Wage employment in industry, aged 15-64, urban in South Africa

South Africa: Wage employment in industry, aged 15-64, urban was 0.8% in 2020. ▼ Falling

Latest (2020)
0.8%
Change on year
down 1.6%
World rank
38th
of 86 countries
All-time high
1.0%
in 1995
All-time low
0.8%
in 2020
Years of data
19
1995–2020

Wage employment in industry, aged 15-64, urban in South Africa, 1995–2020

00.20.40.60.811995200720201995: 1 % of urban workers in the industrial sector2000: 0.994 % of urban workers in the industrial sector2001: 0.994 % of urban workers in the industrial sector2002: 0.993 % of urban workers in the industrial sector2003: 0.995 % of urban workers in the industrial sector2004: 0.993 % of urban workers in the industrial sector2008: 0.883 % of urban workers in the industrial sector2009: 0.885 % of urban workers in the industrial sector2010: 0.873 % of urban workers in the industrial sector2011: 0.875 % of urban workers in the industrial sector2012: 0.869 % of urban workers in the industrial sector2013: 0.88 % of urban workers in the industrial sector2014: 0.874 % of urban workers in the industrial sector2015: 0.872 % of urban workers in the industrial sector2016: 0.86 % of urban workers in the industrial sector2017: 0.871 % of urban workers in the industrial sector2018: 0.866 % of urban workers in the industrial sector2019: 0.853 % of urban workers in the industrial sector2020: 0.84 % of urban workers in the industrial sector

Source: World Bank. Measured in % of urban workers in the industrial sector.

Analysis

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

The figure is down 1.6% on the previous year and down 3.8% over ten years.

Over the whole period, wage employment in industry, aged 15-64, urban in South Africa peaked at 1.0% in 1995 and was at its lowest, 0.8%, in 2020.

That places South Africa 38th out of 86 countries with data for 2020, putting it in the middle of the range.

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

Wage employment in industry, aged 15-64, urban in South Africa, year by year

Annual values for Wage employment in industry, aged 15-64, urban (% of urban workers in the industrial sector) in South Africa, 1995 to 2020.
Year % of urban workers in the industrial sector Change
1995 1.0%
2000 1.0% -0.6%
2001 1.0% +0.0%
2002 1.0% -0.1%
2003 1.0% +0.2%
2004 1.0% -0.2%
2008 0.9% -11.1%
2009 0.9% +0.2%
2010 0.9% -1.4%
2011 0.9% +0.2%
2012 0.9% -0.6%
2013 0.9% +1.2%
2014 0.9% -0.7%
2015 0.9% -0.2%
2016 0.9% -1.3%
2017 0.9% +1.2%
2018 0.9% -0.6%
2019 0.9% -1.4%
2020 0.8% -1.6%

South Africa compared with similar countries

  • South Africa's 0.8% is above the median for upper middle income countries, which is 0.8%, 1.1× the median. (26 countries reporting)
  • South Africa's 0.8% is above the median for Sub-Saharan Africa, which is 0.6%, 1.4× the median. (12 countries reporting)

Averages by decade

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

Countries ranked near South Africa

  1. 35 Spain 0.9% compare
  2. 36 Armenia 0.8% compare
  3. 37 Jamaica 0.8% compare
  4. 39 Egypt 0.8% compare
  5. 40 Tunisia 0.8% compare
  6. 41 Palestine, State of 0.8% compare

See the full ranking of 86 places →

More reference data data for South Africa

All data for South Africa →

Frequently asked questions

What is wage employment in industry, aged 15-64, urban in South Africa?
Wage employment in industry, aged 15-64, urban in South Africa was 0.8% in 2020, according to the World Bank.
What is the highest wage employment in industry, aged 15-64, urban recorded in South Africa?
The highest recorded value was 1.0% in 1995.
What is the lowest wage employment in industry, aged 15-64, urban recorded in South Africa?
The lowest recorded value was 0.8% in 2020.
How does South Africa rank for wage employment in industry, aged 15-64, urban?
South Africa ranks 38th out of 86 countries with data for 2020.
Is wage employment in industry, aged 15-64, urban rising or falling in South Africa?
Over the last ten years it is down 3.8%. 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 Wage employment in industry, aged 15-64, urban (% of urban workers in the industrial sector). Statizoid updates them automatically from the source API.

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Wage employment in industry, aged 15-64, urban in South Africa. Statizoid. Retrieved 16 September 2026, from https://reference.statizoid.com/stat/wage-employment-in-industry-aged-15-64-urban-percent-of-urban-workers-in-the-industrial/south-africa/

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About this data

Indicator
Wage employment in industry, aged 15-64, urban (% of urban workers in the industrial sector)
Unit
% of urban workers in the industrial sector
Source
World Bank
Licence
CC BY 4.0 (World Bank Open Data)
Coverage
86 places, 1,159 data points, 1970–2021
Last refreshed