Labour · East Asia & Pacific · Upper-middle income
Mongolia: the labour market
Labour force is 1.5m (2025), 135th of 187 in the world and 18th of 29 in East Asia & Pacific. Participation rate is 59.7% (2025), 105th of 187 in the world and 20th of 29 in East Asia & Pacific. Women's participation is 51.5% (2025), 110th of 187 in the world and 21st of 29 in East Asia & Pacific.
Labour force
Mongolia
Participation rate
MongoliaEast Asia & PacificUpper-middle incomeWorld
13 indicators
Labour: Mongolia in detail
Latest reported value, world rank and rank within East Asia & Pacific; values around 2000, 2010, 2020; group and world columns are World Bank aggregates.
| Indicator | Latest | World rank | In region | ~2000 | ~2010 | ~2020 | 10-year change | Region | Income group | World | Since 2000 |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| Labour forceLabour force, total | 1.5m2025 | 135/187 | 18/29 | 921,234 | 1.2m | 1.4m | +15%since 2015 | 1.3bn | 1.5bn | 3.7bn | |
| Participation rateLabour force participation, % of 15+ | 59.7%2025 | 105/187 | 20/29 | 59.5% | 58.8% | 63.4% | ±0.0 ppsince 2015 | 65.2% | 62.7% | 61.0% | |
| Women's participationFemale labour force participation, % of women 15+ | 51.5%2025 | 110/187 | 21/29 | 53.8% | 53.2% | 56.0% | −2.0 ppsince 2015 | 58.1% | 53.4% | 48.9% | |
| Employment rateEmployment to population ratio, 15+ (ILO) | 56.6%2025 | 103/187 | 20/29 | 55.9% | 55.0% | 59.4% | −0.2 ppsince 2015 | 62.7% | 59.5% | 58.1% | |
| UnemploymentUnemployment, % of labour force (ILO) | 5.2%2025 | 93/187 | 6/29 | 6.0% | 6.5% | 6.4% | +0.4 ppsince 2015 | 3.8% | 5.2% | 4.8% | |
| Female unemploymentFemale unemployment, % of female labour force (ILO) | 4.5%2025 | 113/187 | 9/29 | 6.2% | 5.9% | 6.3% | +0.2 ppsince 2015 | 3.4% | 5.1% | 4.9% | |
| Youth unemploymentYouth unemployment, ages 15–24 (ILO) | 11.7%2025 | 101/187 | 11/29 | 9.3% | 14.6% | 14.9% | −1.0 ppsince 2015 | 12.5% | 15.6% | 13.4% | |
| Youth NEET rateYouth not in education, employment or training, % | 9.0%2025 | 146/170 | 23/28 | · | 17.6% | 19.2% | −7.8 ppsince 2015 | 15.3% | 17.3% | — | |
| Wage workersWage and salaried workers, % of total employment | 58.8%2025 | 112/187 | 16/29 | 43.5% | 45.8% | 54.9% | +7.0 ppsince 2015 | 61.0% | 61.3% | 53.6% | |
| Vulnerable employmentVulnerable employment, % of total employment (ILO) | 38.4%2025 | 70/187 | 13/29 | 54.3% | 51.7% | 42.6% | −7.4 ppsince 2015 | 35.3% | 34.8% | 42.4% | |
| Jobs in agricultureEmployment in agriculture, % of total employment | 27.0%2025 | 68/187 | 12/29 | 54.6% | 39.9% | 29.5% | −7.8 ppsince 2015 | 21.7% | 19.8% | 25.8% | |
| Jobs in industryEmployment in industry, % of total employment | 23.1%2025 | 56/187 | 8/29 | 13.7% | 15.6% | 19.8% | +3.7 ppsince 2015 | 28.5% | 27.7% | 23.7% | |
| Jobs in servicesEmployment in services, % of total employment | 49.9%2025 | 130/187 | 21/29 | 31.7% | 44.5% | 50.7% | +4.1 ppsince 2015 | 49.9% | 52.4% | 50.6% |
Source: World Bank, World Development Indicators (CC BY 4.0)“·” — no value reported within two years of that date. World rank counts countries with a recent value.
Better than ten years ago
- Youth unemployment−1.0 pp11.7% in 2025
- Youth NEET rate−7.8 pp9.0% in 2025
- Wage workers+7.0 pp58.8% in 2025
- Vulnerable employment−7.4 pp38.4% in 2025
Worse than ten years ago
- Women's participation−2.0 pp51.5% in 2025
- Employment rate−0.2 pp56.6% in 2025
- Unemployment+0.4 pp5.2% in 2025
- Female unemployment+0.2 pp4.5% in 2025
Only indicators where higher or lower is clearly better are rated (for example, unemployment down is better, life expectancy up is better).
neighbours
Mongolia and its neighbours
Countries sharing a land border with Mongolia. Latest values since 2005; the highest in each row is marked.
| Indicator | Mongolia | China | Russia |
|---|---|---|---|
| Labour force | 1.5m2025 | 768m2025 | 72.8m2025 |
| Participation rate | 59.7%2025 | 64.6%2025 | 61.1%2025 |
| Women's participation | 51.5%2025 | 59.1%2025 | 54.5%2025 |
| Employment rate | 56.6%2025 | 61.6%2025 | 59.8%2025 |
| Unemployment | 5.2%2025 | 4.6%2025 | 2.1%2025 |
| Female unemployment | 4.5%2025 | 4.0%2025 | 2.2%2025 |
| Youth unemployment | 11.7%2025 | 15.8%2025 | 7.6%2025 |
| Youth NEET rate | 9.0%2025 | — | 6.7%2025 |
| Wage workers | 58.8%2025 | 62.3%2025 | 93.7%2025 |