Data for 1998

Labour Force Participation Rate, 1998

Name: Labour Force Participation Rate, 1998
Creator: International Labour Organization (ILO)
License: https://www.ilo.org/rights-and-permissions

1998, as ILO’s 2026 release gives it · stored as published, never rewritten

Labour Force Participation Rate, 1998 covers 187 countries. Tanzania is highest, at 86.465; São Tomé and Príncipe is lowest, at 24.417. The middle country reads 60.992. Against 1997, 186 values changed (76 up, 110 down), the same countries are covered.

Download CSV Cite this year

Share this page

Labour Force Participation Rate · Data for 1998

HighestTanzania

86.465

LowestSão Tomé and Príncipe

24.417

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

187countries
1measure
1998the 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, 1998, 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, 1998: every country, as published by International Labour Organization (ILO).
derived
1	Tanzania`TZA`Eastern Africa	86.465
2	Madagascar`MDG`Eastern Africa	86.204
3	Mozambique`MOZ`Eastern Africa	84.305
4	Burundi`BDI`Eastern Africa	84.217
5	Nigeria`NGA`Western Africa	83.670
6	Solomon Islands`SLB`Melanesia	83.009
7	Qatar`QAT`Western Asia	82.606
8	Burkina Faso`BFA`Western Africa	82.501
9	North Korea`PRK`Eastern Asia	82.298
10	Cameroon`CMR`Middle Africa	82.028
11	Ethiopia`ETH`Eastern Africa	82.009
12	Malawi`MWI`Eastern Africa	80.857
13	Eritrea`ERI`Eastern Africa	80.648
14	Cambodia`KHM`South-eastern Asia	80.543
15	Niger`NER`Western Africa	78.924
16	Azerbaijan`AZE`Western Asia	78.887
17	Angola`AGO`Middle Africa	77.394
18	Liberia`LBR`Western Africa	77.132
19	Vanuatu`VUT`Melanesia	76.859
20	Vietnam`VNM`South-eastern Asia	75.327
21	China`CHN`Eastern Asia	75.246
22	Georgia`GEO`Western Asia	75.020
23	Iceland`ISL`Northern Europe	75.006
24	United Arab Emirates`ARE`Western Asia	74.875
25	Thailand`THA`South-eastern Asia	74.492
26	South Sudan`SSD`Eastern Africa	74.442
27	Bahamas`BHS`Caribbean	74.245
28	Uganda`UGA`Eastern Africa	74.243
29	Lesotho`LSO`Southern Africa	73.072
30	Central African Republic`CAF`Middle Africa	72.674
31	Ghana`GHA`Western Africa	72.613
32	DR Congo`COD`Middle Africa	72.520
33	Kenya`KEN`Eastern Africa	72.467
34	Benin`BEN`Western Africa	71.914
35	Kazakhstan`KAZ`Central Asia	71.645
36	Timor-Leste`TLS`South-eastern Asia	71.180
37	Bolivia`BOL`South America	70.491
38	Mali`MLI`Western Africa	70.340
39	Bhutan`BTN`Southern Asia	70.142
40	Chad`TCD`Middle Africa	70.023
41	Paraguay`PRY`South America	69.945
42	Barbados`BRB`Caribbean	69.151
43	Guam`GUM`Micronesia	68.815
44	Republic of the Congo`COG`Middle Africa	68.458
45	Colombia`COL`South America	68.159
46	Brunei`BRN`South-eastern Asia	68.118
47	Kyrgyzstan`KGZ`Central Asia	68.046
48	Jamaica`JAM`Caribbean	67.968
49	Switzerland`CHE`Western Europe	67.862
50	Myanmar`MMR`South-eastern Asia	67.685
51	Netherlands`NLD`Western Europe	67.292
52	Indonesia`IDN`South-eastern Asia	66.930
53	Peru`PER`South America	66.850
54	Guatemala`GTM`Central America	66.797
55	Ecuador`ECU`South America	66.380
56	Kuwait`KWT`Western Asia	66.338
57	Honduras`HND`Central America	66.011
58	United States`USA`Northern America	66.010
59	Norway`NOR`Northern Europe	65.954
60	Zimbabwe`ZWE`Eastern Africa	65.939
61	New Caledonia`NCL`Melanesia	65.416
62	Macau`MAC`Eastern Asia	65.415
63	Denmark`DNK`Northern Europe	65.315
64	Singapore`SGP`South-eastern Asia	65.176
65	Côte d’Ivoire`CIV`Western Africa	65.170
66	Bahrain`BHR`Western Asia	65.164
67	Brazil`BRA`South America	64.922
68	Canada`CAN`Northern America	64.670
69	New Zealand`NZL`Australia and New Zealand	64.576
70	Sierra Leone`SLE`Western Africa	64.556
71	Venezuela`VEN`South America	64.450
72	Saint Vincent and the Grenadines`VCT`Caribbean	64.397
73	Guinea`GIN`Western Africa	64.127
74	Guinea-Bissau`GNB`Western Africa	63.896
75	Saint Lucia`LCA`Caribbean	63.813
76	Albania`ALB`Southern Europe	63.712
77	Haiti`HTI`Caribbean	63.702
78	Japan`JPN`Eastern Asia	63.329
79	Ireland`IRL`Northern Europe	63.325
80	Australia`AUS`Australia and New Zealand	63.133
81	Argentina`ARG`South America	63.084
82	Trinidad and Tobago`TTO`Caribbean	63.068
83	Rwanda`RWA`Eastern Africa	62.902
84	Panama`PAN`Central America	62.849
85	El Salvador`SLV`Central America	62.631
86	Armenia`ARM`Western Asia	62.514
87	Sweden`SWE`Northern Europe	62.076
88	Laos`LAO`South-eastern Asia	61.951
89	Equatorial Guinea`GNQ`Middle Africa	61.910
90	Philippines`PHL`South-eastern Asia	61.311
91	Hong Kong`HKG`Eastern Asia	61.146
92	Czechia`CZE`Eastern Europe	61.061
93	Uruguay`URY`South America	61.008
94	Lithuania`LTU`Northern Europe	60.992
95	United Kingdom`GBR`Northern Europe	60.765
96	Cyprus`CYP`Western Asia	60.621
97	Portugal`PRT`Southern Europe	60.568
98	Mexico`MEX`Central America	60.475
99	Israel`ISR`Western Asia	60.445
100	United States Virgin Islands`VIR`Caribbean	60.425
101	Estonia`EST`Northern Europe	60.226
102	South Korea`KOR`Eastern Asia	60.213
103	Finland`FIN`Northern Europe	60.166
104	Botswana`BWA`Southern Africa	60.120
105	Moldova`MDA`Eastern Europe	59.864
106	Costa Rica`CRI`Central America	59.690
107	Zambia`ZMB`Eastern Africa	59.598
108	Nicaragua`NIC`Central America	59.480
109	Slovenia`SVN`Southern Europe	59.452
110	India`IND`Southern Asia	59.404
111	Mauritius`MUS`Eastern Africa	59.248
112	Mongolia`MNG`Eastern Asia	59.193
113	French Polynesia`PYF`Polynesia	59.160
114	Fiji`FJI`Melanesia	59.139
115	Slovakia`SVK`Eastern Europe	59.083
116	Latvia`LVA`Northern Europe	59.020
117	Tonga`TON`Polynesia	58.943
118	Malaysia`MYS`South-eastern Asia	58.903
119	Sri Lanka`LKA`Southern Asia	58.820
120	Cabo Verde`CPV`Western Africa	58.786
121	Channel Islands`CHI`Northern Europe	58.718
122	Belize`BLZ`Central America	58.700
123	Togo`TGO`Western Africa	58.619
124	Belarus`BLR`Eastern Europe	58.602
125	Austria`AUT`Western Europe	58.404
126	Dominican Republic`DOM`Caribbean	58.244
127	Germany`DEU`Western Europe	58.173
128	Russia`RUS`Eastern Europe	58.115
129	Guyana`GUY`South America	58.065
130	Bangladesh`BGD`Southern Asia	57.966
131	South Africa`ZAF`Southern Africa	57.742
132	Ukraine`UKR`Eastern Europe	57.671
133	Uzbekistan`UZB`Central Asia	57.310
134	Oman`OMN`Western Asia	56.854
135	Chile`CHL`South America	56.752
136	Poland`POL`Eastern Europe	56.743
137	Samoa`WSM`Polynesia	56.398
138	Turkmenistan`TKM`Central Asia	55.978
139	Serbia`SRB`Southern Europe	55.488
140	France`FRA`Western Europe	55.041
141	Tajikistan`TJK`Central Asia	55.008
142	Eswatini`SWZ`Southern Africa	53.733
143	Namibia`NAM`Southern Africa	53.710
144	Croatia`HRV`Southern Europe	53.461
145	Maldives`MDV`Southern Asia	53.408
146	Cuba`CUB`Caribbean	53.325
147	Bosnia and Herzegovina`BIH`Southern Europe	53.172
148	North Macedonia`MKD`Southern Europe	53.171
149	Türkiye`TUR`Western Asia	52.796
150	Greece`GRC`Southern Europe	51.752
151	Luxembourg`LUX`Western Europe	51.420
152	Sudan`SDN`Northern Africa	51.362
153	Morocco`MAR`Northern Africa	51.295
154	Spain`ESP`Southern Europe	51.242
155	Romania`ROU`Eastern Europe	50.843
156	Hungary`HUN`Eastern Europe	50.819
157	Belgium`BEL`Western Europe	50.744
158	Senegal`SEN`Western Africa	50.466
159	Malta`MLT`Southern Europe	50.290
160	Pakistan`PAK`Southern Asia	49.950
161	Bulgaria`BGR`Eastern Europe	49.789
162	Syria`SYR`Western Asia	49.720
163	Montenegro`MNE`Southern Europe	49.352
164	Tunisia`TUN`Northern Africa	48.781
165	Saudi Arabia`SAU`Western Asia	48.689
166	Gambia`GMB`Western Africa	48.367
167	Papua New Guinea`PNG`Melanesia	48.337
168	Gabon`GAB`Middle Africa	48.090
169	Italy`ITA`Southern Europe	47.566
170	Puerto Rico`PRI`Caribbean	47.550
171	Suriname`SUR`South America	46.952
172	Afghanistan`AFG`Southern Asia	46.667
173	Libya`LBY`Northern Africa	46.285
174	Mauritania`MRT`Western Africa	46.096
175	Egypt`EGY`Northern Africa	46.000
176	Yemen`YEM`Western Asia	45.595
177	Algeria`DZA`Northern Africa	44.719
178	Lebanon`LBN`Western Asia	44.095
179	Iran`IRN`Southern Asia	43.950
180	Iraq`IRQ`Western Asia	42.205
181	Comoros`COM`Eastern Africa	41.915
182	Nepal`NPL`Southern Asia	41.405
183	Palestine`PSE`Western Asia	40.175
184	Jordan`JOR`Western Asia	39.448
185	Djibouti`DJI`Eastern Africa	34.297
186	Somalia`SOM`Eastern Africa	34.028
187	São Tomé and Príncipe`STP`Middle Africa	24.417

02In 1998

At either end

The 5 countries at each end of the headline.

Highest

1Tanzania86.465
2Madagascar86.204
3Mozambique84.305
4Burundi84.217
5Nigeria83.670

Lowest

187São Tomé and Príncipe24.417
186Somalia34.028
185Djibouti34.297
184Jordan39.448
183Palestine40.175

A higher value is the better result. The middle country reads 60.992. “Shared” marks a value another country also holds.

031997 → 1998

Since 1997

What changed between 1997 and this one: who joined or left, and how far the headline moved.

+0 / −0countries joined / left
186values changed, of 187 in both
76 · 110rose · fell
1unchanged

Rose most

Sri Lanka55.240 → 58.820+3.580
Ecuador64.250 → 66.380+2.130
El Salvador60.510 → 62.631+2.121
Costa Rica58.130 → 59.690+1.560
Iceland73.525 → 75.006+1.481

Fell most

South Korea62.022 → 60.213−1.809
Estonia61.491 → 60.226−1.265
Albania64.955 → 63.712−1.243
Azerbaijan79.953 → 78.887−1.066
Russia59.045 → 58.115−0.930

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 1998.
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-1998-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) (1998). Labour Force Participation Rate, 1998 [data set], describing 1998. As held by Nations Inquiry, https://nationsinquiry.com/datasets/labour-participation/1998

0636 held

Other years

‹ The year before
Labour Force Participation Rate, 1997
187 countries
The year after ›
Labour Force Participation Rate, 1999
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