Employed workers with a work contract, aged 15-64, total in South Africa

South Africa: Employed workers with a work contract, aged 15-64, total was 0.8% in 2020. ▲ Rising

Latest (2020)
0.8%
Change on year
up 4.4%
World rank
7th
of 26 countries
All-time high
0.8%
in 2020
All-time low
0.6%
in 2001
Years of data
19
2000–2020

Employed workers with a work contract, aged 15-64, total in South Africa, 2000–2020

00.20.40.60.82000201020202000: 0.569 % of total employed population in working age2001: 0.566 % of total employed population in working age2003: 0.677 % of total employed population in working age2004: 0.72 % of total employed population in working age2006: 0.719 % of total employed population in working age2007: 0.741 % of total employed population in working age2008: 0.753 % of total employed population in working age2009: 0.779 % of total employed population in working age2010: 0.786 % of total employed population in working age2011: 0.795 % of total employed population in working age2012: 0.805 % of total employed population in working age2013: 0.804 % of total employed population in working age2014: 0.815 % of total employed population in working age2015: 0.793 % of total employed population in working age2016: 0.799 % of total employed population in working age2017: 0.804 % of total employed population in working age2018: 0.802 % of total employed population in working age2019: 0.803 % of total employed population in working age2020: 0.838 % of total employed population in working age

Source: World Bank. Measured in % of total employed population in working age.

Analysis

In 2020, employed workers with a work contract, aged 15-64, total in South Africa stood at 0.8%. That is the highest value across all 19 years on record.

Compared with earlier readings it is up 4.4% on the previous year and up 6.6% over ten years.

Over the whole period, employed workers with a work contract, aged 15-64, total in South Africa peaked at 0.8% in 2020 and was at its lowest, 0.6%, in 2001.

South Africa ranks 7th of 26 countries on this measure, in the top quarter.

The long-run direction has been consistently rising across the 19 years of available data.

Employed workers with a work contract, aged 15-64, total in South Africa, year by year

Annual values for Employed workers with a work contract, aged 15-64, total (% of total employed population in working age) in South Africa, 2000 to 2020.
Year % of total employed population in working age Change
2000 0.6%
2001 0.6% -0.5%
2003 0.7% +19.5%
2004 0.7% +6.3%
2006 0.7% -0.1%
2007 0.7% +3.1%
2008 0.8% +1.6%
2009 0.8% +3.5%
2010 0.8% +0.9%
2011 0.8% +1.1%
2012 0.8% +1.3%
2013 0.8% -0.1%
2014 0.8% +1.3%
2015 0.8% -2.7%
2016 0.8% +0.9%
2017 0.8% +0.5%
2018 0.8% -0.2%
2019 0.8% +0.2%
2020 0.8% +4.4%

Averages by decade

DecadeAverage LowestHighest Years
2000s 0.7% 0.6% 0.8% 8
2010s 0.8% 0.8% 0.8% 10
2020s 0.8% 0.8% 0.8% 1

Countries ranked near South Africa

  1. 4 Armenia 0.9% compare
  2. 5 Kosovo 0.9% compare
  3. 5 Kosovo (UNSCR 1244) 0.9% compare
  4. 8 Australia 0.8% compare
  5. 9 Ecuador 0.8% compare
  6. 10 Albania 0.8% compare

See the full ranking of 26 places →

More reference data data for South Africa

All data for South Africa →

Frequently asked questions

What is employed workers with a work contract, aged 15-64, total in South Africa?
Employed workers with a work contract, aged 15-64, total in South Africa was 0.8% in 2020, according to the World Bank.
What is the highest employed workers with a work contract, aged 15-64, total recorded in South Africa?
The highest recorded value was 0.8% in 2020.
What is the lowest employed workers with a work contract, aged 15-64, total recorded in South Africa?
The lowest recorded value was 0.6% in 2001.
How does South Africa rank for employed workers with a work contract, aged 15-64, total?
South Africa ranks 7th out of 26 countries with data for 2020.
Is employed workers with a work contract, aged 15-64, total rising or falling in South Africa?
Over the last ten years it is up 6.6%. The long-run trend across the full record is rising.
Where does this South Africa data come from?
The figures come from the World Bank, published as part of Employed workers with a work contract, aged 15-64, total (% of total employed population in working age). Statizoid updates them automatically from the source API.

Download this data

CSV · JSON — 19 observations, free to reuse under CC BY 4.0 (World Bank Open Data).

Share, cite or embed this page

Cite this page

Employed workers with a work contract, aged 15-64, total in South Africa. Statizoid. Retrieved 28 August 2026, from https://reference.statizoid.com/stat/employed-workers-with-a-work-contract-aged-15-64-total-percent-of-total-employed/south-africa/

Embed or link this data

Paste this into a page to link back to these figures. The data itself is free to reuse under CC BY 4.0 (World Bank Open Data); please keep the attribution.

<a href="https://reference.statizoid.com/stat/employed-workers-with-a-work-contract-aged-15-64-total-percent-of-total-employed/south-africa/">Employed workers with a work contract, aged 15-64, total in South Africa</a> — Statizoid

About this data

Indicator
Employed workers with a work contract, aged 15-64, total (% of total employed population in working age)
Unit
% of total employed population in working age
Source
World Bank
Licence
CC BY 4.0 (World Bank Open Data)
Coverage
26 places, 300 data points, 1981–2021
Last refreshed