Share of Self-employed people in [industry] out of total employment in Australia
Australia: Share of Self-employed people in [industry] out of total employment was 19.1 % in 2024. ▲ Rising
Share of Self-employed people in [industry] out of total employment in Australia, 2001–2024
Source: Food and Agriculture Organization of the United Nations. Measured in %.
Analysis
Australia recorded 19.1 % for share of self-employed people in [industry] out of total employment in 2024.
Compared with earlier readings it is down 0.9% on the previous year and up 9.3% over ten years.
Over the whole period, share of self-employed people in [industry] out of total employment in Australia peaked at 21.14 % in 2002 and was at its lowest, 14.77 %, in 2001.
That places Australia 55th out of 68 countries with data for 2024, putting it in the bottom quarter.
The long-run direction has been consistently rising across the 24 years of available data.
Share of Self-employed people in [industry] out of total employment in Australia, year by year
| Year | % | Change |
|---|---|---|
| 2001 | 14.77 % | — |
| 2002 | 21.14 % | +43.1% |
| 2003 | 19.72 % | -6.7% |
| 2004 | 20.26 % | +2.7% |
| 2005 | 20.12 % | -0.7% |
| 2006 | 20 % | -0.6% |
| 2007 | 17.99 % | -10.1% |
| 2008 | 17.33 % | -3.7% |
| 2009 | 18.28 % | +5.5% |
| 2010 | 18.37 % | +0.5% |
| 2011 | 17.87 % | -2.7% |
| 2012 | 17 % | -4.9% |
| 2013 | 17.62 % | +3.6% |
| 2014 | 17.48 % | -0.8% |
| 2015 | 17.5 % | +0.1% |
| 2016 | 17.57 % | +0.4% |
| 2017 | 17.55 % | -0.1% |
| 2018 | 20.59 % | +17.3% |
| 2019 | 20.56 % | -0.1% |
| 2020 | 20.46 % | -0.5% |
| 2021 | 20.45 % | -0.0% |
| 2022 | 19.81 % | -3.1% |
| 2023 | 19.27 % | -2.7% |
| 2024 | 19.1 % | -0.9% |
Australia compared with similar countries
- Australia's 19.1 % is above the median for high income countries, which is 19.1 %, 1.0× the median. (19 countries reporting)
- Australia's 19.1 % is below the median for East Asia & Pacific, which is 40.72 %, 47% of the median. (9 countries reporting)
Biggest year-on-year movements
Years where Share of Self-employed people in [industry] out of total employment in Australia changed far more than this series normally does. A large move can be a real event or a change in how the figure was measured — the source note below says who published it.
| Year | Change | From | To |
|---|---|---|---|
| 2002 | +43.1% | 14.77 % | 21.14 % |
Averages by decade
| Decade | Average | Lowest | Highest | Years |
|---|---|---|---|---|
| 2000s | 18.85 % | 14.77 % | 21.14 % | 9 |
| 2010s | 18.21 % | 17 % | 20.59 % | 10 |
| 2020s | 19.82 % | 19.1 % | 20.46 % | 5 |
Countries ranked near Australia
- 52 Slovakia 21.13 % compare
- 53 South Africa 19.37 % compare
- 54 Bosnia and Herzegovina 19.17 % compare
- 56 Czechia 18.89 % compare
- 57 Switzerland 18.47 % compare
- 58 Portugal 17.91 % compare
More economy & growth data for Australia
- Africa's Development Dynamics (AfDD) Table 04 - Annual real GDP 1.36 Percent per annum (2029)
- Africa's Development Dynamics (AfDD) Table 02 - Annual real GDP 2.26 Percent per annum (2029)
- Foreign direct investment, net outflows (BoP, current US$), gaps -4.55 billion BoP, current US$ (2025)
- Foreign direct investment, net outflows (BoP, current US$), per unit -0.0025 BoP, current US$ per US$ of GDP (2025)
- Foreign direct investment, net outflows (BoP, current US$), per capita -164.69 BoP, current US$ per person (2025)
- Foreign direct investment, net inflows (BoP, current US$), gaps filled 36.52 billion BoP, current US$ (2025)
- Foreign direct investment, net inflows (BoP, current US$), annual -32.02 % change on previous year (2025)
- Foreign direct investment, net inflows (BoP, current US$), per unit 0.0203 BoP, current US$ per US$ of GDP (2025)
- Foreign direct investment, net inflows (BoP, current US$), per capita 1,323 BoP, current US$ per person (2025)
- Total reserves (includes gold, current US$), annual growth rate 20.24 % change on previous year (2025)
Frequently asked questions
- What is share of self-employed people in [industry] out of total employment in Australia?
- Share of self-employed people in [industry] out of total employment in Australia was 19.1 % in 2024, according to Food and Agriculture Organization of the United Nations.
- What is the highest share of self-employed people in [industry] out of total employment recorded in Australia?
- The highest recorded value was 21.14 % in 2002.
- What is the lowest share of self-employed people in [industry] out of total employment recorded in Australia?
- The lowest recorded value was 14.77 % in 2001.
- How does Australia rank for share of self-employed people in [industry] out of total employment?
- Australia ranks 55th out of 68 countries with data for 2024.
- Is share of self-employed people in [industry] out of total employment rising or falling in Australia?
- Over the last ten years it is up 9.3%. The long-run trend across the full record is rising.
- Where does this Australia data come from?
- The figures come from Food and Agriculture Organization of the United Nations, published as part of Share of Self-employed people in [industry] out of total employment in [industry] by [sex]: Total employment — Value — Male — All age ranges or no breakdown by age — National. Statizoid updates them automatically from the source API.
Download this data
CSV · JSON — 24 observations, free to reuse under CC BY-NC-SA 3.0 IGO (FAO).
About this data
The Suite of Gender Indicators presents a set of indicators relevant to agrifood systems that are disaggregated by sex, with the aim of highlighting gender differences across agrifood systems. The initial set of indicators is based on those used in FAO’s 2023 Status of Women in Agrifood Systems (SWAFS) report and on the recommendations of an expert consultation held in December 2023, and covers key dimensions including economic participation, governance, agency, social norms, assets and services, education, health, and nutrition. Indicator selection was informed by expert judgment and by the availability of data with sufficient geographic and temporal coverage to enable meaningful comparisons across regions and over time. While most indicators are produced and published by FAO and other international organizations, the objective of this domain is to provide a one-stop shop for sex-disaggregated data on agrifood systems.