Labour force, survey
13. Mar 2026
Continuously the highest activity rate in Europe
The labour force consists of those who are able to supply labour. The labour force includes the employed — that is, employees and self-employed persons — and the unemployed. The activity rate shows how large a share of the population is in the labour force.
A large share of the population in the Faroe Islands is connected to the Faroese labour market. In November 2025, the activity rate was 84% among those aged 15 to 74. In recent years, the activity rate has remained stable between 82 and 85%
Activity rate still highest in Europe
The annual labour force survey is conducted in accordance with international standards and the guidelines of the International Labour Organization (ILO) under the United Nations. This makes the Faroese figures comparable with those of other countries, for example with statistics from Eurostat, the statistical office of the European Union.
The Faroese figures are from the fourth quarter of 2025. Eurostat has not yet compiled labour force statistics for this period. The fourth quarter of 2024 is therefore used for comparison. The reason for using the fourth quarter of 2024, rather than more recently published European statistics such as the third quarter of 2025, is that these are more comparable because of seasonal changes in labour force participation across countries. The age range from 15 to 74 is the internationally comparable age span used.
The comparison shows that the activity rate in the Faroe Islands is still the highest in Europe. Iceland has the second-highest activity rate at 80%. In the Faroe Islands and Iceland, the activity rate is considerably higher than in the other Nordic countries. This has been the case for many years. In Sweden, Denmark and Norway, the activity rate is between 73 and 74%, while it is 68% in Finland.
A distinctive feature of the activity rate in the Faroe Islands compared with other countries is that the difference between the sexes is very small. Women have a high activity rate. The activity rate among women is 83.4%, while among men it is 84.7% in the Faroe Islands. That is a difference of 1.3 percentage points. By comparison, the difference between men and women is more than 8 percentage points in Iceland, which has the second-highest activity rate in Europe.
The activity rate among men in the Faroe Islands is 84.7%. In Iceland it is 85.2%, in Denmark 78%, and in the EU on average 71%. Icelandic men have the highest activity rate in Europe, half a percentage point higher than Faroese men.
Among Faroese women, it is 83.4%, while in Iceland it is 75%, in Denmark 71% and in the EU 61%.
The Eurostat figures are available here.
High activity rate among young and older age groups
The activity rate is higher in almost all age groups in the Faroe Islands compared with Iceland, Denmark and the EU. The difference is particularly due to the fact that more women participate in the labour market in the Faroe Islands.
Especially among young people and older persons, the activity rate is high in the Faroe Islands compared with other countries, and this applies to both women and men. Among those aged 15 to 19, the activity rate is 69% in the Faroe Islands. In Iceland it is 70%, in Denmark 57% and in the EU 20%. Among those aged 65 to 69, the Faroese activity rate is 64%. Among those aged 70 to 74, it is 30%, which is double the activity rate in Iceland and Denmark.
The activity rate among Faroese women is well above that of women in other countries in all age groups.
Among men, a difference between the Faroe Islands and the other countries can be seen among those aged 20 to 24 and among the older age groups. In the age groups from 25 up to 60, the activity rate is roughly the same as in Iceland, which is sometimes slightly higher. In the youngest age group, young Faroese men are 10 percentage points below young Icelandic men.
Eurostat activity rates by sex and age are available here.
About the labour force survey
The annual labour force survey is conducted according to international standards and in accordance with the guidelines of the International Labour Organization (ILO) under the United Nations (UN). This makes the Faroese figures comparable with those of other countries, for example in Eurostat’s statistical database. The international standard stipulates that the survey must cover all persons resident in the country aged 15 to 74. The survey is conducted at the end of November each year and determines labour force status for the week that includes 15 November.
The statistical purpose of the survey is to classify persons according to whether they were active during a short reference period. Most persons are classified as employed or unemployed on the basis of a full count derived from administrative registers. Around 9,500 persons remain who cannot be classified. Of these, 1,300 persons are randomly selected to answer a questionnaire. Based on the results of the survey and other statistical sources, the remaining persons are then classified.
New methodology for compiling labour force statistics
A new methodology has been developed to produce a more accurate estimate of the Faroese labour force. The labour force has been revised back to 2015 using this new method. The compilation of the labour force will, as before, be based to a large extent on registers and on a survey covering the part of the population that cannot be classified from registers.
Previously, this latter part of the population, which is compiled using the survey, was grossed up by age, sex and area of residence. Since Statistics Faroe Islands now has more and better structured information, it is possible to create a better model for this part of the population. The model is based on many more variables than the three mentioned above. The new model analyses responses on labour market status from the survey on the basis of, among other things, income (including wages and benefits), household composition, education, residential attachment, student status, marital status, age, sex and area of residence. The variables that prove each year to be best at analysing responses on labour market status are used to compile this part of the population.
Changes in the statistics
The revision based on the new methodology means that the labour force statistics have changed somewhat. In particular, the labour force has decreased slightly, while the number outside the labour force has increased. See the difference between the old and the new labour force estimates below.
Statistics prior to 2015 are not based on registers, but entirely on survey data. For that reason, the figures for those years have not been revised.
Definitions
- The labour force consists of people who are able to supply labour. This includes the employed and the unemployed.
- Employed people are defined as those who during the reference period worked for minimum one hour for wage or salary, or profit or family gain, in cash or in kind. Persons temporarily not at work also count as employed, if they have a formal attachment to their job.
- Unemployed people are defined as those who in the reference period were without a job, actively seeking work and fully available to the job market within two weeks.
- Outside the labour force are individuals who during the reference period were not part of the labour force, meaning they were neither employed nor unemployed. This set of people are also called the ‘inactive population’.
- Population is the total number of people in working age (ie. 15 to 74 years)
- Activity rate is the labour force in % of the population in working age (ie. 15 to 74 years)
- Employment rate is employed in % of the population in working age (ie. 15 to 74 years)
- Unemployment rate is unemployed in % of the labour force
- EA refers to the euro area with a fixed area composition of the current 20 countries (2023).
- EU is the European Union with a fixed area composition of the current 27 countries (2020).