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Photo: Neil derivative work: Jjtkk · CC BY 2.0 · via Wikimedia Commons, shown in greyscale
Topic 03 of 12 · Country Index 2026
Samoa: Work & Labour
Can people find work, and on what terms?
Samoa is placed 152nd 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 40.41 (2025); Labour Income Share 42.11 (2025).
Work & Labour
152nd
of 182 countries placed
Placed from 4 of 4 key statistics
01The evidence
The 4 key statistics that decide it
Only these place Samoa 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
40.41
Employed share of the population aged 15+ (%)
Higher is better
Samoa: 40.41. 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 Polynesia
- 48.81 Tonga
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
4.996
Unemployment (% of labour force)
Lower is better
Samoa: 4.996. 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 Polynesia
- 2.008 Tonga
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
41.64
Vulnerable employment (% of total employment)
Lower is better
Samoa: 41.64. 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 Polynesia
- 14.78 French Polynesia
Each grey tick is one of 182 countries in the 2025 edition.
02Over time
Which way Samoa 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
SamoaWorld median
Samoa fell from 53.64 in 2000 to 40.41 in 2025; the world median went from 55.86 to 57.72.
Every year’s figures
Year Samoa World median 2025 40.409 57.720 2024 40.992 57.694 2023 41.301 58.158 2022 41.525 57.688 2021 42.552 56.066 2020 44.020 55.691 2019 46.206 57.871 2018 47.821 56.911 2017 49.316 56.738 2016 49.559 56.845 2015 49.841 56.788 2014 50.057 56.774 2013 50.056 56.229 2012 50.069 56.289 2011 51.663 56.297 2010 51.834 56.212 2009 52.019 56.255 2008 52.088 57.308 2007 52.292 56.933 2006 52.399 56.685 2005 52.535 56.129 2004 52.750 55.465 2003 52.892 55.630 2002 53.076 55.843 2001 53.266 56.018 2000 53.639 55.861 Labour Income Share
Labour income share of GDP (%) · higher is better
SamoaWorld median
Samoa fell from 43.1 in 2004 to 42.11 in 2025; the world median went from 46.01 to 46.23.
Every year’s figures
Year Samoa World median 2025 42.110 46.230 2024 41.838 46.060 2023 40.270 45.900 2022 42.164 45.615 2021 42.297 45.433 2020 43.699 47.267 2019 42.301 46.277 2018 43.289 46.187 2017 43.379 46.467 2016 42.548 46.798 2015 43.073 46.876 2014 43.473 47.281 2013 43.537 46.887 2012 44.017 46.231 2011 43.053 45.679 2010 42.763 46.024 2009 43.601 47.071 2008 43.074 45.312 2007 43.455 45.246 2006 43.241 45.670 2005 42.663 46.265 2004 43.105 46.012 Unemployment Rate
Unemployment (% of labour force) · lower is better
SamoaWorld median
Samoa rose from 4.733 in 2000 to 4.996 in 2025; the world median went from 6.918 to 5.084.
Every year’s figures
Year Samoa World median 2025 5.00 5.08 2024 4.86 5.15 2023 4.92 5.21 2022 5.05 5.34 2021 6.66 6.04 2020 7.47 6.38 2019 7.86 5.36 2018 8.65 5.35 2017 9.40 5.59 2016 9.06 5.90 2015 8.90 6.41 2014 8.72 6.58 2013 8.77 6.71 2012 8.75 6.79 2011 5.68 6.90 2010 5.62 7.04 2009 5.65 6.67 2008 5.54 5.79 2007 5.43 6.00 2006 5.32 6.50 2005 5.21 7.09 2004 5.16 6.80 2003 5.04 6.95 2002 4.98 6.91 2001 4.96 6.96 2000 4.73 6.92 Vulnerable Employment
Vulnerable employment (% of total employment) · lower is better
SamoaWorld median
Samoa fell from 44.77 in 2000 to 41.64 in 2025; the world median went from 35.67 to 28.67.
Every year’s figures
Year Samoa World median 2025 41.643 28.67 2024 41.867 29.04 2023 42.002 29.33 2022 42.025 29.67 2021 41.650 30.01 2020 42.186 30.54 2019 42.539 29.98 2018 42.730 30.15 2017 42.746 29.93 2016 42.829 29.91 2015 42.928 30.26 2014 42.916 30.47 2013 42.826 31.14 2012 42.752 31.00 2011 42.714 31.41 2010 42.846 32.37 2009 42.934 32.59 2008 42.822 31.76 2007 42.889 33.47 2006 43.110 34.27 2005 43.272 34.66 2004 43.566 35.51 2003 43.817 35.90 2002 44.132 35.96 2001 44.428 35.27 2000 44.769 35.67
03In context
Samoa 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
Samoa and Polynesia
Samoa has no land border, so the table compares it with its sub-region. 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) |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|
 Tonga | =103rd | 48.81 | 43.68 | 2.008 | 33.7 |
 French Polynesia | 128th | 46.26 | 51.48 | 11.66 | 14.78 |
| Samoa | 152nd | 40.41 | 42.11 | 4.996 | 41.64 |
 American Samoa | not placed | — | — | — | — |
 Cook Islands | not placed | — | — | — | — |
 Niue | not placed | — | — | — | — |
 Tuvalu | not placed | — | — | — | — |
“—” means the publisher gives no reading for that country in that edition. A country needs readings on enough keys to be placed.
Across Polynesia
Every country in the sub-region, by its place among all 182.
Placed either side on work & labour
The countries immediately above and below Samoa in the topic’s list.
04Context, no vote
Where Samoa is ahead of the world, and behind
13 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 median1
Statistics on which Samoa does better than the middle country measured.
Firms with a Female Top ManagerWorld Bank Group · 2025 · world median 19.1647.9819.16No earlier reading
Samoa: 47.98 · 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 4th of 179 — derived here by ordering the published values, 1st = best. The publisher ranks no country on this.
Behind the world median7
Statistics on which Samoa does worse than the middle country measured.
Youth Unemployment RateILO · 2025 · world median 12.8312.9812.83▲ Improved since 2015
Samoa: 12.98 · 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 89th of 182 — derived here by ordering the published values, 1st = worst. The publisher ranks no country on this.
Informal Employment RateILO · 2025 · world median 36.8346.4936.83No earlier reading
Samoa: 46.49 · world median 36.83 · Informal employment (% of total employment). International Labour Organization (ILO), 2025 edition, data for 2025.
Published values in that edition run from 0.857 to 94.44; lower is better.
Position 45th of 97 — 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 47,38431,81747,384▲ Improved since 2015
Samoa: 31,817 · 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 105th 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 22.1613.3422.16▲ Improved since 2015
Samoa: 13.34 · 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 119th of 182 — derived here by ordering the published values, 1st = best. The publisher ranks no country on this.
Trade Union DensityILO · 2020 · world median 16.6811.8216.68No earlier reading
Samoa: 11.82 · 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 92nd of 139 — derived here by ordering the published values, 1st = best. The publisher ranks no country on this.
Female Labour Force Participation RateILO · 2025 · world median 53.3630.7453.36▼ Worsened since 2015
Samoa: 30.74 · 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 164th 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 61.6642.5361.66▼ Worsened since 2015
Samoa: 42.53 · 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 168th of 182 — derived here by ordering the published values, 1st = best. The publisher ranks no country on this.
No better end5
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 38.8945.1138.89Moved since 2015
Samoa: 45.11 · 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 21st 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 31.8444.5131.84No real change since 2015
Samoa: 44.51 · 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 64th 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 14.3826.8814.38Moved since 2015
Samoa: 26.88 · 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 68th of 182 — 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 59.5157.1859.51No real change since 2015
Samoa: 57.18 · 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 99th 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 18.8815.9418.88Moved since 2015
Samoa: 15.94 · 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 131st 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 Samoa
Fatal Occupational Injuries, Female Share of Senior and Middle Management (last 2022), Public Sector Employment, Working Poverty Rate and Youth Not in Education, Employment or Training (last 2022). Listed rather than hidden, so the page can be checked against it.
05Country Index 2026
Work & Labour among Samoa’s 10 topics
Work & Labour is Samoa’s 10th best-placed topic of 10. Strongest first; each marker sits at the position divided by that topic’s field, so fields of different sizes compare fairly.
- Environment & Sustainability16th of 1613/3 keys
- Democracy & Civil Liberties33rd of 1982/3 keys
- Risk & Resilience41st of 1912/3 keys
- Education & Knowledgejoint 52nd of 1824/4 keys
- Mobility & Connectivity70th of 1472/3 keys
- Health & Wellbeing96th of 2014/4 keys
- Governance & Institutionsjoint 125th of 1934/5 keys
- Gender & Equality116th of 1782/3 keys
- Development & Human Capitaljoint 128th of 1942/3 keys
- Work & Labour152nd of 1824/4 keys
No standing on Economy & Innovation, Peace & Security: too few of those topics’ key statistics are published for this country.
06The top of the list
Who leads on work & labour
The three countries placed highest of 182, and the leaders Samoa 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 Oceania
Australia=4th4/4 keysHighest in Polynesia
Tonga=103rd4/4 keysThis page
Samoa152nd4/4 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 Samoa 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
Samoa 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 Samoa rank on work & labour?
Samoa is placed 152nd 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 Samoa?
40.41 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 Samoa?
42.11 in 2025 (labour income share of GDP (%)), according to International Labour Organization (ILO). The world median in the same edition was 46.23.
How have Samoa’s work & labour figures changed?
Employment-to-Population Ratio fell from 53.64 in 2000 to 40.41 in 2025; Labour Income Share fell from 43.1 in 2004 to 42.11 in 2025; Unemployment Rate rose from 4.733 in 2000 to 4.996 in 2025; Vulnerable Employment fell from 44.77 in 2000 to 41.64 in 2025.
Which work & labour statistics are missing for Samoa?
No current reading is published for Samoa on Fatal Occupational Injuries, Female Share of Senior and Middle Management, Public Sector Employment, Working Poverty Rate and Youth Not in Education, Employment or Training. They are listed rather than hidden, so the evidence on the page can be checked against it.
09Keep reading
Explore further
Samoa, topic by topic
- Governance & Institutions=125th of 193
- Education & Knowledge=52nd of 182
- Health & Wellbeing96th of 201
- Development & Human Capital=128th of 194
- Environment & Sustainability16th of 161
- Gender & Equality116th of 178
- Democracy & Civil Liberties33rd of 198
- Risk & Resilience41st of 191
- Mobility & Connectivity70th of 147
- The full Samoa 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 13 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
Samoa’s banner and the countries placed highest, from their profiles: Wikimedia Commons, shown in greyscale, each used under the licence named.
- Samoa (banner) — Neil derivative work: Jjtkk, 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). Samoa: Work & Labour — standing and statistics, Country Index 2026. https://nationsinquiry.com/countries/samoa/work