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Photo: Kumaravels derivative work: ויקיג'אנקי · CC BY 2.5 in · via Wikimedia Commons, shown in greyscale
Topic 03 of 12 · Country Index 2026
India: Work & Labour
Can people find work, and on what terms?
India is placed joint 99th 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 53.31 (2025); Labour Income Share 61.83 (2025).
Work & Labour
joint99th
of 182 countries placed
Placed from 4 of 4 key statistics
01The evidence
The 4 key statistics that decide it
Only these place India 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
53.31
Employed share of the population aged 15+ (%)
Higher is better
India: 53.31. 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 Southern Asia
- 62.73 Bhutan
- Land neighbours
- Bangladesh 56.57 · Bhutan 62.73 · China 61.57 · Myanmar 53.41 · Nepal 35.14 · Pakistan 49.5
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
4.219
Unemployment (% of labour force)
Lower is better
India: 4.219. 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 Southern Asia
- 3.227 Bhutan
- Land neighbours
- Bangladesh 3.778 · Bhutan 3.227 · China 4.615 · Myanmar 3.047 · Nepal 10.46 · Pakistan 5.42
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
71.58
Vulnerable employment (% of total employment)
Lower is better
India: 71.58. 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 Southern Asia
- 16.91 Maldives
- Land neighbours
- Bangladesh 57.35 · Bhutan 69.03 · China 33.4 · Myanmar 62.89 · Nepal 76.98 · Pakistan 55.51
Each grey tick is one of 182 countries in the 2025 edition.
02Over time
Which way India 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
IndiaWorld median
India fell from 55.52 in 2000 to 53.31 in 2025; the world median went from 55.86 to 57.72.
Every year’s figures
Year India World median 2025 53.31 57.720 2024 53.32 57.694 2023 52.42 58.158 2022 51.00 57.688 2021 49.17 56.066 2020 47.50 55.691 2019 48.88 57.871 2018 48.47 56.911 2017 48.66 56.738 2016 48.83 56.845 2015 48.99 56.788 2014 49.13 56.774 2013 49.27 56.229 2012 49.42 56.289 2011 50.01 56.297 2010 50.59 56.212 2009 51.38 56.255 2008 52.20 57.308 2007 53.08 56.933 2006 53.94 56.685 2005 54.81 56.129 2004 54.93 55.465 2003 55.06 55.630 2002 55.18 55.843 2001 55.36 56.018 2000 55.52 55.861 Labour Income Share
Labour income share of GDP (%) · higher is better
IndiaWorld median
India rose from 59.13 in 2004 to 61.83 in 2025; the world median went from 46.01 to 46.23.
Every year’s figures
Year India World median 2025 61.8 46.230 2024 61.9 46.060 2023 61.1 45.900 2022 62.0 45.615 2021 62.3 45.433 2020 62.6 47.267 2019 60.3 46.277 2018 59.8 46.187 2017 59.0 46.467 2016 58.5 46.798 2015 57.6 46.876 2014 58.6 47.281 2013 57.4 46.887 2012 57.3 46.231 2011 58.1 45.679 2010 59.3 46.024 2009 61.6 47.071 2008 60.0 45.312 2007 54.5 45.246 2006 54.8 45.670 2005 57.2 46.265 2004 59.1 46.012 Unemployment Rate
Unemployment (% of labour force) · lower is better
IndiaWorld median
India fell from 7.589 in 2000 to 4.219 in 2025; the world median went from 6.918 to 5.084.
Every year’s figures
Year India World median 2025 4.219 5.08 2024 4.173 5.15 2023 4.172 5.21 2022 4.822 5.34 2021 6.380 6.04 2020 7.859 6.38 2019 6.510 5.36 2018 7.652 5.35 2017 7.626 5.59 2016 7.611 5.90 2015 7.629 6.41 2014 7.656 6.58 2013 7.678 6.71 2012 7.645 6.79 2011 7.609 6.90 2010 7.631 7.04 2009 7.636 6.67 2008 7.629 5.79 2007 7.562 6.00 2006 7.553 6.50 2005 7.551 7.09 2004 7.598 6.80 2003 7.633 6.95 2002 7.681 6.91 2001 7.611 6.96 2000 7.589 6.92 Vulnerable Employment
Vulnerable employment (% of total employment) · lower is better
IndiaWorld median
India fell from 83.72 in 2000 to 71.58 in 2025; the world median went from 35.67 to 28.67.
Every year’s figures
Year India World median 2025 71.58 28.67 2024 72.06 29.04 2023 72.76 29.33 2022 74.00 29.67 2021 74.55 30.01 2020 75.08 30.54 2019 75.20 29.98 2018 75.81 30.15 2017 76.52 29.93 2016 77.22 29.91 2015 77.88 30.26 2014 78.52 30.47 2013 79.09 31.14 2012 79.65 31.00 2011 80.97 31.41 2010 82.31 32.37 2009 82.48 32.59 2008 82.64 31.76 2007 82.74 33.47 2006 82.93 34.27 2005 83.15 34.66 2004 83.31 35.51 2003 83.50 35.90 2002 83.59 35.96 2001 83.68 35.27 2000 83.72 35.67
03In context
India 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
India 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) |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|
 China | 60th | 61.57 | 51.23 | 4.615 | 33.4 |
 Bhutan | =72nd | 62.73 | 48.31 | 3.227 | 69.03 |
| India | =99th | 53.31 | 61.83 | 4.219 | 71.58 |
 Bangladesh | =103rd | 56.57 | 49.03 | 3.778 | 57.35 |
 Myanmar | 109th | 53.41 | 48.67 | 3.047 | 62.89 |
 Pakistan | 136th | 49.5 | 49.83 | 5.42 | 55.51 |
 Nepal | 171st | 35.14 | 48.94 | 10.46 | 76.98 |
“—” means the publisher gives no reading for that country in that edition. A country needs readings on enough keys to be placed.
Across Southern Asia
Every country in the sub-region, by its place among all 182.
Placed either side on work & labour
The countries immediately above and below India in the topic’s list.
04Context, no vote
Where India is ahead of the world, and behind
16 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 median2
Statistics on which India does better than the middle country measured.
Trade Union DensityILO · 2020 · world median 16.6819.816.68No earlier reading
India: 19.8 · 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 58th of 139 — derived here by ordering the published values, 1st = best. The publisher ranks no country on this.
Working Poverty RateILO · 2025 · world median 4.8853.5624.885▲ Improved since 2015
India: 3.562 · 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.
Behind the world median8
Statistics on which India does worse than the middle country measured.
Youth Unemployment RateILO · 2025 · world median 12.8316.0212.83▲ Improved since 2015
India: 16.02 · 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 68th of 182 — derived here by ordering the published values, 1st = worst. The publisher ranks no country on this.
GDP per Person EmployedWorld Bank Group · 2025 · world median 47,38424,84247,384▲ Improved since 2015
India: 24,842 · 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 115th of 168 — derived here by ordering the published values, 1st = best. The publisher ranks no country on this.
Labour Productivity per Hour WorkedILO · 2025 · world median 22.1610.822.16▲ Improved since 2015
India: 10.8 · 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 129th of 182 — derived here by ordering the published values, 1st = best. The publisher ranks no country on this.
Labour Force Participation RateILO · 2025 · world median 61.6655.6661.66▲ Improved since 2015
India: 55.66 · 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 135th 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 14.3124.1914.31▲ Improved since 2018
India: 24.19 · 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 19th of 97 — derived here by ordering the published values, 1st = worst. The publisher ranks no country on this.
Female Labour Force Participation RateILO · 2025 · world median 53.3632.4253.36No real change since 2015
India: 32.42 · 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 162nd of 182 — derived here by ordering the published values, 1st = best. The publisher ranks no country on this.
Firms with a Female Top ManagerWorld Bank Group · 2025 · world median 19.163.8419.16No earlier reading
India: 3.84 · 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 169th of 179 — 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 35.8611.8835.86No real change since 2018
India: 11.88 · 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 85th of 86 — 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.
Average Weekly Hours WorkedILO · 2025 · world median 38.8945.7138.89Moved since 2015
India: 45.71 · 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 17th of 182 — 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 31.8474.931.84Moved since 2015
India: 74.9 · 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 27th 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 14.3841.6314.38No real change since 2015
India: 41.63 · 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 37th 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 18.8825.8218.88No real change since 2015
India: 25.82 · 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 40th 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 15.017.77415.01No earlier reading
India: 7.774 · 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 97th of 135 — derived here by ordering the published values, counted from the highest value. The publisher ranks no country on this.
Employment in ServicesILO · 2025 · world median 59.5132.5659.51No real change since 2015
India: 32.56 · 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 166th 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 India
Fatal Occupational Injuries (last 2007) and Informal Employment Rate. Listed rather than hidden, so the page can be checked against it.
05Country Index 2026
Work & Labour among India’s 12 topics
Work & Labour is India’s 6th 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.
- Mobility & Connectivity15th of 1473/3 keys
- Education & Knowledgejoint 57th of 1823/4 keys
- Governance & Institutions67th of 1935/5 keys
- Environment & Sustainabilityjoint 61st of 1613/3 keys
- Economy & Innovation58th of 1503/3 keys
- Work & Labourjoint 99th of 1824/4 keys
- Democracy & Civil Liberties118th of 1983/3 keys
- Development & Human Capital116th of 1943/3 keys
- Health & Wellbeing139th of 2013/4 keys
- Peace & Securityjoint 126th of 1773/3 keys
- Gender & Equality129th of 1783/3 keys
- Risk & Resiliencejoint 185th of 1913/3 keys
06The top of the list
Who leads on work & labour
The three countries placed highest of 182, and the leaders India 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 Asia
Japan2nd4/4 keysHighest in Southern Asia
Maldives=64th4/4 keysThis page
India=99th4/4 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 India and work & labour
About India
India vs Pakistan 2025: Comparison of Hunger Index, Happiness, HDI, Rule of Law, Literacy & GDP
India and Pakistan on six published measures: hunger, happiness, human development, rule of law, literacy and GDP per capita. India is the better placed on five of them; Pakistan on one.
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.
08Questions
India 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 India rank on work & labour?
India is placed joint 99th 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 India?
53.31 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 India?
61.83 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 India compare with China on work & labour?
China is placed 60th of 182, and India joint 99th. Employment-to-Population Ratio: China 61.57, India 53.31; Labour Income Share: China 51.23, India 61.83; Unemployment Rate: China 4.615, India 4.219; Vulnerable Employment: China 33.4, India 71.58.
How have India’s work & labour figures changed?
Employment-to-Population Ratio fell from 55.52 in 2000 to 53.31 in 2025; Labour Income Share rose from 59.13 in 2004 to 61.83 in 2025; Unemployment Rate fell from 7.589 in 2000 to 4.219 in 2025; Vulnerable Employment fell from 83.72 in 2000 to 71.58 in 2025.
Which work & labour statistics are missing for India?
No current reading is published for India on Fatal Occupational Injuries and Informal Employment Rate. They are listed rather than hidden, so the evidence on the page can be checked against it.
09Keep reading
Explore further
India, topic by topic
- Governance & Institutions67th of 193
- Economy & Innovation58th of 150
- Education & Knowledge=57th of 182
- Health & Wellbeing139th of 201
- Development & Human Capital116th of 194
- Environment & Sustainability=61st of 161
- Gender & Equality129th of 178
- Democracy & Civil Liberties118th of 198
- Peace & Security=126th of 177
- Risk & Resilience=185th of 191
- Mobility & Connectivity15th of 147
- The full India 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 16 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
India’s banner and the countries placed highest, from their profiles: Wikimedia Commons, shown in greyscale, each used under the licence named.
- India (banner) — Kumaravels derivative work: ויקיג'אנקי, CC BY 2.5 in
- 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). India: Work & Labour — standing and statistics, Country Index 2026. https://nationsinquiry.com/countries/india/work