Public sector employment, as a share of formal employment by country
Countries reporting
59
Highest
0.7238
Pakistan
Lowest
0.0399
Panama
Median
0.2933
Years covered
22
2000–2021
Data points
781
What the numbers show
Public sector employment, as a share of formal employment is currently reported for 59 countries. The highest value is 0.7238 in Pakistan; the lowest is 0.0399 in Panama.
The median across all reporting countries is 0.2933, and the mean is 0.3202.
The gap between the highest and lowest reporting country is a factor of about 18.
Over the past decade 31 countries rose and 26 fell. The largest increase was in Chile (up 45.5%), and the largest decrease in Namibia (down 30.5%).
Public sector employment, as a share of formal employment: full country ranking
| # | Country | Latest | Year | 10-year change | Trend |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| 1 | Pakistan | 0.7238 | 2020 | up 34.4% | rising |
| 2 | Ethiopia | 0.7153 | 2021 | up 1.8% | falling |
| 3 | Zambia | 0.6364 | 2015 | up 9.6% | falling |
| 4 | Russia | 0.5147 | 2016 | down 4.6% | falling |
| 5 | Moldova | 0.5084 | 2015 | up 12.2% | rising |
| 6 | Albania | 0.4863 | 2012 | down 25.5% | falling |
| 7 | Morocco | 0.4403 | 2009 | — | falling |
| 8 | Bolivia | 0.434 | 2019 | down 0.0% | flat |
| 9 | Bosnia and Herzegovina | 0.4172 | 2017 | down 20.2% | falling |
| 10 | Armenia | 0.4125 | 2021 | down 21.4% | falling |
| 11 | Belgium | 0.4049 | 2020 | up 8.4% | falling |
| 12 | Venezuela | 0.3901 | 2006 | up 12.4% | rising |
| 13 | Sri Lanka | 0.3738 | 2015 | up 14.8% | rising |
| 14 | Denmark | 0.3736 | 2020 | — | flat |
| 15 | Namibia | 0.3556 | 2015 | down 30.5% | falling |
| 16 | Argentina | 0.3498 | 2021 | up 17.7% | flat |
| 17 | Iceland | 0.3469 | 2013 | down 3.2% | flat |
| 18 | United Kingdom | 0.3455 | 2018 | up 2.2% | falling |
| 19 | Greece | 0.336 | 2020 | down 0.4% | flat |
| 20 | France | 0.3344 | 2020 | down 4.1% | falling |
| 21 | Ireland | 0.3323 | 2020 | up 1.1% | flat |
| 22 | Paraguay | 0.3312 | 2021 | down 23.2% | falling |
| 23 | Luxembourg | 0.3291 | 2020 | up 21.8% | flat |
| 24 | Peru | 0.3282 | 2021 | down 7.5% | falling |
| 25 | Malta | 0.3277 | 2020 | up 11.1% | rising |
| 26 | Dominican Republic | 0.3193 | 2019 | up 13.8% | rising |
| 27 | Finland | 0.3192 | 2020 | up 5.6% | flat |
| 28 | Switzerland | 0.3026 | 2020 | up 12.7% | rising |
| 29 | Portugal | 0.3007 | 2020 | up 18.4% | rising |
| 30 | Mexico | 0.2933 | 2020 | up 4.9% | falling |
| 31 | Austria | 0.2897 | 2020 | up 12.6% | flat |
| 32 | Spain | 0.2892 | 2020 | up 6.6% | rising |
| 33 | Turkey | 0.2801 | 2019 | down 0.3% | falling |
| 34 | Hungary | 0.2784 | 2020 | up 0.6% | flat |
| 35 | Slovakia | 0.2775 | 2020 | down 4.3% | falling |
| 36 | Lithuania | 0.2763 | 2020 | down 4.6% | falling |
| 37 | South Africa | 0.276 | 2020 | up 12.0% | falling |
| 38 | Guatemala | 0.2733 | 2017 | up 19.2% | rising |
| 39 | Australia | 0.272 | 2015 | down 23.6% | falling |
| 40 | Honduras | 0.2695 | 2019 | down 5.4% | falling |
| 41 | Latvia | 0.2673 | 2020 | up 1.4% | flat |
| 42 | El Salvador | 0.2594 | 2021 | down 5.5% | falling |
| 43 | Poland | 0.2567 | 2020 | up 4.9% | falling |
| 44 | Slovenia | 0.2533 | 2020 | up 5.1% | falling |
| 45 | Czechia | 0.2478 | 2020 | up 12.0% | falling |
| 46 | Estonia | 0.2475 | 2020 | down 4.4% | falling |
| 47 | Italy | 0.2461 | 2020 | down 0.9% | falling |
| 48 | Croatia | 0.2325 | 2020 | up 10.5% | rising |
| 49 | Ecuador | 0.2305 | 2017 | up 22.6% | falling |
| 50 | Cyprus | 0.227 | 2020 | down 1.2% | flat |
| 51 | Brazil | 0.2257 | 2021 | up 3.7% | falling |
| 52 | Uruguay | 0.2248 | 2017 | down 15.3% | falling |
| 53 | Costa Rica | 0.215 | 2021 | down 10.3% | falling |
| 54 | Serbia | 0.2008 | 2020 | down 25.3% | falling |
| 55 | Bulgaria | 0.1997 | 2019 | up 1.4% | falling |
| 56 | Chile | 0.1709 | 2017 | up 45.5% | flat |
| 57 | Romania | 0.1619 | 2020 | down 11.2% | falling |
| 58 | Colombia | 0.1204 | 2020 | down 18.0% | falling |
| 59 | Panama | 0.0399 | 2018 | down 29.3% | falling |