Share of Self-employed people in [industry] out of total employment in United Kingdom of Great Britain and Northern Ireland

United Kingdom of Great Britain and Northern Ireland: Share of Self-employed people in [industry] out of total employment was 15.43 % in 2025. ▼ Falling

Latest (2025)
15.43 %
Change on year
down 4.9%
World rank
64th
of 68 countries
All-time high
26.82 %
in 2005
All-time low
15.43 %
in 2025
Years of data
21
2005–2025

Share of Self-employed people in [industry] out of total employment in United Kingdom of Great Britain and Northern Ireland, 2005–2025

01020302005201520252005: 26.8 %2006: 25.4 %2007: 25.1 %2008: 26 %2009: 20.1 %2010: 20.5 %2011: 21 %2012: 20.4 %2013: 18.9 %2014: 19.6 %2015: 18.9 %2016: 18.3 %2017: 18.4 %2018: 17 %2019: 19.2 %2020: 17.4 %2021: 17 %2022: 15.4 %2023: 17.1 %2024: 16.2 %2025: 15.4 %

Source: Food and Agriculture Organization of the United Nations. Measured in %.

Analysis

The most recent figure for share of self-employed people in [industry] out of total employment in United Kingdom of Great Britain and Northern Ireland is 15.43 %, measured in 2025. That is the lowest value across all 21 years on record.

That represents a change of down 4.9% on the previous year and down 18.4% over ten years.

Over the whole period, share of self-employed people in [industry] out of total employment in United Kingdom of Great Britain and Northern Ireland peaked at 26.82 % in 2005 and was at its lowest, 15.43 %, in 2025.

That places United Kingdom of Great Britain and Northern Ireland 64th out of 68 countries with data for 2025, putting it in the bottom quarter.

The long-run direction has been consistently falling across the 21 years of available data.

Share of Self-employed people in [industry] out of total employment in United Kingdom of Great Britain and Northern Ireland, year by year

Annual values for Share of Self-employed people in [industry] out of total employment in [industry] by [sex]: Total AFS employment — Value — Male — All age ranges or no breakdown by age — National — Agrifood systems in United Kingdom of Great Britain and Northern Ireland, 2005 to 2025.
Year % Change
2005 26.82 %
2006 25.45 % -5.1%
2007 25.07 % -1.5%
2008 25.99 % +3.7%
2009 20.12 % -22.6%
2010 20.54 % +2.1%
2011 21.03 % +2.4%
2012 20.42 % -2.9%
2013 18.85 % -7.7%
2014 19.58 % +3.9%
2015 18.9 % -3.5%
2016 18.29 % -3.2%
2017 18.4 % +0.6%
2018 17.03 % -7.4%
2019 19.2 % +12.7%
2020 17.42 % -9.3%
2021 16.99 % -2.5%
2022 15.45 % -9.1%
2023 17.07 % +10.5%
2024 16.22 % -5.0%
2025 15.43 % -4.9%

Averages by decade

DecadeAverage LowestHighest Years
2000s 24.69 % 20.12 % 26.82 % 5
2010s 19.22 % 17.03 % 21.03 % 10
2020s 16.43 % 15.43 % 17.42 % 6

Countries ranked near United Kingdom of Great Britain and Northern Ireland

  1. 61 Rwanda 18.23 % compare
  2. 62 Brunei Darussalam 17.1 % compare
  3. 63 Israel 15.47 % compare
  4. 65 Jordan 8.15 % compare
  5. 66 South Africa 6.46 % compare
  6. 67 United Arab Emirates 4.78 % compare

See the full ranking of 77 places →

More agriculture & rural data for United Kingdom of Great Britain and Northern Ireland

All data for United Kingdom of Great Britain and Northern Ireland →

Frequently asked questions

What is share of self-employed people in [industry] out of total employment in United Kingdom of Great Britain and Northern Ireland?
Share of self-employed people in [industry] out of total employment in United Kingdom of Great Britain and Northern Ireland was 15.43 % in 2025, according to Food and Agriculture Organization of the United Nations.
What is the highest share of self-employed people in [industry] out of total employment recorded in United Kingdom of Great Britain and Northern Ireland?
The highest recorded value was 26.82 % in 2005.
What is the lowest share of self-employed people in [industry] out of total employment recorded in United Kingdom of Great Britain and Northern Ireland?
The lowest recorded value was 15.43 % in 2025.
How does United Kingdom of Great Britain and Northern Ireland rank for share of self-employed people in [industry] out of total employment?
United Kingdom of Great Britain and Northern Ireland ranks 64th out of 68 countries with data for 2025.
Is share of self-employed people in [industry] out of total employment rising or falling in United Kingdom of Great Britain and Northern Ireland?
Over the last ten years it is down 18.4%. The long-run trend across the full record is falling.
Where does this United Kingdom of Great Britain and Northern Ireland data come from?
The figures come from Food and Agriculture Organization of the United Nations, published as part of Share of Self-employed people in [industry] out of total employment in [industry] by [sex]: Total AFS employment — Value — Male — All age ranges or no breakdown by age — National — Agrifood systems. Statizoid updates them automatically from the source API.

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Share of Self-employed people in [industry] out of total employment in United Kingdom of Great Britain and Northern Ireland. Statizoid, drawing on Food and Agriculture Organization of the United Nations. Retrieved 18 September 2026, from https://agriculture.statizoid.com/stat/share-of-self-employed-people-in-industry-out-of-total-employment-in-industry-by-sex-3/united-kingdom-of-great-britain-and-northern-ireland/

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About this data

Indicator
Share of Self-employed people in [industry] out of total employment in [industry] by [sex]: Total AFS employment — Value — Male — All age ranges or no breakdown by age — National — Agrifood systems
Unit
%
Source
Food and Agriculture Organization of the United Nations
Licence
CC BY-NC-SA 3.0 IGO (FAO)
Coverage
77 places, 1,154 data points, 2000–2025
Last refreshed

The Suite of Gender Indicators presents a set of indicators relevant to agrifood systems that are disaggregated by sex, with the aim of highlighting gender differences across agrifood systems. The initial set of indicators is based on those used in FAO’s 2023 Status of Women in Agrifood Systems (SWAFS) report and on the recommendations of an expert consultation held in December 2023, and covers key dimensions including economic participation, governance, agency, social norms, assets and services, education, health, and nutrition. Indicator selection was informed by expert judgment and by the availability of data with sufficient geographic and temporal coverage to enable meaningful comparisons across regions and over time. While most indicators are produced and published by FAO and other international organizations, the objective of this domain is to provide a one-stop shop for sex-disaggregated data on agrifood systems.