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Afghanistan — Labor participation
Labor Force Participation Rate for Afghanistan, 1990–2025.
Latest value · 2025
37.46%
Labor Force Participation Rate · % of population ages 15+ · -20.6% since 1990
Labor participation for Afghanistan was 37.46% in 2025, according to the latest World Bank data. The series covers 36 years, from 1990 to 2025. The highest recorded value was 47.30% in 2017. Across that span the compound annual growth rate works out to -0.66% per year.
Afghanistan ranks 182 of 187 economies on this measure (1 = highest), putting it in the top 97%. The median for Middle East, North Africa, Afghanistan & Pakistan is 44.99%, so Afghanistan sits below it. It peaked in 2017 and has fallen 21% since. Over the last decade (2015–2025) the figure moved down 21%.
Key figures
Latest (2025)
37.46%
First (1990)
47.19%
Change
-20.6%
Highest
47.30%
in 2017
Lowest
37.46%
in 2025
Average
45.37%
Annual growth (CAGR)
-0.66%
Years of data
36
Recent years
| Year | % of population ages 15+ |
|---|---|
| 2025 | 37.46% |
| 2024 | 37.55% |
| 2023 | 37.59% |
| 2022 | 37.64% |
| 2021 | 40.68% |
| 2020 | 41.58% |
| 2019 | 43.81% |
| 2018 | 45.57% |
| 2017 | 47.31% |
| 2016 | 47.24% |
| 2015 | 47.17% |
| 2014 | 47.1% |
Reading this correctly. Proportion of the population aged 15 and above that is economically active: supplying labor for the production of goods and services. Figures are in % of population ages 15+. Comparing this series with a different measure of the same concept (for example a nominal figure against a purchasing-power-parity figure) will give misleading results.
Related data
Source. World Bank Open Data, indicator
SL.TLF.CACT.ZS — Labor Force Participation Rate. Data licensed under CC BY 4.0. Values are reproduced as published; this page computes the summary statistics (change, CAGR, extremes) from the underlying annual series. View the original dataset on data.worldbank.org.