IDA only | Self-employed, total (% of total employment) (modeled ILO estimate)
Self-employed workers are those workers who, working on their own account or with one or a few partners or in cooperative, hold the type of jobs defined as a "self-employment jobs." i.e. jobs where the remuneration is directly dependent upon the profits derived from the goods and services produced. Self-employed workers include four sub-categories of employers, own-account workers, members of producers' cooperatives, and contributing family workers. Development relevance: 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. Limitations and exceptions: 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. Statistical concept and methodology: 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/
Publisher
The World Bank
Origin
IDA only
Records
63
Source
IDA only | Self-employed, total (% of total employment) (modeled ILO estimate)
1960
1961
1962
1963
1964
1965
1966
1967
1968
1969
1970
1971
1972
1973
1974
1975
1976
1977
1978
1979
1980
1981
1982
1983
1984
1985
1986
1987
1988
1989
1990
1991 79.15710285
1992 79.33240502
1993 79.37225492
1994 79.43487919
1995 79.47262692
1996 79.29731625
1997 79.27558281
1998 79.21703024
1999 79.07123732
2000 79.01418941
2001 78.75265766
2002 78.64616271
2003 78.52445375
2004 78.22970256
2005 77.96400512
2006 77.62529749
2007 77.21197323
2008 76.6928706
2009 76.3751469
2010 75.89701343
2011 75.48180041
2012 75.02949528
2013 74.82451997
2014 74.44333432
2015 74.1640435
2016 73.89697696
2017 73.58796132
2018 73.39338547
2019 73.04135653
2020 73.99374897
2021 73.69121671
2022
IDA only | Self-employed, total (% of total employment) (modeled ILO estimate)
Self-employed workers are those workers who, working on their own account or with one or a few partners or in cooperative, hold the type of jobs defined as a "self-employment jobs." i.e. jobs where the remuneration is directly dependent upon the profits derived from the goods and services produced. Self-employed workers include four sub-categories of employers, own-account workers, members of producers' cooperatives, and contributing family workers. Development relevance: 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. Limitations and exceptions: 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. Statistical concept and methodology: 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/
Publisher
The World Bank
Origin
IDA only
Records
63
Source