South Africa
ZA desk: South Africa first; United States, United Kingdom, euro area, Australia and New Zealand alongside.
−0.05 pp
As of 2025 | % of population ages 15+
| Year | Value |
|---|---|
| 2025 | 37.58% |
| 2024 | 37.63% |
| 2023 | 37.36% |
| 2022 | 35.70% |
| 2021 | 34.33% |
| 2020 | 35.78% |
| 2019 | 39.53% |
| 2018 | 40.32% |
| 2017 | 40.39% |
| 2016 | 40.20% |
| 2015 | 40.86% |
| 2014 | 40.04% |
| 2013 | 40.04% |
| 2012 | 39.52% |
| 2011 | 39.32% |
| 2010 | 39.37% |
| 2009 | 41.26% |
| 2008 | 43.29% |
| 2007 | 43.44% |
| 2006 | 43.51% |
| 2005 | 43.52% |
| 2004 | 43.59% |
| 2003 | 43.69% |
| 2002 | 43.94% |
The employment-to-population ratio is employed people as a percent of the population ages 15+ (SL.EMP.TOTL.SP.ZS). It does not condition on being in the labour force. Latest: 37.58% in 2025.
It moves with both jobs and demography. From 1991 to 2025 (35 years): mean 41.55%, median 43.29%; low 34.33% (2021), high 44.98% (1996).
Source: World Bank Open Data. Licence: CC BY 4.0 (terms).
This series is the employment-to-population ratio for people aged 15 and over: the share of that population who are employed. The source is World Bank Open Data indicator SL.EMP.TOTL.SP.ZS, an ILO modelled estimate. It is not the unemployment rate. Students, retirees, people looking after a household and others outside the labour force are all in the denominator, so the ratio can fall even when unemployment is unchanged. The ratio also treats each employed person alike, whether they work an hour a week or a full year.
The indicator is modelled from national labour-force surveys and censuses and is revised when those inputs change. Population age structure and retirement ages differ between economies, so levels are not directly equivalent. The chart shows selected economies over the years you choose, and the ranked ledger shows each economy’s latest published year. Read the direction of travel and the broad level; small differences between neighbouring economies sit within the uncertainty of the estimates. Read it with the participation rate for context.
The South Africa desk places South Africa first and shows the United States, the United Kingdom, the euro area, China, Australia, India and New Zealand alongside, as far as each indicator covers them. It republishes the same World Bank ILO modelled estimates as the all-countries pages, filtered to this set, and does not recompute them for the desk. Taiwan appears only on the headline unemployment page, from the IMF World Economic Outlook, because the World Bank does not publish it. This desk is reachable by its address but is not listed in the Country selector, and the page is set to noindex.
Switch between Chart and Table for the same values, and use the range buttons to change the period. Each page prints its indicator, source and licence. Survey coverage and the treatment of informal work vary, so compare the direction of travel and broad level rather than small gaps.