Labour force participation in Afghanistan
The ILO estimates that 37.5% of people aged 15 and over in Afghanistan were in the labour force in 2025. The value for 2025 is the lowest in the series, which starts in 1991.
Afghanistan, 2025
37.5%
Change from 2024
−0.1percentage points
World, 2025
60.8%
Position in 2025
176th of 181
Labour force participation in Afghanistan over time
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Afghanistan
World
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The chart loads when you scroll to it. The table below shows the same data.
The chart shows a calculation from the published values. The table below keeps the published values.
% of working-age population aged 15 and over. Source: ILO, ILOSTAT (ILO Modelled Estimates). Gaps mean no published value; points are not joined across missing years. Dashed lines are projections.
| Period | Afghanistan | World |
|---|---|---|
| 2025 | 37.5% | 60.8% |
| 2024 | 37.5% | 61.0% |
| 2023 | 37.6% | 61.0% |
| 2022 | 37.6% | 60.7% |
| 2021 | 40.7% | 60.4% |
| 2020 | 41.6% | 59.7% |
| 2019 | 43.8% | 61.0% |
| 2018 | 45.6% | 61.2% |
| 2017 | 47.3% | 61.3% |
| 2016 | 47.2% | 61.5% |
Flags: f Projection . A dash means no value was published.
In short
- That is a change of −0.1 percentage points from 37.5% in 2024.
- Since 2015, when it was 47.2%, the figure has changed by −9.7 percentage points.
- Among the 181 countries with data for 2025, Afghanistan has the 176th highest value.
- The figure for the world in 2025 was 60.8%.
More for Afghanistan
All statistics for Afghanistan
Women's labour force participation
5.1%
2025 · ILOSTAT
Employment-to-population ratio
32.5%
2025 · ILOSTAT
ILO estimate of the unemployment rate
13.4%
2025 · ILOSTAT
ILO estimate of youth unemployment
16.8%
2025 · ILOSTAT
Employment in agriculture
51.6%
2025 · World Bank
Employment in industry
18.9%
2025 · World Bank