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Photo: Marina Balasini & Juan Montiel from Argentina, Argentina · CC BY 2.0 · via Wikimedia Commons, shown in greyscale
Topic 03 of 12 · Country Index 2026
Argentina: Work & Labour
Can people find work, and on what terms?
Argentina is placed joint 92nd of 182 countries on work & labour in the Country Index 2026, from 4 of its 4 key statistics. Readings behind it: Employment-to-Population Ratio 57.49 (2025); Labour Income Share 50.19 (2025).
Work & Labour
joint92nd
of 182 countries placed
Placed from 4 of 4 key statistics
01The evidence
The 4 key statistics that decide it
Only these place Argentina on work & labour — one vote each. Every value is the publisher’s own, read at the edition the Country Index 2026 used; the grey ticks are every other country in that edition, lowest on the left.
Key 1 of 4
Employment-to-Population Ratio
International Labour Organization (ILO)
Why it is a key: How much of the working-age population is actually in work — the half of the picture unemployment hides, because people who stop looking stop being counted.
2025 edition · data for 2025 · CC BY 4.0
57.49
Employed share of the population aged 15+ (%)
Higher is better
Argentina: 57.49. Across the 182 countries in this edition, values run from 21.21 (São Tomé and Príncipe) to 86.9 (Qatar); the world median is 57.72.
- World median
- 57.72
- Best in South America
- 76.29 Bolivia
- Land neighbours
- Bolivia 76.29 · Brazil 59.37 · Chile 56.71 · Paraguay 66.87 · Uruguay 60.1
Each grey tick is one of 182 countries in the 2025 edition.
Key 3 of 4
Unemployment Rate
International Labour Organization (ILO)
Why it is a key: The share of people looking for work who cannot find it.
2025 edition · data for 2025 · CC BY 4.0
7.145
Unemployment (% of labour force)
Lower is better
Argentina: 7.145. Across the 182 countries in this edition, values run from 0.13 (Qatar) to 34.2 (Eswatini); the world median is 5.084.
- World median
- 5.084
- Best in South America
- 2.967 Bolivia
- Land neighbours
- Bolivia 2.967 · Brazil 5.97 · Chile 8.974 · Paraguay 4.803 · Uruguay 7.516
Each grey tick is one of 182 countries in the 2025 edition.
Key 4 of 4
Vulnerable Employment
International Labour Organization (ILO)
Why it is a key: How much work is own-account or unpaid family labour, carrying no contract and no protection.
2025 edition · data for 2025 · CC BY 4.0
22.27
Vulnerable employment (% of total employment)
Lower is better
Argentina: 22.27. Across the 182 countries in this edition, values run from 0.456 (Qatar) to 90.22 (Chad); the world median is 28.67.
- World median
- 28.67
- Best in South America
- 18.38 Suriname
- Land neighbours
- Bolivia 62.69 · Brazil 26.08 · Chile 20.93 · Paraguay 36.09 · Uruguay 24.37
Each grey tick is one of 182 countries in the 2025 edition.
02Over time
Which way Argentina is moving
Each key’s published value, edition by edition, beside the world median. The Country Index 2026 is the first edition of the standing, so the standing itself has no history to chart yet.
Employment-to-Population Ratio
Employed share of the population aged 15+ (%) · higher is better
ArgentinaWorld median
Argentina rose from 52.97 in 2000 to 57.49 in 2025; the world median went from 55.86 to 57.72.
Every year’s figures
Year Argentina World median 2025 57.49 57.720 2024 57.44 57.694 2023 58.46 58.158 2022 57.30 57.688 2021 55.09 56.066 2020 49.60 55.691 2019 54.36 57.871 2018 54.10 56.911 2017 53.90 56.738 2016 54.25 56.845 2015 54.74 56.788 2014 55.12 56.774 2013 55.71 56.229 2012 56.01 56.289 2011 56.30 56.297 2010 55.54 56.212 2009 55.53 56.255 2008 55.69 57.308 2007 55.94 56.933 2006 55.57 56.685 2005 54.43 56.129 2004 53.57 55.465 2003 51.66 55.630 2002 48.37 55.843 2001 50.97 56.018 2000 52.97 55.861 Labour Income Share
Labour income share of GDP (%) · higher is better
ArgentinaWorld median
Argentina rose from 38.72 in 2004 to 50.19 in 2025; the world median went from 46.01 to 46.23.
Every year’s figures
Year Argentina World median 2025 50.19 46.230 2024 50.12 46.060 2023 51.44 45.900 2022 49.78 45.615 2021 49.64 45.433 2020 52.21 47.267 2019 53.56 46.277 2018 56.41 46.187 2017 58.30 46.467 2016 60.58 46.798 2015 58.58 46.876 2014 60.06 47.281 2013 59.32 46.887 2012 58.06 46.231 2011 53.25 45.679 2010 49.29 46.024 2009 50.24 47.071 2008 45.94 45.312 2007 42.40 45.246 2006 41.47 45.670 2005 40.59 46.265 2004 38.72 46.012 Unemployment Rate
Unemployment (% of labour force) · lower is better
ArgentinaWorld median
Argentina fell from 15 in 2000 to 7.145 in 2025; the world median went from 6.918 to 5.084.
Every year’s figures
Year Argentina World median 2025 7.15 5.08 2024 7.15 5.15 2023 6.14 5.21 2022 6.81 5.34 2021 8.74 6.04 2020 11.46 6.38 2019 9.84 5.36 2018 9.22 5.35 2017 8.35 5.59 2016 8.09 5.90 2015 7.58 6.41 2014 7.27 6.58 2013 7.10 6.71 2012 7.22 6.79 2011 7.18 6.90 2010 7.71 7.04 2009 8.65 6.67 2008 7.84 5.79 2007 8.47 6.00 2006 10.08 6.50 2005 11.51 7.09 2004 13.52 6.80 2003 15.36 6.95 2002 19.59 6.91 2001 17.32 6.96 2000 15.00 6.92 Vulnerable Employment
Vulnerable employment (% of total employment) · lower is better
ArgentinaWorld median
Argentina rose from 21.97 in 2000 to 22.27 in 2025; the world median went from 35.67 to 28.67.
Every year’s figures
Year Argentina World median 2025 22.27 28.67 2024 22.42 29.04 2023 22.44 29.33 2022 23.28 29.67 2021 24.02 30.01 2020 24.07 30.54 2019 22.71 29.98 2018 21.62 30.15 2017 21.51 29.93 2016 21.08 29.91 2015 20.60 30.26 2014 20.18 30.47 2013 19.69 31.14 2012 19.03 31.00 2011 18.62 31.41 2010 19.05 32.37 2009 19.59 32.59 2008 19.10 31.76 2007 19.18 33.47 2006 20.26 34.27 2005 21.28 34.66 2004 21.60 35.51 2003 21.70 35.90 2002 23.70 35.96 2001 22.91 35.27 2000 21.97 35.67
03In context
Argentina beside its neighbours
A position reads best beside the countries around it. Every position below is a place among all 182 countries on work & labour, never a place within the region.
1st182ndNot placed · 42 countries with too few key statisticsNo data
Argentina and the countries it borders
The standing is each country’s place among all 182 placed on the topic; the other columns are the publishers’ own values, read at the edition the standing used.
| Country | Standing | Employment-to-Population RatioEmployed share of the population aged 15+ (%) | Labour Income ShareLabour income share of GDP (%) | Unemployment RateUnemployment (% of labour force) | Vulnerable EmploymentVulnerable employment (% of total employment) |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|
 Bolivia | =29th | 76.29 | 55.38 | 2.967 | 62.69 |
 Brazil | =56th | 59.37 | 59.5 | 5.97 | 26.08 |
 Uruguay | 62nd | 60.1 | 56.26 | 7.516 | 24.37 |
 Paraguay | =64th | 66.87 | 45.24 | 4.803 | 36.09 |
| Argentina | =92nd | 57.49 | 50.19 | 7.145 | 22.27 |
 Chile | 94th | 56.71 | 51.83 | 8.974 | 20.93 |
“—” means the publisher gives no reading for that country in that edition. A country needs readings on enough keys to be placed.
Across South America
Every country in the sub-region, by its place among all 182.
Placed either side on work & labour
The countries immediately above and below Argentina in the topic’s list.
04Context, no vote
Where Argentina is ahead of the world, and behind
17 more statistics filed under work & labour, published in full and deliberately given no vote in the standing. Select a row for the publisher, the rank and the links.
Ahead of the world median6
Statistics on which Argentina does better than the middle country measured.
Working Poverty RateILO · 2025 · world median 4.8850.0294.885▲ Improved since 2015
Argentina: 0.029 · world median 4.885 · Employed people living in extreme poverty (%). International Labour Organization (ILO), 2025 edition, data for 2025.
Published values in that edition run from 0.007 to 86.02; lower is better.
Trade Union DensityILO · 2020 · world median 16.6827.716.68No earlier reading
Argentina: 27.7 · world median 16.68 · Employees who are trade union members (%). International Labour Organization (ILO), 2020 edition, data for 2020.
Published values in that edition run from 0.2 to 91.42; higher is better.
Position 29th of 139 — derived here by ordering the published values, 1st = best. The publisher ranks no country on this.
Labour Productivity per Hour WorkedILO · 2025 · world median 22.1633.8122.16▼ Worsened since 2015
Argentina: 33.81 · world median 22.16 · Output per hour worked (constant 2021 international $ at PPP). International Labour Organization (ILO), 2025 edition, data for 2025.
Published values in that edition run from 0.92 to 164.65; higher is better.
Position 63rd of 182 — derived here by ordering the published values, 1st = best. The publisher ranks no country on this.
GDP per Person EmployedWorld Bank Group · 2025 · world median 47,38461,32647,384▼ Worsened since 2015
Argentina: 61,326 · world median 47,384 · GDP per person employed (constant 2021 international $). World Bank Group, 2025 edition, data for 2025.
Published values in that edition run from 2,456 to 262,554; higher is better.
Position 64th of 168 — derived here by ordering the published values, 1st = best. The publisher ranks no country on this.
Female Share of Senior and Middle ManagementILO · 2024 · world median 35.8636.3835.86▼ Worsened since 2014
Argentina: 36.38 · world median 35.86 · Women in senior and middle management (% of managers). International Labour Organization (ILO), 2024 edition, data for 2024.
Published values in that edition run from 7.226 to 56.69; higher is better.
Position 42nd of 86 — derived here by ordering the published values, 1st = best. The publisher ranks no country on this.
Labour Force Participation RateILO · 2025 · world median 61.6661.9161.66▲ Improved since 2015
Argentina: 61.91 · world median 61.66 · Population aged 15+ in the labour force (%). International Labour Organization (ILO), 2025 edition, data for 2025.
Published values in that edition run from 23.34 to 87.01; higher is better.
Position 90th of 182 — derived here by ordering the published values, 1st = best. The publisher ranks no country on this.
Behind the world median5
Statistics on which Argentina does worse than the middle country measured.
Female Labour Force Participation RateILO · 2025 · world median 53.3652.4753.36▲ Improved since 2015
Argentina: 52.47 · world median 53.36 · Women aged 15+ in the labour force (%). International Labour Organization (ILO), 2025 edition, data for 2025.
Published values in that edition run from 4.663 to 82.91; higher is better.
Position 100th of 182 — derived here by ordering the published values, 1st = best. The publisher ranks no country on this.
Youth Not in Education, Employment or TrainingILO · 2024 · world median 14.3116.3214.31No real change since 2014
Argentina: 16.32 · world median 14.31 · Youth not in education, employment or training (%). International Labour Organization (ILO), 2024 edition, data for 2024.
Published values in that edition run from 3.975 to 65.73; lower is better.
Position 40th of 97 — derived here by ordering the published values, 1st = worst. The publisher ranks no country on this.
Youth Unemployment RateILO · 2025 · world median 12.8319.1912.83▼ Worsened since 2015
Argentina: 19.19 · world median 12.83 · Unemployment, ages 15-24 (% of youth labour force). International Labour Organization (ILO), 2025 edition, data for 2025.
Published values in that edition run from 0.457 to 76.77; lower is better.
Position 53rd of 182 — derived here by ordering the published values, 1st = worst. The publisher ranks no country on this.
Fatal Occupational InjuriesILO · 2023 · world median 2.0053.262.005No real change since 2014
Argentina: 3.26 · world median 2.005 · Fatal occupational injuries per 100,000 workers. International Labour Organization (ILO), 2023 edition, data for 2023.
Published values in that edition run from 0.12 to 8.409; lower is better.
Firms with a Female Top ManagerWorld Bank Group · 2025 · world median 19.167.98619.16No earlier reading
Argentina: 7.986 · world median 19.16 · Firms with a female top manager (%). World Bank Group, 2025 edition, data for 2025.
Published values in that edition run from 1.429 to 62.9; higher is better.
Position 157th of 179 — derived here by ordering the published values, 1st = best. The publisher ranks no country on this.
No better end6
These describe the shape of a country — more is not better or worse, only different — so they are never ahead or behind.
Employment in ServicesILO · 2025 · world median 59.5171.8159.51No real change since 2015
Argentina: 71.81 · world median 59.51 · Employment in services (% of total employment). International Labour Organization (ILO), 2025 edition, data for 2025.
Published values in that edition run from 11.56 to 92.17.
Position 51st of 182 — derived here by ordering the published values, counted from the highest value. The publisher ranks no country on this.
Employment in IndustryILO · 2025 · world median 18.8821.1818.88No real change since 2015
Argentina: 21.18 · world median 18.88 · Employment in industry (% of total employment). International Labour Organization (ILO), 2025 edition, data for 2025.
Published values in that edition run from 3.103 to 39.44.
Position 68th of 182 — derived here by ordering the published values, counted from the highest value. The publisher ranks no country on this.
Public Sector EmploymentWorld Bank Group · 2022 · world median 15.0118.8815.01No earlier reading
Argentina: 18.88 · world median 15.01 · Public sector employment (% of total employment). World Bank Group, 2022 edition, data for 2022.
Published values in that edition run from 1.672 to 47.1.
Position 55th of 135 — derived here by ordering the published values, counted from the highest value. The publisher ranks no country on this.
Self-Employment RateILO · 2025 · world median 31.8425.5831.84Moved since 2015
Argentina: 25.58 · world median 31.84 · Self-employed (% of total employment). International Labour Organization (ILO), 2025 edition, data for 2025.
Published values in that edition run from 0.832 to 91.56.
Position 113th of 182 — derived here by ordering the published values, counted from the highest value. The publisher ranks no country on this.
Employment in AgricultureILO · 2025 · world median 14.387.00114.38No real change since 2015
Argentina: 7.001 · world median 14.38 · Employment in agriculture (% of total employment). International Labour Organization (ILO), 2025 edition, data for 2025.
Published values in that edition run from 0.095 to 85.34.
Position 119th of 182 — derived here by ordering the published values, counted from the highest value. The publisher ranks no country on this.
Average Weekly Hours WorkedILO · 2025 · world median 38.8934.9138.89Moved since 2015
Argentina: 34.91 · world median 38.89 · Average weekly hours actually worked per employed person. International Labour Organization (ILO), 2025 edition, data for 2025.
Published values in that edition run from 23.64 to 54.7.
Position 136th of 182 — derived here by ordering the published values, counted from the highest value. The publisher ranks no country on this.
No current reading for Argentina
Informal Employment Rate. Listed rather than hidden, so the page can be checked against it.
05Country Index 2026
Work & Labour among Argentina’s 12 topics
Work & Labour is Argentina’s 10th best-placed topic of 12. Strongest first; each marker sits at the position divided by that topic’s field, so fields of different sizes compare fairly.
- Peace & Security47th of 1773/3 keys
- Development & Human Capital63rd of 1943/3 keys
- Gender & Equality63rd of 1783/3 keys
- Governance & Institutions70th of 1935/5 keys
- Health & Wellbeing81st of 2014/4 keys
- Democracy & Civil Liberties86th of 1983/3 keys
- Economy & Innovation66th of 1503/3 keys
- Environment & Sustainability72nd of 1613/3 keys
- Education & Knowledgejoint 85th of 1823/4 keys
- Work & Labourjoint 92nd of 1824/4 keys
- Mobility & Connectivity96th of 1473/3 keys
- Risk & Resilience140th of 1913/3 keys
06The top of the list
Who leads on work & labour
The three countries placed highest of 182, and the leaders Argentina can most readily be measured against.
1
IcelandNorthern Europe
1st of 182 · 4 of 4 keys
Photo: Hansueli Krapf · CC BY-SA 3.0, greyscale
2
JapanEastern Asia
2nd of 182 · 4 of 4 keys
Photo: JurriaanH · CC BY-SA 3.0, greyscale
3
South KoreaEastern Asia
3rd of 182 · 4 of 4 keys
Photo: Unknown author · CC BY-SA 2.0, greyscale
Placed highest nearby
Highest in Americas
United States14th4/4 keysHighest in South America
Bolivia=29th4/4 keysThis page
Argentina=92nd4/4 keys
Positions out of 182 placed on the topic. A country needs readings on enough keys to be placed, and the top of the list is often held on fewer of them.
07Analysis
Charts and analysis about Argentina and work & labour
On work & labour
Countries in Asia with the highest average salaries 2024
Thirteen Asian countries by gross average monthly wage, each carrying its WORLD rank rather than an Asian one — so the numbers skip, from 11th place to 45th.
On work & labour
Countries With The Highest Average Salaries in 2024
The ten highest-paying countries of 2024, their bars coloured by continent, and six more added for comparison — from Australia in 13th place to India in 85th.
On work & labour
Countries With The Lowest Average Salaries in 2024
The bottom ten of 196 countries, and six more added for comparison. Niger, Madagascar and Liberia are all published at US$47 a month and still carry three different ranks.
08Questions
Argentina on work & labour: questions answered
Every answer is built from the numbers on this page, so none can say something the page does not.
How does Argentina rank on work & labour?
Argentina is placed joint 92nd of 182 countries on Work & Labour in the Country Index 2026, from 4 of its 4 key statistics (Employment-to-Population Ratio, Labour Income Share, Unemployment Rate and Vulnerable Employment). The position is this site’s ordering of published statistics, not a rank any publisher printed.
What is the latest Employment-to-Population Ratio figure for Argentina?
57.49 in 2025 (employed share of the population aged 15+ (%)), according to International Labour Organization (ILO). The world median in the same edition was 57.72.
What is the latest Labour Income Share figure for Argentina?
50.19 in 2025 (labour income share of GDP (%)), according to International Labour Organization (ILO). The world median in the same edition was 46.23.
How does Argentina compare with Brazil on work & labour?
Brazil is placed joint 56th of 182, and Argentina joint 92nd. Employment-to-Population Ratio: Brazil 59.37, Argentina 57.49; Labour Income Share: Brazil 59.5, Argentina 50.19; Unemployment Rate: Brazil 5.97, Argentina 7.145; Vulnerable Employment: Brazil 26.08, Argentina 22.27.
How have Argentina’s work & labour figures changed?
Employment-to-Population Ratio rose from 52.97 in 2000 to 57.49 in 2025; Labour Income Share rose from 38.72 in 2004 to 50.19 in 2025; Unemployment Rate fell from 15 in 2000 to 7.145 in 2025; Vulnerable Employment rose from 21.97 in 2000 to 22.27 in 2025.
Which work & labour statistics are missing for Argentina?
No current reading is published for Argentina on Informal Employment Rate. They are listed rather than hidden, so the evidence on the page can be checked against it.
09Keep reading
Explore further
Argentina, topic by topic
- Governance & Institutions70th of 193
- Economy & Innovation66th of 150
- Education & Knowledge=85th of 182
- Health & Wellbeing81st of 201
- Development & Human Capital63rd of 194
- Environment & Sustainability72nd of 161
- Gender & Equality63rd of 178
- Democracy & Civil Liberties86th of 198
- Peace & Security47th of 177
- Risk & Resilience140th of 191
- Mobility & Connectivity96th of 147
- The full Argentina profile
Nearby, on work & labour
The key statistics, for every country
10Method
Method, sources and how to cite
What this topic does not measure
Wages in money terms are not a key here, because pay figures are hard to compare fairly across countries with very different prices. Labour productivity, working hours, youth unemployment and the balance between farming, industry and services are published on this page as context. The size and growth of the wider economy belong to Economy & Innovation.
How the Work & Labour standing is decided, step by step
A standing is a place in a list, not a mark out of anything. This one is part of the Country Index 2026, and it is worked out like this.
- A few key indicators decide it; the rest are context. 4 indicators on this topic are keys and 18 are charted alongside them without a vote. That split is the point: if every statistic voted, importing five more of one kind would quietly change what the topic is about.
- Each key is read at one edition. All of them describe 2025.
- Every country’s published value is turned into a place within that one key’s own field, and then expressed as a share of that field — how far down this key’s list the country sits, rather than how many countries are above it. Keys where a higher published number is worse (terrorism, hunger, disaster risk) are turned round first, so the good end is always the same end.
- Dividing by the field first is the whole reason this works. A place carries the size of its list inside it: 22nd of 44 and 108th of 215 are the same showing, and averaging the numbers 22 and 108 says loudly that they are not. Fields on this site run from about 44 countries to about 215, so averaging raw places would reward a country for happening to be measured in small ones. Dividing each place by its own field removes the size and leaves only the showing.
- The shares are averaged, plainly. One key, one vote — no key is weighted above another, because any weighting would be this site’s opinion presented as a measurement. Countries are then put in order by that average, and the average itself is never published. It is our arithmetic with nothing anchoring it, so printing it would invite it to be read as a measurement somebody made. The position it produces, the band, and the keys it was built from are all published instead — every one of them checkable against the tables on this page.
- A country needs 2 of this topic’s 4 keys — half, rounded up, and never fewer than 2. A standing built from one reading, printed beside one built from four, is two different things sharing a column heading. 182 countries clear the bar here.
- A key has to earn its vote every edition. It must measure at least 120 countries (below that it starts measuring who was surveyed rather than the world), it must not have more than 10% of its field tied at either end, and it must not repeat another key in the same topic — Spearman correlation above 0.92 counts as repeating. A topic needs at least 2 surviving keys to place anyone at all; this one has 4.
- A standing is relative, and the grouping is ours. It says where a country places against the others measured alongside it, so it moves when they move. The publishers listed on this page did not agree to be read together, and each measures its subject its own way: the underlying numbers are theirs, the ordering on top is this site’s — the same method as the rest of the Country Index, applied to one subject instead of all of them.
The key statistics and their licences
- Employment-to-Population Ratio — International Labour Organization (ILO), CC BY 4.0
- Labour Income Share — International Labour Organization (ILO), CC BY 4.0
- Unemployment Rate — International Labour Organization (ILO), CC BY 4.0
- Vulnerable Employment — International Labour Organization (ILO), CC BY 4.0
The other 17 statistics on this page come from 2 publishers, each named beside its numbers, with every edition and licence on the datasets pages.
The standing itself is part of the Country Index 2026, published under CC BY-SA 4.0.
Photographs
Argentina’s banner and the countries placed highest, from their profiles: Wikimedia Commons, shown in greyscale, each used under the licence named.
- Argentina (banner) — Marina Balasini & Juan Montiel from Argentina, Argentina, CC BY 2.0
- Iceland — Hansueli Krapf, CC BY-SA 3.0
- Japan — JurriaanH, CC BY-SA 3.0
- South Korea — Unknown author, CC BY-SA 2.0
Cite this page
Nations Inquiry (2026). Argentina: Work & Labour — standing and statistics, Country Index 2026. https://nationsinquiry.com/countries/argentina/work