Inactivity rate (current ILO definition - ICLS19) (15+) by country
With the aim of promoting international comparability, statistics presented on ILOSTAT are based on standard international definitions wherever feasible and may differ from official national figures. This series includes only countries for which the 19th ICLS definitions are applied. This indicator conveys the...
What the numbers show
Inactivity rate (current ILO definition - ICLS19) (15+) is currently reported for 71 countries. The highest value is 63.22 in Kosovo; the lowest is 12.05 in Qatar.
The median across all reporting countries is 38.3, and the mean is 39.6.
The gap between the highest and lowest reporting country is a factor of about 5.
Over the past decade 21 countries rose and 46 fell. The largest increase was in Iceland (up 43.5%), and the largest decrease in Rwanda (down 21.5%).
Inactivity rate (current ILO definition - ICLS19): full country ranking
| # | Country | Latest | Year | 10-year change | Trend |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| 1 | Kosovo | 63.22 | 2024 | down 4.0% | flat |
| 2 | Zambia | 61.98 | 2024 | down 5.0% | falling |
| 3 | Zimbabwe | 59.58 | 2024 | up 4.3% | flat |
| 4 | Moldova | 59.52 | 2025 | down 3.4% | falling |
| 5 | Jordan | 59.19 | 2024 | down 1.0% | flat |
| 6 | Bosnia and Herzegovina | 50.84 | 2025 | — | flat |
| 7 | Italy | 50.1 | 2025 | down 1.8% | flat |
| 8 | Romania | 48.6 | 2025 | up 6.9% | rising |
| 9 | Greece | 47.11 | 2025 | down 2.6% | flat |
| 10 | Georgia | 46.14 | 2025 | down 6.8% | falling |
| 11 | El Salvador | 46.03 | 2025 | down 6.5% | falling |
| 12 | Croatia | 45.9 | 2025 | down 2.6% | flat |
| 13 | Trinidad and Tobago | 45.47 | 2024 | up 17.8% | rising |
| 14 | Bulgaria | 44.9 | 2025 | down 2.2% | flat |
| 15 | Armenia | 44.84 | 2024 | up 8.4% | rising |
| 16 | Serbia | 44.19 | 2025 | — | falling |
| 17 | Costa Rica | 44.06 | 2025 | up 18.5% | rising |
| 18 | Belgium | 44 | 2025 | down 5.8% | falling |
| 19 | Guyana | 43.74 | 2024 | down 5.8% | falling |
| 20 | Hong Kong | 43.01 | 2025 | up 10.7% | rising |
| 21 | France | 43 | 2025 | down 2.1% | flat |
| 22 | Ghana | 42.37 | 2024 | up 8.2% | rising |
| 23 | Poland | 41.57 | 2025 | — | flat |
| 24 | Slovenia | 41.5 | 2025 | down 2.8% | flat |
| 25 | Spain | 41.04 | 2025 | down 0.3% | flat |
| 26 | Taiwan | 40.86 | 2020 | down 1.4% | flat |
| 27 | Portugal | 40.78 | 2025 | down 1.8% | flat |
| 28 | New Caledonia | 40.71 | 2023 | up 13.1% | rising |
| 29 | Belize | 39.94 | 2025 | down 9.4% | flat |
| 30 | Finland | 39.1 | 2025 | down 4.7% | falling |
| 31 | Czechia | 39 | 2025 | down 3.9% | flat |
| 32 | Mongolia | 38.93 | 2025 | up 4.6% | flat |
| 33 | Slovakia | 38.8 | 2025 | down 3.8% | falling |
| 34 | Hungary | 38.5 | 2025 | down 14.9% | falling |
| 35 | Latvia | 38.4 | 2025 | down 3.8% | flat |
| 36 | Austria | 38.3 | 2025 | down 2.7% | flat |
| 37 | Germany | 38.3 | 2025 | down 3.7% | flat |
| 38 | Rwanda | 37.75 | 2025 | down 21.5% | falling |
| 39 | Luxembourg | 37.7 | 2025 | down 4.5% | falling |
| 40 | Chile | 37.63 | 2025 | down 0.4% | flat |
| 41 | United States | 37.58 | 2025 | up 0.6% | flat |
| 42 | Israel | 37.55 | 2025 | up 9.0% | rising |
| 43 | Panama | 37.48 | 2025 | up 3.2% | rising |
| 44 | Barbados | 37.22 | 2024 | up 3.1% | rising |
| 45 | Russia | 37.16 | 2025 | up 20.3% | rising |
| 46 | United Kingdom of Great Britain and Northern Ireland | 37.16 | 2025 | down 0.7% | flat |
| 47 | Lithuania | 36.9 | 2025 | down 9.7% | falling |
| 48 | Saudi Arabia | 36.85 | 2025 | down 19.8% | falling |
| 49 | Brazil | 36.8 | 2025 | up 1.7% | flat |
| 50 | Japan | 36.11 | 2025 | down 10.8% | falling |
| 51 | Botswana | 36.09 | 2024 | down 8.9% | falling |
| 52 | South Korea | 35.08 | 2025 | down 4.7% | falling |
| 53 | Cyprus | 34.8 | 2025 | down 7.5% | falling |
| 53 | Denmark | 34.8 | 2025 | down 10.0% | falling |
| 55 | Canada | 34.72 | 2025 | up 2.3% | flat |
| 56 | Uruguay | 34.6 | 2025 | down 5.6% | falling |
| 57 | Norway | 34.5 | 2025 | up 18.9% | rising |
| 58 | Ireland | 33.9 | 2025 | down 11.2% | falling |
| 59 | Estonia | 33.6 | 2025 | down 11.3% | falling |
| 60 | Australia | 33.06 | 2025 | down 1.2% | flat |
| 61 | Switzerland | 32.67 | 2025 | up 2.6% | flat |
| 62 | Sweden | 32.5 | 2025 | up 16.1% | rising |
| 62 | Malta | 32.5 | 2025 | down 18.3% | falling |
| 64 | Viet Nam | 32.23 | 2024 | — | flat |
| 65 | Singapore | 32.13 | 2025 | up 1.4% | flat |
| 66 | Netherlands | 31.3 | 2025 | down 12.1% | falling |
| 67 | Angola | 30.88 | 2025 | down 8.2% | falling |
| 68 | New Zealand | 29.5 | 2025 | down 5.5% | falling |
| 69 | Iceland | 24.4 | 2025 | up 43.5% | rising |
| 70 | United Arab Emirates | 18.64 | 2024 | down 4.0% | rising |
| 71 | Qatar | 12.05 | 2024 | down 5.0% | rising |
About this data
With the aim of promoting international comparability, statistics presented on ILOSTAT are based on standard international definitions wherever feasible and may differ from official national figures. This series includes only countries for which the 19th ICLS definitions are applied. This indicator conveys the number of persons of working age outside the labour force (that is, not employed or unemployed) expressed as a percentage of the working-age population. For more information, refer to the Work Statistics -- 19th ICLS (WORK) database description.