Public sector employment, as a share of paid employment in United Kingdom

United Kingdom: Public sector employment, as a share of paid employment was 0.3398 in 2018. ▼ Falling

Latest (2018)
0.3398
Change on year
down 0.9%
World rank
15th
of 75 countries
All-time high
0.3855
in 2005
All-time low
0.3198
in 2015
Years of data
14
2005–2018

Public sector employment, as a share of paid employment in United Kingdom, 2005–2018

00.10.20.30.42005201120182005: 0.3862006: 0.3792007: 0.382008: 0.3342009: 0.3322010: 0.3462011: 0.3432012: 0.3262013: 0.3252014: 0.3252015: 0.322016: 0.3342017: 0.3432018: 0.34

Source: World Bank.

Analysis

In 2018, public sector employment, as a share of paid employment in United Kingdom stood at 0.3398.

The figure is down 0.9% on the previous year and up 1.7% over ten years.

Over the whole period, public sector employment, as a share of paid employment in United Kingdom peaked at 0.3855 in 2005 and was at its lowest, 0.3198, in 2015.

United Kingdom ranks 15th of 75 countries on this measure, in the top quarter.

The long-run direction has been consistently falling across the 14 years of available data.

Public sector employment, as a share of paid employment in United Kingdom, year by year

Annual values for Public sector employment, as a share of paid employment in United Kingdom, 2005 to 2018.
Year Value Change
2005 0.3855
2006 0.3791 -1.7%
2007 0.3795 +0.1%
2008 0.3339 -12.0%
2009 0.3319 -0.6%
2010 0.3456 +4.1%
2011 0.3429 -0.8%
2012 0.3257 -5.0%
2013 0.3255 -0.1%
2014 0.3248 -0.2%
2015 0.3198 -1.5%
2016 0.3341 +4.5%
2017 0.3428 +2.6%
2018 0.3398 -0.9%

Averages by decade

DecadeAverage LowestHighest Years
2000s 0.362 0.3319 0.3855 5
2010s 0.3334 0.3198 0.3456 9

Countries ranked near United Kingdom

  1. 12 Armenia 0.361 compare
  2. 13 Albania 0.3566 compare
  3. 14 Iceland 0.3446 compare
  4. 16 Greece 0.3333 compare
  5. 17 Ireland 0.3323 compare
  6. 18 France 0.3299 compare

See the full ranking of 75 places →

More reference data data for United Kingdom

All data for United Kingdom →

Frequently asked questions

What is public sector employment, as a share of paid employment in United Kingdom?
Public sector employment, as a share of paid employment in United Kingdom was 0.3398 in 2018, according to the World Bank.
What is the highest public sector employment, as a share of paid employment recorded in United Kingdom?
The highest recorded value was 0.3855 in 2005.
What is the lowest public sector employment, as a share of paid employment recorded in United Kingdom?
The lowest recorded value was 0.3198 in 2015.
How does United Kingdom rank for public sector employment, as a share of paid employment?
United Kingdom ranks 15th out of 75 countries with data for 2018.
Is public sector employment, as a share of paid employment rising or falling in United Kingdom?
Over the last ten years it is up 1.7%. The long-run trend across the full record is falling.
Where does this United Kingdom data come from?
The figures come from the World Bank, published as part of Public sector employment, as a share of paid employment. Statizoid updates them automatically from the source API.

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Public sector employment, as a share of paid employment in United Kingdom. Statizoid. Retrieved 01 September 2026, from https://reference.statizoid.com/stat/public-sector-employment-as-a-share-of-paid-employment/united-kingdom/

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About this data

Indicator
Public sector employment, as a share of paid employment
Source
World Bank
Licence
CC BY 4.0 (World Bank Open Data)
Coverage
75 places, 979 data points, 2000–2022
Last refreshed