World 8.2bn peopleGDP $118tnLife expectancy 73.5 yrsOnline 73.6%
NotesAdvertise
World Report nowcountries in numbers
World Report now
  1. Home
  2. Rankings
  3. Labour
  4. Sub-Saharan Africa
Labour · World Bank region

Labour in Sub-Saharan Africa: how the countries rank

Who works and who is looking for work, by ILO modelled estimates. 13 indicators for the 48 economies of Sub-Saharan Africa, ranked within the group; the group figure is the World Bank aggregate.

Labour force527mSub-Saharan Africa, 2025 · world 3.7bnParticipation rate70.3%Sub-Saharan Africa, 2025 · world 61.0%Women's participation65.2%Sub-Saharan Africa, 2025 · world 48.9%Employment rate66.3%Sub-Saharan Africa, 2025 · world 58.1%Unemployment5.7%Sub-Saharan Africa, 2025 · world 4.8%Female unemployment6.3%Sub-Saharan Africa, 2025 · world 4.9%Youth unemployment10.1%Sub-Saharan Africa, 2025 · world 13.4%Youth NEET rate24.7%median country
Labour force
Sub-Saharan AfricaWorldEast Asia & PacificEurope & Central AsiaLatin America & Caribbean
01.0bn2.0bn3.0bn4.0bn1995200020052010201520202025Sub-Saharan Africa527mWorldEast Asia & PacificEurope & Central AsiaLatin America & Caribbean
Participation rate
Sub-Saharan AfricaWorldEast Asia & PacificEurope & Central AsiaLatin America & Caribbean
55%60%65%70%75%1995200020052010201520202025Sub-Saharan Africa70.3%WorldEast Asia & PacificEurope & Central AsiaLatin America & Caribbean
countries

All 48 economies, labour

Latest value and rank within the group (small figure). Click a column to sort; the country name opens its labour profile.

48 shown
CountryLabour forceParticipation rateWomen's participationEmployment rateUnemploymentFemale unemploymentYouth unemploymentYouth NEET rate
Nigeria117m#1 · 202582.5%#3 · 202580.7%#2 · 202580.0%#3 · 20253.1%#33 · 20253.9%#31 · 20255.3%#33 · 202511.9%#43 · 2024
Ethiopia56.8m#2 · 202568.5%#16 · 202558.5%#22 · 202566.2%#13 · 20253.3%#31 · 20254.5%#27 · 20255.4%#32 · 202517.5%#33 · 2021
Democratic Republic of the Congo39.2m#3 · 202564.3%#24 · 202561.8%#19 · 202561.5%#21 · 20254.4%#27 · 20253.5%#32 · 20257.8%#26 · 202531.4%#16 · 2020
Tanzania34.1m#4 · 202583.7%#2 · 202580.3%#3 · 202582.4%#2 · 20251.6%#44 · 20252.2%#39 · 20252.4%#43 · 202515.2%#37 · 2025
South Africa26.7m#5 · 202555.6%#37 · 202549.9%#34 · 202537.6%#42 · 202532.4%#2 · 202534.0%#2 · 202559.9%#1 · 202534.6%#12 · 2024
Kenya24.7m#6 · 202567.4%#19 · 202563.0%#17 · 202563.7%#18 · 20255.4%#24 · 20256.7%#21 · 202515.2%#17 · 202518.5%#30 · 2021
Uganda23.4m#7 · 202580.0%#4 · 202575.6%#6 · 202577.8%#5 · 20252.7%#38 · 20253.3%#34 · 20254.2%#35 · 202513.8%#40 · 2021
Madagascar17.1m#8 · 202585.5%#1 · 202582.9%#1 · 202582.9%#1 · 20253.0%#34 · 20253.3%#33 · 20255.2%#34 · 202524.3%#24 · 2022
Angola16.3m#9 · 202574.8%#11 · 202572.2%#10 · 202564.2%#17 · 202514.1%#9 · 202514.3%#10 · 202527.2%#9 · 202524.9%#22 · 2025
Mozambique15.7m#10 · 202578.7%#6 · 202577.1%#5 · 202573.5%#10 · 20256.6%#18 · 20257.2%#19 · 202511.6%#19 · 202519.2%#28 · 2022
Ghana13.3m#11 · 202558.5%#32 · 202555.3%#28 · 202556.8%#26 · 20253.0%#35 · 20253.2%#35 · 20255.8%#31 · 202518.2%#31 · 2025
Côte d'Ivoire13.1m#12 · 202567.1%#20 · 202559.5%#21 · 202565.5%#14 · 20252.3%#41 · 20252.6%#38 · 20254.0%#36 · 202518.8%#29 · 2022
Niger12.0m#13 · 202579.7%#5 · 202572.8%#9 · 202579.4%#4 · 20250.4%#47 · 20250.3%#47 · 20250.5%#47 · 202515.7%#35 · 2022
Cameroon11.5m#14 · 202565.2%#22 · 202556.6%#26 · 202562.8%#20 · 20253.6%#29 · 20254.1%#30 · 20256.5%#29 · 202523.2%#25 · 2021
Sudan10.9m#15 · 202237.5%#45 · 202214.5%#47 · 202234.7%#44 · 20227.5%#17 · 202214.0%#11 · 202212.0%#18 · 202246.5%#2 · 2022
Burkina Faso9.9m#16 · 202570.0%#14 · 202564.1%#15 · 202567.6%#12 · 20253.5%#30 · 20254.3%#29 · 20256.4%#30 · 202524.5%#23 · 2025
Mali9.2m#17 · 202567.0%#21 · 202552.8%#30 · 202565.1%#15 · 20252.8%#37 · 20253.0%#37 · 20253.9%#37 · 202530.1%#17 · 2024
Malawi8.3m#18 · 202562.6%#26 · 202558.2%#23 · 202559.4%#23 · 20255.1%#26 · 20256.0%#25 · 20256.9%#28 · 202539.4%#7 · 2024
Zambia8.0m#19 · 202561.9%#27 · 202556.4%#27 · 202558.3%#25 · 20255.9%#22 · 20256.2%#23 · 202510.5%#21 · 202526.7%#20 · 2024
Zimbabwe6.9m#20 · 202567.7%#18 · 202562.2%#18 · 202561.4%#22 · 20259.3%#14 · 20259.4%#15 · 202515.5%#16 · 202528.8%#18 · 2025
Chad6.7m#21 · 202559.4%#29 · 202547.3%#39 · 202558.8%#24 · 20251.1%#45 · 20250.7%#46 · 20251.5%#46 · 202542.3%#5 · 2022
Benin6.6m#22 · 202576.4%#10 · 202575.2%#7 · 202575.1%#7 · 20251.6%#43 · 20251.4%#44 · 20252.9%#41 · 202514.2%#38 · 2022
Burundi6.3m#23 · 202578.3%#8 · 202579.5%#4 · 202577.5%#6 · 20250.9%#46 · 20250.8%#45 · 20251.7%#45 · 202511.2%#44 · 2020
Senegal6.1m#24 · 202552.0%#40 · 202538.2%#43 · 202550.6%#35 · 20252.7%#39 · 20253.1%#36 · 20253.6%#39 · 202534.3%#14 · 2025
Rwanda5.8m#25 · 202563.7%#25 · 202557.3%#24 · 202556.4%#28 · 202511.4%#12 · 202512.8%#13 · 202516.4%#14 · 202515.3%#36 · 2025
South Sudan5.1m#26 · 202373.4%#12 · 202370.4%#12 · 202364.3%#16 · 202312.4%#10 · 202313.6%#12 · 202318.5%#12 · 2023—
Guinea4.7m#27 · 202552.6%#39 · 202542.6%#41 · 202549.9%#37 · 20255.2%#25 · 20255.0%#26 · 20257.0%#27 · 202534.3%#13 · 2019
Somalia3.6m#28 · 202533.8%#46 · 202520.7%#46 · 202527.4%#46 · 202518.9%#7 · 202524.6%#5 · 202534.2%#7 · 202551.0%#1 · 2022
Togo3.0m#29 · 202557.8%#33 · 202556.6%#25 · 202556.7%#27 · 20252.0%#42 · 20252.0%#42 · 20253.4%#40 · 202513.0%#42 · 2022
Sierra Leone2.9m#30 · 202553.4%#38 · 202551.6%#32 · 202551.7%#34 · 20253.1%#32 · 20252.1%#41 · 20253.7%#38 · 202525.9%#21 · 2018
Liberia2.7m#31 · 202576.6%#9 · 202572.0%#11 · 202574.4%#8 · 20252.9%#36 · 20252.2%#40 · 20252.3%#44 · 202539.9%#6 · 2017
Republic of the Congo2.6m#32 · 202567.8%#17 · 202565.6%#13 · 202554.3%#31 · 202519.9%#5 · 202521.1%#6 · 202540.5%#4 · 2025—
Central African Republic2.1m#33 · 202573.4%#13 · 202565.5%#14 · 202568.8%#11 · 20256.3%#20 · 20257.0%#20 · 202510.1%#23 · 2025—
Eritrea1.8m#34 · 202578.3%#7 · 202572.8%#8 · 202573.7%#9 · 20256.0%#21 · 20256.7%#22 · 202510.2%#22 · 2025—
Mauritania1.2m#35 · 202540.8%#44 · 202526.2%#44 · 202536.6%#43 · 202510.3%#13 · 202514.7%#9 · 202522.9%#11 · 202544.1%#4 · 2019
Botswana1.2m#36 · 202568.8%#15 · 202563.7%#16 · 202552.0%#33 · 202524.5%#3 · 202527.9%#4 · 202546.0%#3 · 202538.0%#8 · 2024
Namibia1.2m#37 · 202558.8%#30 · 202554.9%#29 · 202547.5%#39 · 202519.3%#6 · 202518.4%#8 · 202538.0%#5 · 202531.6%#15 · 2023
Guinea-Bissau899,220#38 · 202564.8%#23 · 202560.3%#20 · 202563.1%#19 · 20252.7%#40 · 20251.9%#43 · 20252.8%#42 · 202513.2%#41 · 2022
Lesotho889,530#39 · 202557.1%#34 · 202548.1%#36 · 202547.8%#38 · 202516.3%#8 · 202518.4%#7 · 202524.7%#10 · 202538.0%#9 · 2024
Gabon844,145#40 · 202551.1%#42 · 202541.6%#42 · 202540.8%#41 · 202520.2%#4 · 202528.6%#3 · 202536.3%#6 · 202520.2%#27 · 2024
The Gambia807,275#41 · 202547.5%#43 · 202545.5%#40 · 202544.4%#40 · 20256.5%#19 · 20256.1%#24 · 202510.9%#20 · 202536.5%#11 · 2025
Equatorial Guinea737,977#42 · 202560.5%#28 · 202552.6%#31 · 202555.5%#29 · 20258.3%#16 · 20259.3%#16 · 202515.7%#15 · 202517.5%#34 · 2023
Mauritius622,328#43 · 202558.5%#31 · 202547.5%#38 · 202555.2%#30 · 20255.6%#23 · 20257.6%#18 · 202517.4%#13 · 202513.9%#39 · 2024
Eswatini430,869#44 · 202551.2%#41 · 202548.5%#35 · 202533.7%#45 · 202534.2%#1 · 202536.0%#1 · 202554.3%#2 · 202536.5%#10 · 2023
Comoros310,841#45 · 202555.8%#36 · 202547.6%#37 · 202553.6%#32 · 20253.8%#28 · 20254.4%#28 · 20258.8%#25 · 202521.2%#26 · 2021
Cabo Verde226,448#46 · 202557.0%#35 · 202550.5%#33 · 202550.2%#36 · 202511.9%#11 · 202511.4%#14 · 202528.4%#8 · 202528.0%#19 · 2019
São Tomé and Príncipe35,075#47 · 202523.3%#47 · 202522.7%#45 · 202521.2%#47 · 20259.1%#15 · 20259.3%#17 · 20258.8%#24 · 202545.5%#3 · 2017
Seychelles———————17.8%#32 · 2025
Source: World Bank, World Development Indicators (CC BY 4.0)Ranks count group members with a value in the recent window.
within the group

Highest and lowest, indicator by indicator

Labour force47 countries
  1. 1Nigeria117m2025
  2. 2Ethiopia56.8m2025
  3. 3Democratic Republic of the Congo39.2m2025
Lowest
  1. 47São Tomé and Príncipe35,0752025
  2. 46Cabo Verde226,4482025
  3. 45Comoros310,8412025
Median country 6.1m · group 527m
Participation rate47 countries
  1. 1Madagascar85.5%2025
  2. 2Tanzania83.7%2025
  3. 3Nigeria82.5%2025
Lowest
  1. 47São Tomé and Príncipe23.3%2025
  2. 46Somalia33.8%2025
  3. 45Sudan37.5%2022
Median country 64.3% · group 70.3%
Women's participation47 countries
  1. 1Madagascar82.9%2025
  2. 2Nigeria80.7%2025
  3. 3Tanzania80.3%2025
Lowest
  1. 47Sudan14.5%2022
  2. 46Somalia20.7%2025
  3. 45São Tomé and Príncipe22.7%2025
Median country 57.3% · group 65.2%
Employment rate47 countries
  1. 1Madagascar82.9%2025
  2. 2Tanzania82.4%2025
  3. 3Nigeria80.0%2025
Lowest
  1. 47São Tomé and Príncipe21.2%2025
  2. 46Somalia27.4%2025
  3. 45Eswatini33.7%2025
Median country 58.8% · group 66.3%
Unemployment47 countries
  1. 1Eswatini34.2%2025
  2. 2South Africa32.4%2025
  3. 3Botswana24.5%2025
Lowest
  1. 47Niger0.4%2025
  2. 46Burundi0.9%2025
  3. 45Chad1.1%2025
Median country 5.4% · group 5.7%
Female unemployment47 countries
  1. 1Eswatini36.0%2025
  2. 2South Africa34.0%2025
  3. 3Gabon28.6%2025
Lowest
  1. 47Niger0.3%2025
  2. 46Chad0.7%2025
  3. 45Burundi0.8%2025
Median country 6.1% · group 6.3%
Youth unemployment47 countries
  1. 1South Africa59.9%2025
  2. 2Eswatini54.3%2025
  3. 3Botswana46.0%2025
Lowest
  1. 47Niger0.5%2025
  2. 46Chad1.5%2025
  3. 45Burundi1.7%2025
Median country 8.8% · group 10.1%
Youth NEET rate44 countries
  1. 1Somalia51.0%2022
  2. 2Sudan46.5%2022
  3. 3São Tomé and Príncipe45.5%2017
Lowest
  1. 44Burundi11.2%2020
  2. 43Nigeria11.9%2024
  3. 42Togo13.0%2022
Median country 24.7%
Wage workers47 countries
  1. 1South Africa82.7%2025
  2. 2Mauritius82.2%2025
  3. 3Equatorial Guinea72.5%2025
Lowest
  1. 47Chad8.4%2025
  2. 46Niger10.5%2025
  3. 45Sierra Leone11.2%2025
Median country 29.0% · group 22.3%
Vulnerable employment47 countries
  1. 1Chad90.2%2025
  2. 2Sierra Leone86.0%2025
  3. 3Madagascar84.4%2025
Lowest
  1. 47South Africa11.7%2025
  2. 46Mauritius14.9%2025
  3. 45Equatorial Guinea23.1%2025
Median country 67.6% · group 71.0%
Jobs in agriculture47 countries
  1. 1Burundi85.3%2025
  2. 2Mozambique73.0%2025
  3. 3Niger73.0%2025
Lowest
  1. 47Mauritius4.7%2025
  2. 46South Africa5.4%2025
  3. 45Cabo Verde9.2%2025
Median country 44.5% · group 49.3%
Jobs in industry47 countries
  1. 1Lesotho33.0%2025
  2. 2Eswatini26.7%2025
  3. 3Cabo Verde23.1%2025
Lowest
  1. 47South Sudan1.7%2023
  2. 46Burundi3.1%2025
  3. 45Mozambique6.4%2025
Median country 14.2% · group 12.2%
Jobs in services47 countries
  1. 1Mauritius74.7%2025
  2. 2South Africa73.8%2025
  3. 3Cabo Verde67.7%2025
Lowest
  1. 47Burundi11.6%2025
  2. 46Niger17.7%2025
  3. 45Chad19.8%2025
Median country 41.4% · group 38.5%
more

Other topics in Sub-Saharan Africa

Sub-Saharan Africa: overview
PopulationEconomyPrices & public financeTrade & investmentAid, poverty & equalityEducationHealthDigital & energy accessEnvironment