Data for 1997

Labour Force Participation Rate, 1997

Name: Labour Force Participation Rate, 1997
Creator: International Labour Organization (ILO)
License: https://www.ilo.org/rights-and-permissions

1997, as ILO’s 2026 release gives it · stored as published, never rewritten

Labour Force Participation Rate, 1997 covers 187 countries. Tanzania is highest, at 86.476; São Tomé and Príncipe is lowest, at 24.512. The middle country reads 61.157. Against 1996, 186 values changed (85 up, 101 down), the same countries are covered.

Download CSV Cite this year

Share this page

Labour Force Participation Rate · Data for 1997

HighestTanzania

86.476

LowestSão Tomé and Príncipe

24.512

Shaded by value in five groups of equal size, darkest at the better end.

187countries
1measure
1997the year it describes
187distinct values3 decimals, as published
Sep 10, 2026read from the publisher
CC BY 4.0licence

01Position · derived

The table

Every country and every column of Labour Force Participation Rate, 1997, as published. ILO ranks nobody on this measure; the position is derived here by ordering the published values. “=” marks a shared position.

Search this table

Showing 25 of 187 countries · select a heading to sort

Labour Force Participation Rate, 1997: every country, as published by International Labour Organization (ILO).
derived
1	Tanzania`TZA`Eastern Africa	86.476
2	Madagascar`MDG`Eastern Africa	86.148
3	Burundi`BDI`Eastern Africa	85.137
4	Mozambique`MOZ`Eastern Africa	83.940
5	Nigeria`NGA`Western Africa	83.801
6	Qatar`QAT`Western Asia	82.912
7	Solomon Islands`SLB`Melanesia	82.873
8	Burkina Faso`BFA`Western Africa	82.711
9	North Korea`PRK`Eastern Asia	82.266
10	Cameroon`CMR`Middle Africa	82.076
11	Ethiopia`ETH`Eastern Africa	81.965
12	Malawi`MWI`Eastern Africa	80.846
13	Cambodia`KHM`South-eastern Asia	80.548
14	Eritrea`ERI`Eastern Africa	80.479
15	Azerbaijan`AZE`Western Asia	79.953
16	Niger`NER`Western Africa	78.890
17	Angola`AGO`Middle Africa	77.408
18	Liberia`LBR`Western Africa	77.152
19	Vanuatu`VUT`Melanesia	76.839
20	Vietnam`VNM`South-eastern Asia	76.140
21	China`CHN`Eastern Asia	75.762
22	Georgia`GEO`Western Asia	75.682
23	Thailand`THA`South-eastern Asia	75.421
24	United Arab Emirates`ARE`Western Asia	75.355
25	South Sudan`SSD`Eastern Africa	74.490
26	Uganda`UGA`Eastern Africa	74.135
27	Bahamas`BHS`Caribbean	74.128
28	Iceland`ISL`Northern Europe	73.525
29	Lesotho`LSO`Southern Africa	73.214
30	Central African Republic`CAF`Middle Africa	72.684
31	Ghana`GHA`Western Africa	72.676
32	Kenya`KEN`Eastern Africa	72.535
33	DR Congo`COD`Middle Africa	72.459
34	Benin`BEN`Western Africa	71.955
35	Kazakhstan`KAZ`Central Asia	71.678
36	Timor-Leste`TLS`South-eastern Asia	71.028
37	Bolivia`BOL`South America	70.660
38	Chad`TCD`Middle Africa	70.487
39	Mali`MLI`Western Africa	70.369
40	Paraguay`PRY`South America	70.158
41	Bhutan`BTN`Southern Asia	70.157
42	Guam`GUM`Micronesia	69.315
43	Barbados`BRB`Caribbean	69.031
44	Jamaica`JAM`Caribbean	68.464
45	Republic of the Congo`COG`Middle Africa	68.451
46	Colombia`COL`South America	68.295
47	Kyrgyzstan`KGZ`Central Asia	68.143
48	Brunei`BRN`South-eastern Asia	67.959
49	Myanmar`MMR`South-eastern Asia	67.756
50	Switzerland`CHE`Western Europe	67.328
51	Netherlands`NLD`Western Europe	67.108
52	Kuwait`KWT`Western Asia	66.798
53	Guatemala`GTM`Central America	66.705
54	Indonesia`IDN`South-eastern Asia	66.338
55	Zimbabwe`ZWE`Eastern Africa	66.175
56	United States`USA`Northern America	66.085
57	Honduras`HND`Central America	65.977
58	Denmark`DNK`Northern Europe	65.694
59	Peru`PER`South America	65.690
60	Macau`MAC`Eastern Asia	65.630
61	New Caledonia`NCL`Melanesia	65.514
62	Norway`NOR`Northern Europe	65.346
63	Côte d’Ivoire`CIV`Western Africa	65.213
64	Bahrain`BHR`Western Asia	65.141
65	New Zealand`NZL`Australia and New Zealand	65.005
66	Albania`ALB`Southern Europe	64.955
67	Brazil`BRA`South America	64.787
68	Singapore`SGP`South-eastern Asia	64.737
69	Venezuela`VEN`South America	64.563
70	Sierra Leone`SLE`Western Africa	64.530
71	Canada`CAN`Northern America	64.420
72	Ecuador`ECU`South America	64.250
73	Saint Vincent and the Grenadines`VCT`Caribbean	64.174
74	Haiti`HTI`Caribbean	64.164
75	Guinea`GIN`Western Africa	64.026
76	Guinea-Bissau`GNB`Western Africa	63.934
77	Saint Lucia`LCA`Caribbean	63.700
78	Japan`JPN`Eastern Asia	63.674
79	Australia`AUS`Australia and New Zealand	63.260
80	Rwanda`RWA`Eastern Africa	63.246
81	Armenia`ARM`Western Asia	62.879
82	Trinidad and Tobago`TTO`Caribbean	62.821
83	Argentina`ARG`South America	62.778
84	Sweden`SWE`Northern Europe	62.709
85	Ireland`IRL`Northern Europe	62.393
86	South Korea`KOR`Eastern Asia	62.022
87	Laos`LAO`South-eastern Asia	61.990
88	Equatorial Guinea`GNQ`Middle Africa	61.817
89	Lithuania`LTU`Northern Europe	61.784
90	Panama`PAN`Central America	61.626
91	Estonia`EST`Northern Europe	61.491
92	Philippines`PHL`South-eastern Asia	61.248
93	Hong Kong`HKG`Eastern Asia	61.179
94	Czechia`CZE`Eastern Europe	61.157
95	United States Virgin Islands`VIR`Caribbean	61.082
96	Israel`ISR`Western Asia	61.025
97	United Kingdom`GBR`Northern Europe	60.863
98	Mexico`MEX`Central America	60.784
99	Cyprus`CYP`Western Asia	60.735
100	Uruguay`URY`South America	60.660
101	El Salvador`SLV`Central America	60.510
102	Botswana`BWA`Southern Africa	60.464
103	Finland`FIN`Northern Europe	60.107
104	Slovakia`SVK`Eastern Europe	59.676
105	Zambia`ZMB`Eastern Africa	59.609
106	Moldova`MDA`Eastern Europe	59.539
107	Latvia`LVA`Northern Europe	59.434
108	Mauritius`MUS`Eastern Africa	59.424
109	French Polynesia`PYF`Polynesia	59.413
110	Fiji`FJI`Melanesia	59.294
111	Portugal`PRT`Southern Europe	59.144
112	Tonga`TON`Polynesia	59.123
113	Mongolia`MNG`Eastern Asia	59.067
114	India`IND`Southern Asia	59.066
115	Cabo Verde`CPV`Western Africa	59.051
116	Russia`RUS`Eastern Europe	59.045
117	Nicaragua`NIC`Central America	58.966
118	Belize`BLZ`Central America	58.900
119	Belarus`BLR`Eastern Europe	58.803
120	Togo`TGO`Western Africa	58.709
121	Malaysia`MYS`South-eastern Asia	58.529
122	Slovenia`SVN`Southern Europe	58.513
123	Guyana`GUY`South America	58.476
124	Channel Islands`CHI`Northern Europe	58.415
125	Germany`DEU`Western Europe	58.233
126	Costa Rica`CRI`Central America	58.130
127	Austria`AUT`Western Europe	58.088
128	Dominican Republic`DOM`Caribbean	58.058
129	South Africa`ZAF`Southern Africa	57.953
130	Ukraine`UKR`Eastern Europe	57.902
131	Bangladesh`BGD`Southern Asia	57.837
132	Uzbekistan`UZB`Central Asia	57.408
133	Poland`POL`Eastern Europe	57.215
134	Oman`OMN`Western Asia	57.138
135	Turkmenistan`TKM`Central Asia	56.841
136	Chile`CHL`South America	56.619
137	Samoa`WSM`Polynesia	56.337
138	Serbia`SRB`Southern Europe	55.975
139	Sri Lanka`LKA`Southern Asia	55.240
140	Tajikistan`TJK`Central Asia	55.008
141	France`FRA`Western Europe	54.959
142	Eswatini`SWZ`Southern Africa	53.983
143	Croatia`HRV`Southern Europe	53.956
144	North Macedonia`MKD`Southern Europe	53.788
145	Namibia`NAM`Southern Africa	53.500
146	Bosnia and Herzegovina`BIH`Southern Europe	53.396
147	Cuba`CUB`Caribbean	53.160
148	Maldives`MDV`Southern Asia	52.709
149	Türkiye`TUR`Western Asia	52.553
150	Sudan`SDN`Northern Africa	51.593
151	Morocco`MAR`Northern Africa	51.332
152	Luxembourg`LUX`Western Europe	51.242
153	Spain`ESP`Southern Europe	50.916
154	Hungary`HUN`Eastern Europe	50.836
155	Greece`GRC`Southern Europe	50.653
156	Romania`ROU`Eastern Europe	50.584
157	Senegal`SEN`Western Africa	50.538
158	Belgium`BEL`Western Europe	50.488
159	Malta`MLT`Southern Europe	50.219
160	Pakistan`PAK`Southern Asia	50.120
161	Bulgaria`BGR`Eastern Europe	50.013
162	Montenegro`MNE`Southern Europe	49.616
163	Syria`SYR`Western Asia	49.544
164	Saudi Arabia`SAU`Western Asia	49.178
165	Tunisia`TUN`Northern Africa	49.176
166	Gambia`GMB`Western Africa	48.353
167	Gabon`GAB`Middle Africa	48.181
168	Papua New Guinea`PNG`Melanesia	48.179
169	Puerto Rico`PRI`Caribbean	47.700
170	Italy`ITA`Southern Europe	47.296
171	Suriname`SUR`South America	47.294
172	Afghanistan`AFG`Southern Asia	46.732
173	Egypt`EGY`Northern Africa	46.639
174	Mauritania`MRT`Western Africa	46.144
175	Libya`LBY`Northern Africa	46.078
176	Yemen`YEM`Western Asia	45.226
177	Algeria`DZA`Northern Africa	45.059
178	Lebanon`LBN`Western Asia	44.118
179	Iran`IRN`Southern Asia	43.932
180	Iraq`IRQ`Western Asia	42.260
181	Comoros`COM`Eastern Africa	41.960
182	Nepal`NPL`Southern Asia	41.429
183	Palestine`PSE`Western Asia	40.262
184	Jordan`JOR`Western Asia	39.458
185	Djibouti`DJI`Eastern Africa	34.514
186	Somalia`SOM`Eastern Africa	33.995
187	São Tomé and Príncipe`STP`Middle Africa	24.512

02In 1997

At either end

The 5 countries at each end of the headline.

Highest

1Tanzania86.476
2Madagascar86.148
3Burundi85.137
4Mozambique83.940
5Nigeria83.801

Lowest

187São Tomé and Príncipe24.512
186Somalia33.995
185Djibouti34.514
184Jordan39.458
183Palestine40.262

A higher value is the better result. The middle country reads 61.157. “Shared” marks a value another country also holds.

031996 → 1997

Since 1996

What changed between 1996 and this one: who joined or left, and how far the headline moved.

+0 / −0countries joined / left
186values changed, of 187 in both
85 · 101rose · fell
1unchanged

Rose most

Turkmenistan54.587 → 56.841+2.254
Costa Rica55.970 → 58.130+2.160
Albania63.466 → 64.955+1.489
Peru64.317 → 65.690+1.373
Mexico59.464 → 60.784+1.320

Fell most

Georgia77.311 → 75.682−1.629
Kyrgyzstan69.519 → 68.143−1.376
Russia60.387 → 59.045−1.342
Türkiye53.734 → 52.553−1.181
Vietnam77.113 → 76.140−0.973

Both years come from the same release, so a difference here is a change in the data, not a revision of it. Every country’s full history is charted on the statistic page.

04Caveats

Read before you use

What this edition’s numbers are and are not, worked out from the file itself.

How values are stored

One year of the 2026 release
Every year in this series comes from ILO’s 2026 release, recalculated on one method. It can differ from what was first published for 1997.
The position is ours
ILO publishes values only; the order is this site’s.
Nothing missing
Every one of the 187 countries has every column.

05The files

Download and cite

The table as a file, digit for digit, what this site changed, and a citation for this edition.

Licence in full

.csv
For a spreadsheet or code
187 rows · 5.3 KB · UTF-8, opens in Excel
Opens with 11 lines of source notes; the table starts on row 13.
Download labour-participation-1997-nations-inquiry.csv
↗
The publisher’s original
ILO’s own file, on its own site.
SL.TLF.CACT.ZS

What this site changed: Reshaped into one row per country: regional and income-group totals are left out, only the columns listed are kept, each row gets its ISO 3166 code, and some country names are brought to one spelling. No value is recalculated, rescaled or rounded.

Licence: CC BY 4.0 · what it allows, in plain words

Cite this edition

International Labour Organization (ILO) (1997). Labour Force Participation Rate, 1997 [data set], describing 1997. As held by Nations Inquiry, https://nationsinquiry.com/datasets/labour-participation/1997

0636 held

Other years

‹ The year before
Labour Force Participation Rate, 1996
187 countries
The year after ›
Labour Force Participation Rate, 1998
187 countries
All of them
Labour Force Participation Rate: every year
36 held, with the data dictionary, coverage and licence.
How it has moved, charted by country

07Questions