Pakistan: Labor force participation rate, male (% of male population ages 15+) (national estimate)

Key figures

What the numbers say

On record, the biggest yearly rise was 32.79 percentage points in 1990 and the biggest yearly fall was 32.79 percentage points in 1989. The numbers show how large and when, not why; for the cause, look at what happened in that country in those 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, Pakistan had the 8th highest value of the 83 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 Pakistan in the 2025 ranking

• Saudi Arabia — 5th of 83: 84.01%
• Guatemala — 6th of 83: 83.5%
• Paraguay — 7th of 83: 82.72%
• Rwanda — 9th of 83: 80.17%
• Peru — 10th of 83: 80.01%
• Iceland — 11th of 83: 79.09%

What this measures

Labor force participation rate is the proportion of the population ages 15 and older that is economically active: all people who supply labor for the production of goods and services during a specified period.

Limitations: Data on the labor force are compiled by the ILO from labor force surveys, censuses, and establishment censuses and surveys. For some countries a combination of these sources is used. Labor force surveys are the most comprehensive source for internationally comparable labor force data. They can cover all non-institutionalized civilians, all branches and sectors of the economy, and all categories of workers, including people holding multiple jobs. By contrast, labor force data from population censuses are often based on a limited number of questions on the economic characteristics of individuals, with little scope to probe.

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

All 43 values

Labor force participation rate, male (% of male population ages 15+) (national estimate) in nearby economies

• Algeria — 66.26% (2017)
• Bahrain — 86.95% (2015)
• Egypt, Arab Rep. — 70.96% (2024)
• Iran, Islamic Rep. — 67.4% (2024)
• Israel — 65.52% (2025)
• Jordan — 61.6% (2024)
• Kuwait — 87.85% (2016)
• Malta

More social protection & labor data for Pakistan

• Net migration — -1.24 million (2025)
• Unemployment, total (% of total labor force) (national estimate) — 6.96% (2025)
• Refugees under the mandate of the UNHCR by country or territory of asylum — 1.16 million (2025)
• Labor force participation rate, female (% of female population ages 15+) (national estimate) — 28.21% (2025)
• Ratio of female to male labor force participation rate (%) (national estimate) — 34.63% (2025)
• Labor force participation rate, total (% of total population ages 15+) (national estimate) — 55.34% (2025)
• Unemployment, male (% of male labor force) (national estimate) — 5.95% (2025)
• Employment to population ratio, 15+, total (%) (national estimate)

Reading data like this

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Questions people ask

What is Pakistan's labor force participation rate, male (% of male population ages 15+) (national estimate)?

81.46% in 2025, according to the World Bank (World Development Indicators).

How has it changed since 1961?

It is up 26.46 percentage points from 54.99% in 1961. The highest value was 87.2% in 1978 and the lowest 51.95% in 1972.

How does Pakistan rank?

8th highest of 83 economies with data for 2025.

Where does this data come from?

The World Bank's World Development Indicators, licensed CC BY 4.0. Original source: Labour Force Statistics database (LFS), International Labour Organization (ILO), uri: https://ilostat.ilo.org/data/bulk/, publisher: ILOSTAT, type: external database, date accessed: September 28, 2026.

Source

World Bank, World Development Indicators, indicator SL.TLF.CACT.MA.NE.ZS, licensed CC BY 4.0. Original source: Labour Force Statistics database (LFS), International Labour Organization (ILO), uri: https://ilostat.ilo.org/data/bulk/, publisher: ILOSTAT, type: external database, date accessed: September 28, 2026 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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