Employment in services in World
50.6% of employed people in the world worked in services in 2025. The value for 2025 is the highest in the series, which starts in 1991.
World is a group: All economies covered by the World Bank. The value is the aggregate published by World Bank, not an average calculated on this site.
World, 2025
50.6%
Change from 2024
+0.2percentage points
European Union, 2025
72.9%
Employment in services in World over time
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World
European Union
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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 total employment. Source: World Bank, World Development Indicators. Gaps mean no published value; points are not joined across missing years.
| Period | World | European Union |
|---|---|---|
| 2025 | 50.6% | 72.9% |
| 2024 | 50.3% | 72.5% |
| 2023 | 49.9% | 72.1% |
| 2022 | 49.5% | 71.6% |
| 2021 | 49.6% | 71.3% |
| 2020 | 49.5% | 71.1% |
| 2019 | 50.2% | 71.0% |
| 2018 | 49.7% | 70.9% |
| 2017 | 49.1% | 70.7% |
| 2016 | 48.6% | 70.7% |
| 2015 | 48.1% | 70.4% |
| 2014 | 47.3% | 70.1% |
| 2013 | 46.4% | 69.9% |
| 2012 | 45.6% | 69.3% |
| 2011 | 45.1% | 69.0% |
| 2010 | 44.6% | 68.4% |
| 2009 | 44.2% | 67.8% |
| 2008 | 43.7% | 66.6% |
| 2007 | 43.2% | 65.7% |
| 2006 | 42.9% | 65.4% |
| 2005 | 42.3% | 65.0% |
| 2004 | 41.8% | 64.5% |
| 2003 | 41.1% | 63.8% |
| 2002 | 40.7% | 63.2% |
| 2001 | 40.2% | 62.4% |
A dash means no value was published for that period.
In short
- That is a change of +0.2 percentage points from 50.3% in 2024.
- Since 2015, when it was 48.1%, the figure has changed by +2.4 percentage points.
- The figure for the European Union in 2025 was 72.9%.
More for World
All statistics for World
Employment in agriculture
25.8%
2025 · World Bank
Employment in industry
23.7%
2025 · World Bank
ILO estimate of the unemployment rate
4.9%
2025 · ILOSTAT
ILO estimate of youth unemployment
12.4%
2025 · ILOSTAT
Labour force participation
60.8%
2025 · ILOSTAT
Women's labour force participation
48.7%
2025 · ILOSTAT