Public sector employment, as a share of formal employment in Australia

Australia: Public sector employment, as a share of formal employment was 0.272 in 2015. ▼ Falling

Latest (2015)
0.272
Change on year
up 1.7%
World rank
39th
of 59 countries
All-time high
0.3826
in 2010
All-time low
0.2675
in 2014
Years of data
15
2001–2015

Public sector employment, as a share of formal employment in Australia, 2001–2015

00.10.20.30.42001200820152001: 0.2922002: 0.282003: 0.362004: 0.3552005: 0.3562006: 0.3582007: 0.3382008: 0.3532009: 0.3722010: 0.3832011: 0.2792012: 0.2762013: 0.2752014: 0.2682015: 0.272

Source: World Bank.

Analysis

Australia recorded 0.272 for public sector employment, as a share of formal employment in 2015.

That represents a change of up 1.7% on the previous year and down 23.6% over ten years.

Over the whole period, public sector employment, as a share of formal employment in Australia peaked at 0.3826 in 2010 and was at its lowest, 0.2675, in 2014.

That places Australia 39th out of 59 countries with data for 2015, putting it in the middle of the range.

The long-run direction has been consistently falling across the 15 years of available data.

Public sector employment, as a share of formal employment in Australia, year by year

Annual values for Public sector employment, as a share of formal employment in Australia, 2001 to 2015.
Year Value Change
2001 0.2916
2002 0.2802 -3.9%
2003 0.3599 +28.4%
2004 0.3551 -1.3%
2005 0.3559 +0.2%
2006 0.3576 +0.5%
2007 0.338 -5.5%
2008 0.3531 +4.4%
2009 0.3725 +5.5%
2010 0.3826 +2.7%
2011 0.2791 -27.0%
2012 0.2762 -1.1%
2013 0.2748 -0.5%
2014 0.2675 -2.6%
2015 0.272 +1.7%

Averages by decade

DecadeAverage LowestHighest Years
2000s 0.3404 0.2802 0.3725 9
2010s 0.292 0.2675 0.3826 6

Countries ranked near Australia

  1. 36 Lithuania 0.2763 compare
  2. 37 South Africa 0.276 compare
  3. 38 Guatemala 0.2733 compare
  4. 40 Honduras 0.2695 compare
  5. 41 Latvia 0.2673 compare
  6. 42 El Salvador 0.2594 compare

See the full ranking of 59 places →

More reference data data for Australia

All data for Australia →

Frequently asked questions

What is public sector employment, as a share of formal employment in Australia?
Public sector employment, as a share of formal employment in Australia was 0.272 in 2015, according to the World Bank.
What is the highest public sector employment, as a share of formal employment recorded in Australia?
The highest recorded value was 0.3826 in 2010.
What is the lowest public sector employment, as a share of formal employment recorded in Australia?
The lowest recorded value was 0.2675 in 2014.
How does Australia rank for public sector employment, as a share of formal employment?
Australia ranks 39th out of 59 countries with data for 2015.
Is public sector employment, as a share of formal employment rising or falling in Australia?
Over the last ten years it is down 23.6%. The long-run trend across the full record is falling.
Where does this Australia data come from?
The figures come from the World Bank, published as part of Public sector employment, as a share of formal employment. Statizoid updates them automatically from the source API.

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Public sector employment, as a share of formal employment in Australia. Statizoid. Retrieved 29 August 2026, from https://reference.statizoid.com/stat/public-sector-employment-as-a-share-of-formal-employment/australia/

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About this data

Indicator
Public sector employment, as a share of formal employment
Source
World Bank
Licence
CC BY 4.0 (World Bank Open Data)
Coverage
59 places, 781 data points, 2000–2021
Last refreshed