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South Africa — Labor participation
Labor Force Participation Rate for South Africa, 1990–2025.
Latest value · 2025
55.58%
Labor Force Participation Rate · % of population ages 15+ · -4.3% since 1990
Labor participation for South Africa was 55.58% in 2025, according to the latest World Bank data. The series covers 36 years, from 1990 to 2025. The highest recorded value was 58.09% in 1990. The lowest was 50.55% in 2020 (about 1.1× the low point). Across that span the compound annual growth rate works out to -0.13% per year.
South Africa ranks 137 of 187 economies on this measure (1 = highest), putting it in the top 73%. The median for Sub-Saharan Africa is 64.31%, so South Africa sits below it. It peaked in 1990 and has fallen 4% since. Over the last decade (2015–2025) the figure moved up 2%.
Key figures
Latest (2025)
55.58%
First (1990)
58.09%
Change
-4.3%
Highest
58.09%
in 1990
Lowest
50.55%
in 2020
Average
55.60%
Annual growth (CAGR)
-0.13%
Years of data
36
Recent years
| Year | % of population ages 15+ |
|---|---|
| 2025 | 55.58% |
| 2024 | 55.57% |
| 2023 | 55.02% |
| 2022 | 53.5% |
| 2021 | 52.02% |
| 2020 | 50.55% |
| 2019 | 55.27% |
| 2018 | 55.16% |
| 2017 | 55.36% |
| 2016 | 54.71% |
| 2015 | 54.59% |
| 2014 | 53.31% |
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.