Services employ over 70% of workers in four African countries

Key Takeaways

  • Djibouti had 92.2% of its employed people working in services in 2025.
  • Services accounted for more than half of employment in 18 African countries.
  • Mauritius, South Africa and Libya each had services employment shares above 70%.
  • Nigeria’s services employment share was 49.5%, above sub-Saharan Africa’s 38.5%.
  • Nigeria was slightly below the global services employment share of 50.6%.

More than nine in ten employed people in Djibouti worked in services in 2025, at 92.2%, covering activities such as wholesale and retail trade, transport, hotels and restaurants, finance, education, healthcare and public administration.

According to World Bank data based on modelled ILO estimates, services accounted for more than half of employment in 18 African countries. Mauritius, South Africa and Libya followed Djibouti, each with shares above 70%.

Nigeria’s share stood at 49.5%, above sub-Saharan Africa’s 38.5%, but slightly below the global share of 50.6%.

Source:

World Bank; modeled ILO estimate

Period:

2025
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Related Insights

Nearly half of employed Nigerians worked in services in 2025, up from 36.1% in 1991
  • Agriculture’s share of employment in Nigeria fell from 53.8% in 1991 to 33.5% in 2025.
  • Services became the largest employment sector, accounting for 49.5% of employment in 2025.
  • Services recorded the largest increase, gaining 13.38 percentage points from 1991 to 2025.
  • Industry’s share rose from 10.1% to 17.0%, an increase of 6.93 percentage points.
  • Agriculture recorded the largest change, losing 20.31 percentage points.

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