Non-agricultural wage employment, aged 15-64, urban in South Africa

South Africa: Non-agricultural wage employment, aged 15-64, urban was 0.8% in 2020. ▼ Falling

Latest (2020)
0.8%
Change on year
down 0.0%
World rank
27th
of 94 countries
All-time high
1.0%
in 2003
All-time low
0.8%
in 2020
Years of data
19
1995–2020

Non-agricultural wage employment, aged 15-64, urban in South Africa, 1995–2020

00.20.40.60.811995200720201995: 0.844 % of urban employed population in working age2000: 0.955 % of urban employed population in working age2001: 0.953 % of urban employed population in working age2002: 0.961 % of urban employed population in working age2003: 0.974 % of urban employed population in working age2004: 0.972 % of urban employed population in working age2008: 0.838 % of urban employed population in working age2009: 0.845 % of urban employed population in working age2010: 0.845 % of urban employed population in working age2011: 0.843 % of urban employed population in working age2012: 0.846 % of urban employed population in working age2013: 0.853 % of urban employed population in working age2014: 0.858 % of urban employed population in working age2015: 0.843 % of urban employed population in working age2016: 0.841 % of urban employed population in working age2017: 0.843 % of urban employed population in working age2018: 0.837 % of urban employed population in working age2019: 0.828 % of urban employed population in working age2020: 0.828 % of urban employed population in working age

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

Analysis

In 2020, non-agricultural wage employment, aged 15-64, urban in South Africa stood at 0.8%. That is the lowest value across all 19 years on record.

That represents a change of down 2.0% over ten years.

Over the whole period, non-agricultural wage employment, aged 15-64, urban in South Africa peaked at 1.0% in 2003 and was at its lowest, 0.8%, in 2020.

South Africa ranks 27th of 94 countries on this measure, in the middle of the range.

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

Non-agricultural wage employment, aged 15-64, urban in South Africa, year by year

Annual values for Non-agricultural wage employment, aged 15-64, urban (% of urban employed population in working age) in South Africa, 1995 to 2020.
Year % of urban employed population in working age Change
1995 0.8%
2000 1.0% +13.1%
2001 1.0% -0.2%
2002 1.0% +0.9%
2003 1.0% +1.3%
2004 1.0% -0.2%
2008 0.8% -13.8%
2009 0.8% +0.8%
2010 0.8% +0.0%
2011 0.8% -0.3%
2012 0.8% +0.4%
2013 0.9% +0.9%
2014 0.9% +0.6%
2015 0.8% -1.7%
2016 0.8% -0.4%
2017 0.8% +0.4%
2018 0.8% -0.8%
2019 0.8% -1.0%
2020 0.8% -0.0%

South Africa compared with similar countries

  • South Africa's 0.8% is above the median for upper middle income countries, which is 0.6%, 1.4× the median. (29 countries reporting)
  • South Africa's 0.8% is above the median for Sub-Saharan Africa, which is 0.4%, 2.0× the median. (13 countries reporting)

Averages by decade

DecadeAverage LowestHighest Years
1990s 0.8% 0.8% 0.8% 1
2000s 0.9% 0.8% 1.0% 7
2010s 0.8% 0.8% 0.9% 10
2020s 0.8% 0.8% 0.8% 1

Countries ranked near South Africa

  1. 24 Netherlands 0.8% compare
  2. 25 France 0.8% compare
  3. 26 Spain 0.8% compare
  4. 28 Czechia 0.8% compare
  5. 29 Jordan 0.8% compare
  6. 30 Türkiye 0.8% compare

See the full ranking of 94 places →

More reference data data for South Africa

All data for South Africa →

Frequently asked questions

What is non-agricultural wage employment, aged 15-64, urban in South Africa?
Non-agricultural wage employment, aged 15-64, urban in South Africa was 0.8% in 2020, according to the World Bank.
What is the highest non-agricultural wage employment, aged 15-64, urban recorded in South Africa?
The highest recorded value was 1.0% in 2003.
What is the lowest non-agricultural wage employment, aged 15-64, urban recorded in South Africa?
The lowest recorded value was 0.8% in 2020.
How does South Africa rank for non-agricultural wage employment, aged 15-64, urban?
South Africa ranks 27th out of 94 countries with data for 2020.
Is non-agricultural wage employment, aged 15-64, urban rising or falling in South Africa?
Over the last ten years it is down 2.0%. The long-run trend across the full record is falling.
Where does this South Africa data come from?
The figures come from the World Bank, published as part of Non-agricultural wage employment, aged 15-64, urban (% of urban employed population in working age). Statizoid updates them automatically from the source API.

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Non-agricultural wage employment, aged 15-64, urban in South Africa. Statizoid. Retrieved 16 September 2026, from https://reference.statizoid.com/stat/non-agricultural-wage-employment-aged-15-64-urban-percent-of-urban-employed-population-in/south-africa/

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About this data

Indicator
Non-agricultural wage employment, aged 15-64, urban (% of urban employed population in working age)
Unit
% of urban employed population in working age
Source
World Bank
Licence
CC BY 4.0 (World Bank Open Data)
Coverage
94 places, 1,312 data points, 1970–2021
Last refreshed