MM
Labour · East Asia & Pacific · Lower-middle income
Myanmar: the labour market
Labour force is 22.9m (2025), 31st of 187 in the world and 8th of 29 in East Asia & Pacific. Participation rate is 55.1% (2025), 139th of 187 in the world and 25th of 29 in East Asia & Pacific. Women's participation is 40.9% (2025), 148th of 187 in the world and 27th of 29 in East Asia & Pacific.
Labour force
Myanmar
Participation rate
MyanmarEast Asia & PacificLower-middle incomeWorld
13 indicators
Labour: Myanmar 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 | 22.9m2025 | 31/187 | 8/29 | 20.8m | 23.0m | 23.9m | −5.6%since 2015 | 1.3bn | 1.2bn | 3.7bn | |
| Participation rateLabour force participation, % of 15+ | 55.1%2025 | 139/187 | 25/29 | 67.3% | 65.4% | 60.2% | −9.6 ppsince 2015 | 65.2% | 58.2% | 61.0% | |
| Women's participationFemale labour force participation, % of women 15+ | 40.9%2025 | 148/187 | 27/29 | 56.2% | 51.7% | 44.7% | −9.9 ppsince 2015 | 58.1% | 39.2% | 48.9% | |
| Employment rateEmployment to population ratio, 15+ (ILO) | 53.4%2025 | 127/187 | 24/29 | 66.9% | 64.9% | 59.3% | −10.8 ppsince 2015 | 62.7% | 55.6% | 58.1% | |
| UnemploymentUnemployment, % of labour force (ILO) | 3.0%2025 | 145/187 | 15/29 | 0.7% | 0.7% | 1.5% | +2.3 ppsince 2015 | 3.8% | 4.5% | 4.8% | |
| Female unemploymentFemale unemployment, % of female labour force (ILO) | 3.5%2025 | 140/187 | 14/29 | 0.8% | 0.9% | 2.2% | +2.6 ppsince 2015 | 3.4% | 4.9% | 4.9% | |
| Youth unemploymentYouth unemployment, ages 15–24 (ILO) | 9.8%2025 | 118/187 | 13/29 | 1.3% | 1.5% | 5.0% | +8.2 ppsince 2015 | 12.5% | 13.1% | 13.4% | |
| Youth NEET rateYouth not in education, employment or training, % | 15.0%2020 | 109/170 | 16/28 | · | · | 15.0% | — | 15.3% | 21.8% | — | |
| Wage workersWage and salaried workers, % of total employment | 34.5%2025 | 148/187 | 25/29 | 26.0% | 31.9% | 34.3% | +0.8 ppsince 2015 | 61.0% | 29.6% | 53.6% | |
| Vulnerable employmentVulnerable employment, % of total employment (ILO) | 62.9%2025 | 38/187 | 4/29 | 71.3% | 65.3% | 63.2% | −0.5 ppsince 2015 | 35.3% | 65.5% | 42.4% | |
| Jobs in agricultureEmployment in agriculture, % of total employment | 45.0%2025 | 30/187 | 4/29 | 60.7% | 51.9% | 46.5% | −6.7 ppsince 2015 | 21.7% | 39.8% | 25.8% | |
| Jobs in industryEmployment in industry, % of total employment | 18.2%2025 | 109/187 | 18/29 | 13.6% | 19.2% | 18.6% | +1.4 ppsince 2015 | 28.5% | 22.4% | 23.7% | |
| Jobs in servicesEmployment in services, % of total employment | 36.9%2025 | 163/187 | 27/29 | 25.7% | 28.9% | 35.0% | +5.3 ppsince 2015 | 49.9% | 37.8% | 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
- Wage workers+0.8 pp34.5% in 2025
- Vulnerable employment−0.5 pp62.9% in 2025
Worse than ten years ago
- Women's participation−9.9 pp40.9% in 2025
- Employment rate−10.8 pp53.4% in 2025
- Unemployment+2.3 pp3.0% in 2025
- Female unemployment+2.6 pp3.5% 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
Myanmar and its neighbours
Countries sharing a land border with Myanmar. Latest values since 2005; the highest in each row is marked.
| Indicator | Myanmar | India | China | Bangladesh | Thailand | Laos |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| Labour force | 22.9m2025 | 618m2025 | 768m2025 | 74.7m2025 | 40.9m2025 | 3.7m2025 |
| Participation rate | 55.1%2025 | 55.7%2025 | 64.6%2025 | 58.8%2025 | 66.7%2025 | 66.1%2025 |
| Women's participation | 40.9%2025 | 32.4%2025 | 59.1%2025 | 38.6%2025 | 59.0%2025 | 61.6%2025 |
| Employment rate | 53.4%2025 | 53.3%2025 | 61.6%2025 | 56.6%2025 | 66.2%2025 | 65.3%2025 |
| Unemployment | 3.0%2025 | 4.2%2025 | 4.6%2025 | 3.8%2025 | 0.8%2025 | 1.2%2025 |
| Female unemployment | 3.5%2025 | 4.1%2025 | 4.0%2025 | 3.7%2025 | 0.8%2025 | 0.9%2025 |
| Youth unemployment | 9.8%2025 | 16.0%2025 | 15.8%2025 | 9.4%2025 | 4.5%2025 | 2.4%2025 |
| Youth NEET rate | 15.0%2020 | 25.6%2025 | — | 15.4%2024 | 12.4%2025 | 22.5%2022 |
| Wage workers | 34.5%2025 | 25.1%2025 | 62.3%2025 | 39.0%2025 | 49.3%2025 | 22.9%2025 |