As of the second quarter of 2024, approximately 13.1 percent of workers in the United Kingdom were self-employed, a significant fall compared with 2019 when the self-employment rate reached a peak of 15.3 percent, just before the arrival of the Coronavirus pandemic.

In the combined Pakistani and Bangladeshi ethnic group in 2021, 16.2% of workers were self-employed, which is the highest percentage out of all ethnic groups.

As of the second quarter of 2024, the self-employment rate for people aged between 16 and 24 was 5.1 percent, rising to 10.9 percent for those aged 25 to 49, 17.5 percent for the 50-64 age group, and 34.4 percent for those aged 65 and over.

As of the second quarter of 2025, there were around 4.4 million self-employed workers in the United Kingdom. During this provided time period, self-employment in the UK has grown steadily, from 3.2 million in December 2000 to a peak of over five million at the end of 2019. After the COVID-19 pandemic, however, self-employment has fallen to levels not seen since the middle of 2015 and has struggled to recover to its pre-pandemic peak. Demographics of the self-employed There has consistently been more men self-employed than women in the UK, with recent figures showing that over 2.8 million men and over 1.5 million women were self-employed. As of 2024, the most likely age group to be self-employed were those aged 65 or over, with over a third of workers in this age group self-employed. In the same year, around 16.5 percent of workers in London were self-employed, compared with the UK average of 13.1 percent, making London the region with the highest rate of self-employment in the UK. Self-employment support scheme In response to the COVID-19 pandemic, the UK government unveiled various measures to mitigate the economic costs to businesses and individuals. For self-employed workers, this manifested itself as the Self-Employment Income-Support Scheme, which was in its third iteration, or tranche, by December 2020. During the first tranche, which ran from March to July, there were 2.7 million claims made in total, with claims to the second and third tranches numbering 2.4 million and 1.7 million, respectively. As of December 13, 2020, the overall value of these claims amounted to 14.5 billion British pounds.

Graph and download economic data for Employment Level - Nonagriculture, Self-Employed Workers, Unincorporated (LNS12032192) from Jan 1948 to Jul 2025 about unincorporated, nonagriculture, self-employed, workers, 16 years +, household survey, employment, and USA.

Graph and download economic data for Employment Level - Agriculture and Related Industries, Self-Employed Workers, Unincorporated (LNU02032185) from Jan 1948 to Jul 2025 about unincorporated, self-employed, agriculture, workers, 16 years +, household survey, employment, industry, and USA.

Egypt: Self-employment, percent of total employment: The latest value from 2022 is 27.42 percent, unchanged from 27.42 percent in 2021. In comparison, the world average is 40.56 percent, based on data from 179 countries. Historically, the average for Egypt from 1991 to 2022 is 38.01 percent. The minimum value, 27.36 percent, was reached in 2020 while the maximum of 44.54 percent was recorded in 1991.

Hong Kong: Self-employment, percent of total employment: The latest value from 2022 is 8.45 percent, an increase from 8.37 percent in 2021. In comparison, the world average is 40.56 percent, based on data from 179 countries. Historically, the average for Hong Kong from 1991 to 2022 is 10.48 percent. The minimum value, 8.37 percent, was reached in 2021 while the maximum of 12.87 percent was recorded in 2002.

Self-employment jobs by industry and sex, UK, published quarterly, not seasonally adjusted. Labour Force Survey data are official statistics in development.

Employees and self-employed, by industry sectors and sex, UK, published quarterly, non-seasonally adjusted. Labour Force Survey. These are official statistics in development.

Graph and download economic data for Income Before Taxes: Self-Employment Income by Deciles of Income Before Taxes: Ninth 10 Percent (81st to 90th Percentile) (CXUSFEMPINCLB1510M) from 2014 to 2023 about self-employed, percentile, tax, income, and USA.

Italy has consistently been the European country with the highest rate of self-employment since 1995, in spite of the share of self-employed people in its workforce declining consistently since 2004, from **** percent in that year, to less than ** percent in 2022. Over this time period, Spain also saw its self-employment rate fall consistently, with the southern European country's share of self-employed workers falling behind that of the UK since 2020. Germany is the European country with notably few self-employed workers, as the country's specialization in large industry means that many more workers are employed in medium or large enterprises.

Global Female Self-Employment Rate by Country, 2023 Discover more data with ReportLinker!

The USA: Self-employment, percent of total employment: The latest value from 2022 is 6.28 percent, a decline from 6.58 percent in 2021. In comparison, the world average is 40.56 percent, based on data from 179 countries. Historically, the average for the USA from 1991 to 2022 is 7.32 percent. The minimum value, 6.09 percent, was reached in 2019 while the maximum of 9.02 percent was recorded in 1991.

The United Arab Emirates: Self-employment, percent of total employment: The latest value from 2022 is 4.47 percent, an increase from 4.41 percent in 2021. In comparison, the world average is 40.56 percent, based on data from 179 countries. Historically, the average for the United Arab Emirates from 1991 to 2022 is 3.35 percent. The minimum value, 2.68 percent, was reached in 1991 while the maximum of 4.94 percent was recorded in 2019.

Kenya: Self-employment, percent of total employment: The latest value from 2022 is 61.4 percent, a decline from 61.91 percent in 2021. In comparison, the world average is 40.56 percent, based on data from 179 countries. Historically, the average for Kenya from 1991 to 2022 is 65.9 percent. The minimum value, 61.4 percent, was reached in 2022 while the maximum of 68.67 percent was recorded in 2006.

This bar chart displays self-employed workers (% of total employment) by region using the aggregation average. The data is about regions.

Self-employed, total (% of total employment) (modeled ILO estimate) in France was reported at 12.92 % in 2023, according to the World Bank collection of development indicators, compiled from officially recognized sources. France - Self-employed; total (% of total employed) - actual values, historical data, forecasts and projections were sourced from the World Bank on September of 2025.

Self-employed, total (% of total employment) (modeled ILO estimate) in Austria was reported at 15.72 % in 2023, according to the World Bank collection of development indicators, compiled from officially recognized sources. Austria - Self-employed; total (% of total employed) - actual values, historical data, forecasts and projections were sourced from the World Bank on September of 2025.

This dataset presents the annual percentage of self-employed and unpaid family workers out of the total labor force in Qatar. The data highlights the consistently low share of these categories within the labor market, offering insight into the dominance of formal wage-based employment and the structure of economic participation in the country.