Indicator

Labor Force Participation by African country

2025

Share of the population ages 15+ that is economically active (ILO modelled estimate).

Africa, 202551 of 54 countries
66.5%population-weighted average
Highest in 2025Madagascar · 85.5%Lowest in 2025Sao Tome and Principe · 23.3%Reported in 202551 of 54 countries surveyed
Click a country to pin it — pinned countries are named on the map. Hatching means no record.
Western Sahara — no separate recordTanzania — 83.7%Democratic Republic of the Congo — 64.3%Somalia — 33.8%Kenya — 67.4%Sudan — no dataChad — 59.4%South Africa — 55.6%Lesotho — 57.1%Zimbabwe — 67.7%Botswana — 68.8%Namibia — 58.8%Senegal — 52.0%Mali — 67.0%Mauritania — 40.8%Benin — 76.4%Niger — 79.7%Nigeria — 82.5%Cameroon — 65.2%Togo — 57.8%Ghana — 58.5%Cote d'Ivoire — 67.1%Guinea — 52.6%Guinea-Bissau — 64.8%Liberia — 76.6%Sierra Leone — 53.4%Burkina Faso — 70.0%Central African Republic — 73.4%Republic of the Congo — 67.8%Gabon — 51.1%Equatorial Guinea — 60.5%Zambia — 61.9%Malawi — 62.6%Mozambique — 78.7%Eswatini — 51.2%Angola — 74.8%Burundi — 78.3%Madagascar — 85.5%Gambia — 47.5%Tunisia — 45.2%Algeria — 40.8%Eritrea — 78.3%Morocco — 43.9%Egypt — 44.6%Libya — 48.0%Ethiopia — 68.5%Djibouti — 31.7%Uganda — 80.0%Rwanda — 63.7%South Sudan — no dataNigeria 82.5%Nigeria 82.5%Ethiopia 68.5%Ethiopia 68.5%Kenya 67.4%Kenya 67.4%South Africa 55.6%South Africa 55.6%2025HIGHEST IN 2025Madagascar85.5%Tanzania83.7%Nigeria82.5%Uganda80.0%Niger79.7%LOWEST IN 2025Sao Tome and Principenot drawn23.3%Djibouti31.7%Somalia33.8%Mauritania40.8%Algeria40.8%PINNEDEthiopia68.5%15 of 51Kenya67.4%18 of 51South Africa55.6%36 of 51OTHER ISLAND STATES · NOT DRAWNCabo Verdenot drawn57.0%Comorosnot drawn55.8%Mauritiusnot drawn58.5%Seychellesnot drawnno data% of labour force · quintiles of the observed range23.3%51.1%58.5%65.2%74.8%85.5%no record
20142025
World Bank · national statistics offices · the provider's own estimates where a country has not reportedCC BY 4.0
Countries

By region

Population-weighted, so a region’s figure is the share of its people, not the average of its countries.
Western Africa16 of 16 countries73.7%
Eastern Africa16 of 18 countries71.7%
Middle Africa9 of 9 countries65.9%
Southern Africa5 of 5 countries56.2%
Northern Africa5 of 6 countries43.8%
Africaall 54 countries · 51 with a 2025 figure66.5%

What to know before you quote this

Specific to this series. For how we treat data generally, see methods.
Three countries have no usable 2025 recordNot a low value — no figure within the window. Seychelles, South Sudan and Sudan are hatched on the map and blank in the table.
Certainty is judged year by yearA country can be Reported in one year and Modelled the next. The tag follows the year on the scrubber, so the 2025 assessment is not a verdict on the whole series.

About this data

Labor Force ParticipationShare of the population ages 15+ that is economically active (ILO modelled estimate).
SourceWorld Bank, with processing by Africa API
Unit% of labour force
Last updated15 Oct 2026
Next expected updateOct 2027
Date range1990–2025
Coverage51 of 54 countries · 51 reported, 0 modelled, 3 with no usable figure

How the figure is made

ReportedA national statistics office or the original provider published the figure for that year directly. 51 countries did so for 2025 — the certainty shown on this page is that 2025 assessment, not a per-series one.ModelledNo direct figure that year. The provider’s own estimate, interpolation or projection stands in, and is marked as such wherever it appears.No dataNo usable figure within the window. Drawn hatched on the map and left blank in the table — not zero, and not filled in.

These three states are used the same way across every indicator on the site — how we treat certainty explains the full set and what we never do to a number.

Reuse and cite

Everything on this page is open under CC BY 4.0 — use it anywhere, including commercially, as long as Africa API and the original provider are credited. The provider’s own licence still applies to their data.

How to cite this page
Africa API (2026) — "Labor Force Participation". Data adapted from World Bank. Retrieved 18 Oct 2026 from africa-api.com/indicators/labor-force-participation
The request behind this view
GET /v1/data?metric_key=labor_force_participation_pct&year=2025&limit=100

Read next

The measures that explain this one.

Labor Force Participation: most recent figure per country, highest to lowest

52 countries · each with its own period

The figures at the top of the page compare every country in the same year. This list takes each country’s newest figure instead, whatever its period, so the order can differ.

#CountryLabor Force ParticipationPeriod
1Madagascar85.5%2025
2Tanzania83.7%2025
3Nigeria82.5%2025
4Uganda80%2025
5Niger79.7%2025
6Mozambique78.7%2025
7Eritrea78.3%2025
8Burundi78.3%2025
9Liberia76.6%2025
10Benin76.4%2025
11Angola74.8%2025
12South Sudan73.4%2023
13Central African Republic73.4%2025
14Burkina Faso70%2025
15Botswana68.8%2025
16Ethiopia68.5%2025
17Republic of the Congo67.8%2025
18Zimbabwe67.7%2025
19Kenya67.4%2025
20Cote d'Ivoire67.09%2025
21Mali67%2025
22Cameroon65.2%2025
23Guinea-Bissau64.8%2025
24Democratic Republic of the Congo64.3%2025
25Rwanda63.7%2025
26Malawi62.6%2025
27Zambia61.9%2025
28Equatorial Guinea60.5%2025
29Chad59.44%2025
30Namibia58.8%2025
31Mauritius58.5%2025
32Ghana58.5%2025
33Togo57.8%2025
34Lesotho57.1%2025
35Cabo Verde57%2025
36Comoros55.8%2025
37South Africa55.6%2025
38Sierra Leone53.4%2025
39Guinea52.61%2025
40Senegal52%2025
41Eswatini51.2%2025
42Gabon51.1%2025
43Libya48%2025
44Gambia47.5%2025
45Tunisia45.2%2025
46Egypt44.6%2025
47Morocco43.9%2025
48Algeria40.8%2025
49Mauritania40.8%2025
50Somalia33.8%2025
51Djibouti31.7%2025
52Sao Tome and Principe23.3%2025
Which observations are included?
The ranking includes 52 of 54 countries with available observations for 2023 or later and within 2 years of the freshest result. Each figure shows its reporting period. Countries without an eligible observation are omitted.
Does a higher value mean a better result?
The ranking is sorted by value, from highest to lowest. The order does not rate a country's performance. Interpretation depends on the indicator and its definition.

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