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 11.55 % in 2024. ▲ Rising

Latest (2024)
11.55 %
Change on year
down 1.0%
World rank
55th
of 68 countries
All-time high
12.9 %
in 2004
All-time low
9.23 %
in 2001
Years of data
24
2001–2024

Share of Self-employed people in [industry] out of total employment in Australia, 2001–2024

0510152001201220242001: 9.2 %2002: 12.8 %2003: 12.1 %2004: 12.9 %2005: 11.2 %2006: 11.2 %2007: 9.9 %2008: 9.6 %2009: 10.4 %2010: 9.7 %2011: 11.1 %2012: 10.2 %2013: 9.9 %2014: 9.7 %2015: 9.7 %2016: 10.4 %2017: 10.3 %2018: 12.1 %2019: 12.6 %2020: 12.5 %2021: 12.7 %2022: 11.9 %2023: 11.7 %2024: 11.6 %

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

Analysis

The most recent figure for share of self-employed people in [industry] out of total employment in Australia is 11.55 %, measured in 2024.

Compared with earlier readings it is down 1.0% on the previous year and up 19.3% over ten years.

Over the whole period, share of self-employed people in [industry] out of total employment in Australia peaked at 12.9 % in 2004 and was at its lowest, 9.23 %, 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

Annual values for Share of Self-employed people in [industry] out of total employment in [industry] by [sex]: Total employment — Value — Female — All age ranges or no breakdown by age — National in Australia, 2001 to 2024.
Year % Change
2001 9.23 %
2002 12.83 % +39.0%
2003 12.06 % -6.0%
2004 12.9 % +7.0%
2005 11.19 % -13.3%
2006 11.15 % -0.4%
2007 9.88 % -11.4%
2008 9.57 % -3.1%
2009 10.37 % +8.4%
2010 9.71 % -6.4%
2011 11.1 % +14.3%
2012 10.21 % -8.0%
2013 9.95 % -2.5%
2014 9.68 % -2.7%
2015 9.67 % -0.1%
2016 10.36 % +7.1%
2017 10.31 % -0.5%
2018 12.12 % +17.6%
2019 12.58 % +3.8%
2020 12.49 % -0.7%
2021 12.74 % +2.0%
2022 11.88 % -6.8%
2023 11.67 % -1.8%
2024 11.55 % -1.0%

Australia compared with similar countries

  • Australia's 11.55 % is above the median for high income countries, which is 11.55 %, 1.0× the median. (19 countries reporting)
  • Australia's 11.55 % is below the median for East Asia & Pacific, which is 40.75 %, 28% of the median. (9 countries reporting)

Averages by decade

DecadeAverage LowestHighest Years
2000s 11.02 % 9.23 % 12.9 % 9
2010s 10.57 % 9.67 % 12.58 % 10
2020s 12.07 % 11.55 % 12.74 % 5

Countries ranked near Australia

  1. 52 North Macedonia 13.12 % compare
  2. 53 Barbados 11.95 % compare
  3. 54 Austria 11.71 % compare
  4. 56 Portugal 11.5 % compare
  5. 57 Czechia 11.35 % compare
  6. 58 France 10.83 % compare

See the full ranking of 77 places →

More economy & growth data for Australia

All data for Australia →

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 11.55 % 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 12.9 % in 2004.
What is the lowest share of self-employed people in [industry] out of total employment recorded in Australia?
The lowest recorded value was 9.23 % 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 19.3%. 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 — Female — All age ranges or no breakdown by age — National. Statizoid updates them automatically from the source API.

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Share of Self-employed people in [industry] out of total employment in Australia. Statizoid, drawing on Food and Agriculture Organization of the United Nations. Retrieved 18 September 2026, from https://economy.statizoid.com/stat/share-of-self-employed-people-in-industry-out-of-total-employment-in-industry-by-sex-6/australia/

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About this data

Indicator
Share of Self-employed people in [industry] out of total employment in [industry] by [sex]: Total employment — Value — Female — All age ranges or no breakdown by age — National
Unit
%
Source
Food and Agriculture Organization of the United Nations
Licence
CC BY-NC-SA 3.0 IGO (FAO)
Coverage
77 places, 1,154 data points, 2000–2025
Last refreshed

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.