ILOSTAT - Labour force survey — Share of employment by status of in South Africa

South Africa: ILOSTAT - Labour force survey — Share of employment by status of was 82.1 % in 2024. ▬ Flat

Latest (2024)
82.1 %
Change on year
down 0.4%
World rank
24th
of 72 countries
All-time high
83.5 %
in 2015
All-time low
78.1 %
in 2010
Years of data
17
2008–2024

ILOSTAT - Labour force survey — Share of employment by status of in South Africa, 2008–2024

0204060802008201620242008: 78.3 %2009: 79.4 %2010: 78.1 %2011: 79.6 %2012: 79.8 %2013: 80.5 %2014: 81.4 %2015: 83.5 %2016: 82.3 %2017: 81.5 %2018: 81.9 %2019: 81.9 %2020: 80.6 %2021: 82.6 %2022: 83.1 %2023: 82.4 %2024: 82.1 %

Source: Food and Agriculture Organization of the United Nations. Measured in %.

Analysis

South Africa recorded 82.1 % for ilostat - labour force survey — share of employment by status of in 2024.

Compared with earlier readings it is down 0.4% on the previous year and up 0.9% over ten years.

Over the whole period, ilostat - labour force survey — share of employment by status of in South Africa peaked at 83.5 % in 2015 and was at its lowest, 78.1 %, in 2010.

That places South Africa 24th out of 72 countries with data for 2024, putting it in the middle of the range.

ILOSTAT - Labour force survey — Share of employment by status of in South Africa, year by year

Annual values for ILOSTAT - Labour force survey — Share of employment by status of employment, employees, rural areas — Value in South Africa, 2008 to 2024.
Year % Change
2008 78.3 %
2009 79.4 % +1.4%
2010 78.1 % -1.6%
2011 79.6 % +1.9%
2012 79.8 % +0.3%
2013 80.5 % +0.9%
2014 81.4 % +1.1%
2015 83.5 % +2.6%
2016 82.3 % -1.4%
2017 81.5 % -1.0%
2018 81.9 % +0.5%
2019 81.9 % +0.0%
2020 80.6 % -1.6%
2021 82.6 % +2.5%
2022 83.1 % +0.6%
2023 82.4 % -0.8%
2024 82.1 % -0.4%

South Africa compared with similar countries

  • South Africa's 82.1 % is above the median for upper middle income countries, which is 54.9 %, 1.5× the median. (19 countries reporting)
  • South Africa's 82.1 % is above the median for Sub-Saharan Africa, which is 21.55 %, 3.8× the median. (8 countries reporting)

Averages by decade

DecadeAverage LowestHighest Years
2000s 78.85 % 78.3 % 79.4 % 2
2010s 81.05 % 78.1 % 83.5 % 10
2020s 82.16 % 80.6 % 83.1 % 5

Countries ranked near South Africa

  1. 21 France 83.8 % compare
  2. 22 Portugal 83.1 % compare
  3. 23 Belgium 82.9 % compare
  4. 24 Austria 82.1 % compare
  5. 26 Australia 82 % compare
  6. 27 Finland 81.9 % compare

See the full ranking of 78 places →

More economy & growth data for South Africa

All data for South Africa →

Frequently asked questions

What is ilostat - labour force survey — share of employment by status of in South Africa?
Ilostat - labour force survey — share of employment by status of in South Africa was 82.1 % in 2024, according to Food and Agriculture Organization of the United Nations.
What is the highest ilostat - labour force survey — share of employment by status of recorded in South Africa?
The highest recorded value was 83.5 % in 2015.
What is the lowest ilostat - labour force survey — share of employment by status of recorded in South Africa?
The lowest recorded value was 78.1 % in 2010.
How does South Africa rank for ilostat - labour force survey — share of employment by status of?
South Africa ranks 24th out of 72 countries with data for 2024.
Is ilostat - labour force survey — share of employment by status of rising or falling in South Africa?
Over the last ten years it is up 0.9%. The long-run trend across the full record is flat.
Where does this South Africa data come from?
The figures come from Food and Agriculture Organization of the United Nations, published as part of ILOSTAT - Labour force survey — Share of employment by status of employment, employees, rural areas — Value. Statizoid updates them automatically from the source API.

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ILOSTAT - Labour force survey — Share of employment by status of in South Africa. Statizoid, drawing on Food and Agriculture Organization of the United Nations. Retrieved 18 September 2026, from https://economy.statizoid.com/stat/ilostat-labour-force-survey-share-of-employment-by-status-of-employment-employees-rural/south-africa/

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About this data

Indicator
ILOSTAT - Labour force survey — Share of employment by status of employment, employees, rural areas — Value
Unit
%
Source
Food and Agriculture Organization of the United Nations
Licence
CC BY-NC-SA 3.0 IGO (FAO)
Coverage
78 places, 1,462 data points, 1987–2025
Last refreshed

The FAOSTAT Employment indicators domain focuses on indicators related to employment in agrifood systems and rural areas. The update is performed yearly, using data from the International Labour Organization (ILO) database that contains a rich set of indicators from a wide range of topics related to labour statistics. The indicators published in FAOSTAT are derived from the labour force statistics (LFS) and rural and urban labour markets (RURURB) databases of the ILOSTAT database.