South Africa
ZA desk: South Africa first; United States, United Kingdom, euro area, Australia and New Zealand alongside.
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As of 2025 | % of population ages 15+
| Year | Value |
|---|---|
| 2025 | 55.58% |
| 2024 | 55.57% |
| 2023 | 55.02% |
| 2022 | 53.50% |
| 2021 | 52.02% |
| 2020 | 50.55% |
| 2019 | 55.27% |
| 2018 | 55.16% |
| 2017 | 55.36% |
| 2016 | 54.71% |
| 2015 | 54.59% |
| 2014 | 53.31% |
| 2013 | 53.08% |
| 2012 | 52.51% |
| 2011 | 52.17% |
| 2010 | 52.27% |
| 2009 | 53.96% |
| 2008 | 55.79% |
| 2007 | 55.88% |
| 2006 | 55.99% |
| 2005 | 56.13% |
| 2004 | 56.30% |
| 2003 | 56.50% |
| 2002 | 56.75% |
Labour force participation is the share of people ages 15 and over who are employed or unemployed (SL.TLF.CACT.ZS). It is not the unemployment rate. Latest: 55.58% in 2025.
A falling unemployment rate can coincide with people leaving the labour force. This series is the usual check. From 1990 to 2025 (36 years): mean 55.60%, median 55.83%; low 50.55% (2020), high 58.09% (1990).
Source: World Bank Open Data. Licence: CC BY 4.0 (terms).
This series is the labour-force participation rate for people aged 15 and over: the share who are either employed or unemployed and looking for work. The source is World Bank Open Data indicator SL.TLF.CACT.ZS, an ILO modelled estimate. It measures who is in the labour market, not what they earn, and it is not the same as the employment ratio: unemployed people count in the numerator here but not there.
Participation reflects retirement ages, education, caring responsibilities and social norms as well as job availability, so levels differ for reasons that have little to do with the unemployment rate. The series is modelled from national surveys and censuses and is revised periodically. Use the chart and range buttons to follow one economy and the ranked ledger to compare latest published years. Treat small cross-country gaps with caution, because the estimate carries uncertainty where survey coverage is thin. A fall can mean people left the labour force rather than lost work, so read it with the unemployment rate.
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.