-and-definitions/ilo-modelled-estimates/


IndicatorName: Unemployment, youth male (% of male labor force ages 15-24) (national estimate)


IndicatorName: Unemployment, youth male (% of male labor force ages 15-24) (modeled ILO estimate)


IndicatorName: Unemployment, youth total (% of total labor force ages 15-24) (national estimate)


IndicatorName: Unemployment, youth total (% of total labor force ages 15-24) (modeled ILO estimate)


IndicatorName: Unemployment with advanced education, female (% of female labor force with advanced education)

Longdefinition: The percentage of the labor force with an advanced level of education who are unemployed. Advanced education comprises short-cycle tertiary education, a bachelor’s degree or equivalent education level, a master’s degree or equivalent education level, or doctoral degree or equivalent education level according to the International Standard Classification of Education 2011 (ISCED 2011).


IndicatorName: Unemployment with advanced education, male (% of male labor force with advanced education)


IndicatorName: Unemployment with advanced education (% of total labor force with advanced education)


IndicatorName: Unemployment with basic education, female (% of female labor force with basic education)

Longdefinition: The percentage of the labor force with a basic level of education who are unemployed. Basic education comprises primary education or lower secondary education according to the International Standard Classification of Education 2011 (ISCED 2011).


IndicatorName: Unemployment with basic education, male (% of male labor force with basic education)


IndicatorName: Unemployment with basic education (% of total labor force with basic education)


IndicatorName: Unemployment with intermediate education, female (% of female labor force with intermediate education)

Longdefinition: The percentage of the labor force with an intermediate level of education who are unemployed. Intermediate education comprises upper secondary or post-secondary non tertiary education according to the International Standard Classification of Education 2011 (ISCED 2011).


IndicatorName: Unemployment with intermediate education, male (% of male labor force with intermediate education)


IndicatorName: Unemployment with intermediate education (% of total labor force with intermediate education)


Developmentrelevance:
Unemployment and total employment are the broadest indicators of economic activity as reflected by the labor market. The International Labour Organization(ILO) defines the unemployed as members of the economically active population who are without work but available for and seeking work, including people who have lost their jobs or who have voluntarily left work. Some unemployment is unavoidable. At any time some workers are temporarily unemployed - between jobs as employers look for the right workers and workers search for better jobs. Such unemployment, often called frictional unemployment, results from the normal operation of labor markets.

Youth unemployment is an important policy issue for many economies. Young men and women today face increasing uncertainty in their hopes of undergoing a satisfactory transition in the labour market, and this uncertainty and disillusionment can, in turn, have damaging effects on individuals, communities, economies and society at large. Unemployed or underemployed youth are less able to contribute effectively to national development and have fewer opportunities to exercise their rights as citizens. They have less to spend as consumers, less to invest as savers and often have no "voice" to bring about change in their lives and communities. Widespread youth unemployment and underemployment also prevents companies and countries from innovating and developing competitive advantages based on human capital investment, thus undermining future prospects.

The NEET group is particularly at risk of both labour market and social exclusion, because this group is neither improving their future employability through investment in skills nor gaining experience through employment, . In addition, the NEET group is already in a disadvantaged position due to lower levels of education and lower household incomes. In view of the fact that the NEET group includes unemployed youth as well as economically inactive youth, the NEET rate provides important complementray information to labour force participation rates and unemploymenent rates. For example, if youth participation rates decrease during an economic downturn due to discouragement, this may be reflected in an upward movement in the NEET rate. More generally, a high NEET rate and a low youth unemployment may indicate significant discouragement of young people. A high NEET rate for young women suggests their engagement in household chores, and/or the presence of strong institutional barriers limiting female participation in labour markets.

IndicatorName: Share of youth not in education, employment or training, female (% of female youth population) (modeled ILO estimate)

Limitationsandexceptions: Data should be used cautiously because of differences in age coverage.

Longdefinition: Share of youth not in education, employment or training (NEET) is the proportion of young people who are not in education, employment, or training to the population of the corresponding age group: youth (ages 15 to 24); persons ages 15 to 29; or both age groups.

Source: International Labour Organization. “ILO Modelled Estimates and Projections database ( ILOEST )” ILOSTAT. Accessed September 06, 2024. https://ilostat.ilo.org/data/.

Statisticalconceptandmethodology:
The standard definition of unemployed persons is those individuals without work in a recent past period, and currently available for and seeking for employment. But there may be persons who do not actively "seek" work because they view job opportunities as limited, or because they have restricted labour mobility, or face discrimination, or structural, social or cultural barriers. NEET rates capture more broadly untapped potential youth, including such individuals who want to work but are not seeking work (often called the "hidden unemployed" or "discouraged workers").

Youth are defined as persons ages 15 to 24; young adults are those ages 25 to 29; and adults are those ages 25 and above. However, countries vary somewhat in their operational definitions. In particular, the lower age limit for young people is usually determined by the minimum age for leaving school, where this exists. When data are available for more than two age groups in a given year, one value for persons ages 15 to 29 is taken, considering that not all people complete their education by the age of 24.

The series is part of the ILO modeled estimates database, which contain both nationally reported and imputed data, and where all estimates are national, meaning there are no geographic limitations in coverage. Further information on the methodology used to produce ILO modelled estimates is provided at https://www.ilo.org/ilostat-files/Documents/TEM.pdf.


IndicatorName: Share of youth not in education, employment or training, female (% of female youth population)

Statisticalconceptandmethodology:
The standard definition of unemployed persons is those individuals without work in a recent past period, and currently available for and seeking for employment. But there may be persons who do not actively "seek" work because they view job opportunities as limited, or because they have restricted labour mobility, or face discrimination, or structural, social or cultural barriers. NEET rates capture more broadly untapped potential youth, including such individuals who want to work but are not seeking work (often called the "hidden unemployed" or "discouraged workers").

Youth are defined as persons ages 15 to 24; young adults are those ages 25 to 29; and adults are those ages 25 and above. However, countries vary somewhat in their operational definitions. In particular, the lower age limit for young people is usually determined by the minimum age for leaving school, where this exists. When data are available for more than two age groups in a given year, one value for persons ages 15 to 29 is taken, considering that not all people complete their education by the age of 24.


IndicatorName: Share of youth not in education, employment or training, male (% of male youth population) (modeled ILO estimate)


IndicatorName: Share of youth not in education, employment or training, male (% of male youth population)


IndicatorName: Share of youth not in education, employment or training, total (% of youth population) (modeled ILO estimate)


IndicatorName: Share of youth not in education, employment or training, total (% of youth population)


IndicatorName: Unemployment, female (% of female labor force) (national estimate)

Longdefinition: Unemployment refers to the share of the labor force that is without work but available for and seeking employment. Definitions of labor force and unemployment differ by country.


IndicatorName: Unemployment, female (% of female labor force) (modeled ILO estimate)

Longdefinition: Unemployment refers to the share of the labor force that is without work but available for and seeking employment.


IndicatorName: Unemployment, male (% of male labor force) (national estimate)


IndicatorName: Unemployment, male (% of male labor force) (modeled ILO estimate)


IndicatorName: Unemployment, total (% of total labor force) (national estimate)


IndicatorName: Unemployment, total (% of total labor force) (modeled ILO estimate)


IndicatorName: Children in employment, wage workers, female (% of female children in employment, ages 7-14)

Longdefinition: Wage workers (also known as employees) are people who hold explicit (written or oral) or implicit employment contracts that provide basic remuneration that does not depend directly on the revenue of the unit for which they work.


IndicatorName: Children in employment, wage workers, male (% of male children in employment, ages 7-14)


IndicatorName: Children in employment, wage workers (% of children in employment, ages 7-14)