Malta: Vulnerable employment, total (% of total employment) (modeled ILO estimate)

Key figures

What the numbers say

In 2025, Malta's vulnerable employment, total (% of total employment) (modeled ILO estimate) fell 0.19 percentage points on 2024 (from 10.27% to 10.07%).

Across the 30 yearly changes before that (1995 to 2024), the average change was −0.06 percentage points and a typical year strayed about 0.2 percentage points from that (the standard deviation). This year's change was 0.7 standard deviations below that average, so it was an ordinary year: it sits within the range of normal year-to-year movement.

On record, the biggest yearly rise was 0.4 percentage points in 2003 and the biggest yearly fall was 0.47 percentage points in 2000. The numbers show how large and when, not why; for the cause, look at what happened in that country in those years.

From 2016 to 2025 the straight-line trend is downward, about 0.04 percentage points a year. A straight line explains 57% of the movement over 10 observed years.

Worked out from the yearly values above. How the checks work: standard deviation, z-scores and straight-line trends.

How it compares

In 2025, Malta had the 145th highest value of the 182 economies reporting that year. Higher is not always better: for some indicators the lowest value is the one to aim for. See the full ranking.

Closest to Malta in the 2025 ranking

• Lithuania — 141st of 182: 10.36%
• Puerto Rico (US) — 142nd of 182: 10.31%
• Spain — 143rd of 182: 10.07%
• Portugal — 145th of 182: 9.66%
• Ireland — 146th of 182: 9.64%
• Switzerland — 147th of 182: 9.6%

What this measures

Vulnerable employment is contributing family workers and own-account workers as a percentage of total employment.

Limitations: Data are drawn from labor force surveys and household surveys, supplemented by official estimates and censuses for a small group of countries. Due to differences in definitions and coverage across countries, there are limitations for comparing data across countries and over time even within a country. Estimates of women in employment are not comparable internationally, reflecting that demographic, social, legal, and cultural trends and norms determine whether women's activities are regarded as economic.

Regional and income-group figures are computed by the World Bank as a weighted average.

All 35 values

Vulnerable employment, total (% of total employment) (modeled ILO estimate) in nearby economies

• Afghanistan — 81.77% (2025)
• Algeria — 25.56% (2025)
• Bahrain — 0.75% (2025)
• Djibouti — 30.29% (2025)
• Egypt, Arab Rep. — 23.94% (2025)
• Iran, Islamic Rep. — 39.52% (2025)
• Iraq — 27.14% (2025)
• Israel — 7.7% (2025)

More social protection & labor data for Malta

• Net migration — 5,161 (2025)
• Labor force participation rate, total (% of total population ages 15+) (national estimate) — 67.49% (2025)
• Labor force participation rate, female (% of female population ages 15+) (national estimate) — 59.34% (2025)
• Ratio of female to male labor force participation rate (%) (national estimate) — 79.62% (2025)
• Labor force participation rate, male (% of male population ages 15+) (national estimate) — 74.53% (2025)
• Unemployment, female (% of female labor force) (national estimate) — 3.02% (2025)
• Unemployment, male (% of male labor force) (national estimate) — 3.07% (2025)
• Unemployment, total (% of total labor force) (national estimate)

Reading data like this

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Questions people ask

What is Malta's vulnerable employment, total (% of total employment) (modeled ILO estimate)?

10.07% in 2025, according to the World Bank (World Development Indicators).

How has it changed since 1991?

It is down 2.97 percentage points from 13.04% in 1991. The highest value was 13.04% in 1991 and the lowest 10.07% in 2025.

How does Malta rank?

145th highest of 182 economies with data for 2025.

Is the latest change in vulnerable employment, total (% of total employment) (modeled ILO estimate) unusual for Malta?

In 2025, Malta's vulnerable employment, total (% of total employment) (modeled ILO estimate) fell 0.19 percentage points on 2024 (from 10.27% to 10.07%). Across the 30 yearly changes before that (1995 to 2024), the average change was −0.06 percentage points and a typical year strayed about 0.2 percentage points from that (the standard deviation). This year's change was 0.7 standard deviations below that average, so it was an ordinary year: it sits within the range of normal year-to-year movement.

Source

World Bank, World Development Indicators, indicator SL.EMP.VULN.ZS, licensed CC BY 4.0. Original source: ILO Modelled Estimates database (ILOEST), International Labour Organization (ILO), uri: https://ilostat.ilo.org/data/bulk/, publisher: ILOSTAT, type: estimates based on external database; Staff estimates, World Bank (WB) Figures are fetched from the World Bank API and refreshed monthly; see the series on data.worldbank.org. The full definition and method are in the World Bank's metadata glossary. Comparisons use the same World Bank release.

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