Citation: Bonnet, Florence, Françoise Carré, Martha Chen and Joann Vanek. 2021. Home-Based Workers in the World: A Statistical Profile. WIEGO Statistical Brief No. 27.
Globally, 260 million women and men produce goods or provide services from in or around their homes: 86 per cent (224 million) are in developing and emerging countries and 14 per cent (35 million) in developed countries.
Nearly two-thirds of the world's home-based workers are in Asia & the Pacific and well over half (57 per cent) are women. This brief presents statistics on the numbers of home-based workers and their share of employment by geographic regions and country income groups, the characteristics of their work (industry sector, occupation and status in employment) as well as their personal characteristics (educations and hours of work).
This brief – the outcome of WIEGO's collaboration with the ILO and HomeNet International – was prepared for the launch of HomeNet International. It is based on data drawn from the ILOSTAT database of 118 countries that have a place of work question in their survey.
Key points are contained in:
Statistical Insights on Home-Based Workers in the World - Print version | Web version