France vs Spain: Trade union density

France
10.1 Percentage of employees
in 2019
Spain
12.5 Percentage of employees
in 2023
France rank
26th
Spain rank
24th

Trade union density over time

  • France
  • Spain
10203040197119972023

How they compare

Spain currently reports 12.5 Percentage of employees against 10.1 Percentage of employees in France, a difference of 2.4 Percentage of employees.

That makes Spain's figure about 1.2 times France's.

The two have swapped places 2 times across 33 shared years of data; in 1978 it was Spain ahead.

France ranks 26th and Spain ranks 24th of 31 countries.

Across the 5 decades both report, France averaged higher in 2 and Spain in 3.

Head to head by decade

Decade France Spain Difference Ahead
1970s 36.45 Percentage of employees 32.9 Percentage of employees 3.55 Percentage of employees France
1980s 17.23 Percentage of employees 11.11 Percentage of employees 6.12 Percentage of employees France
1990s 10.75 Percentage of employees 15.25 Percentage of employees 4.5 Percentage of employees Spain
2000s 10.7 Percentage of employees 14.86 Percentage of employees 4.16 Percentage of employees Spain
2010s 10.68 Percentage of employees 14.6 Percentage of employees 3.92 Percentage of employees Spain

Averages of every year both report within each decade.

Frequently asked questions

Which has higher trade union density, France or Spain?
Spain, at 12.5 Percentage of employees against 10.1 Percentage of employees in France as of 2023.
What is the difference in trade union density between France and Spain?
2.4 Percentage of employees, with Spain ahead.
How many years of comparable data are there for France and Spain?
33 years are reported by both, from 1978 to 2019.
How do France and Spain rank globally for trade union density?
France ranks 26th and Spain ranks 24th of 31 countries.
Where does this data come from?
Organisation for Economic Co-operation and Development, published as Trade union density. Statizoid refreshes it automatically from the source and publishes the full history for both places.

Individual pages

Share, cite or embed this page

Cite this page

France vs Spain: Trade union density. Statizoid, drawing on Organisation for Economic Co-operation and Development. Retrieved 20 August 2026, from https://economy.statizoid.com/compare/trade-union-density/france/spain/

Embed or link this data

Paste this into a page to link back to these figures. The data itself is free to reuse under OECD Terms and Conditions (attribution required); please keep the attribution.

<a href="https://economy.statizoid.com/compare/trade-union-density/france/spain/">France vs Spain: Trade union density</a> — Statizoid

About this data

Indicator
Trade union density
Unit
Percentage of employees
Source
Organisation for Economic Co-operation and Development
Licence
OECD Terms and Conditions (attribution required)
Coverage
40 places, 1,820 data points, 1960–2024
Last refreshed

The database on Institutional Characteristics of Trade Unions, Wage Setting, State Intervention and Social Pacts (ICTWSS) was developed by Prof. Jelle Visser at the University of Amsterdam. It was first released in May 2007. In its initial form, the ICTWSS database combined data from various sources and projects with a main focus on trade union in EU and OECD countries, collective bargaining and employment relations in Europe, and social pacts. In 2021, the ICTWSS database was rebranded as the OECD/AIAS ICTWSS database to reflect the joint effort by the OECD and AIAS-HSI to ensure the continuation of the database following Prof. Visser’s retirement. The OECD/AIAS ICTWSS database is publicly available at: http://www.oecd.org/employment/ictwss-database.htm