New Unionism Network: Union membership around the world

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State of the Unions

This page presents recent extracts from the New Unionism Network's global union database, drawing on a variety of publicly-accessible annual returns, papers, reports, statements and surveys. For specific source references for any of the figures given, or to suggest further sources, please email us. Before drawing any conclusions based on this data, it is important to read the comments below»

Union membership and rights, by country

Country	Rights report	Membership density (1)	Year	Total members (2)	Year	General trend post 2000 (3)
Afghanistan	US State Dept					Not known
Albania	ITUC	20%	2007	185,000	2007	Not known
Algeria	ITUC	66%	2008	1,532,968	2006	Increase 10-25%
Andorra	US State Dept					Not known
Angola	ITUC					Not known
Antigua and Barbuda	US State Dept	60%	2007	10,000	2007	Not known
Argentina	ITUC	24%	2002	5,528,023	2006	Increase 25-50%
Armenia	ITUC	20%	2010	240,000	2008	Not known
Australia	ITUC	19%	2008	1,800,000	2009	Decrease 1-10%
Austria	US State Dept	26.6%	2008	1,330,000	2005	Decrease 1-10%
Azerbaijan	ITUC			236,220	2009	Not known
Bahamas	ITUC	25%	2008	20,000	2000	Not known
Bahrain	ITUC			25,000	2007	Increase 50% +
Bangladesh	ITUC	3.8%	2008	1,900,000	2008	Decrease 1-10%
Barbados	ITUC	26%	2002	48,600	2000	Not known
Belarus	ITUC	90.5%	2007			Not known
Belgium	ITUC	58%	2008	3,300,000	2005	Increase 10-25%
Belize	ITUC	7%	2008			Not known
Benin	ITUC					Not known
Bhutan	US State Dept					Not known
Bolivia	ITUC	26.6%	2006			Not known
Bosnia and Herzegovina	ITUC					Not known
Botswana	ITUC	20%	2006	60,000	2006	Increase 50% +
Brazil	ITUC	17.8%	2007	13,309,123	2002	Not known
Brunei Darussalam	ITUC			0	2007	Not known
Bulgaria	ITUC	20%	2007	475,970	2008	Decrease 10-25%
Burkina Faso	ITUC					Not known
Burundi	ITUC			17,579	2005	Not known
Cambodia	ITUC	2.9%	2008	97,000	2003	Increase 50% +
Cameroon	ITUC	3.5%	2005			Not known
Canada	US State Dept	29.5%	2009	4,200,000	2009	Increase 1-10%
Cape Verde	US State Dept	22%	2008	33,000	2005	Not known
Central African Republic	ITUC					Not known
Chad	ITUC					Not known
Chile	ITUC	13%	2008	936,000	2008	Increase 50% +
China, People's Republic of	ITUC	90%	2000	212,000,000	2008	Increase 50% +
Colombia	ITUC	4%	2008	742,000	2008	Decrease 10-25%
Comoros	US State Dept					Not known
Congo	ITUC					Not known
Costa Rica	ITUC	16%	2007			Not known
Cote d'Ivoire	ITUC	9%	2008			Not known
Croatia	ITUC	50%	2008	500,000	2005	Not known
Cuba	ITUC	70.6%	2008	3,920,000	2006	Not known
Cyprus	US State Dept	70%	2008	205,852	2008	Increase 10-25%
Czech Republic	ITUC	15%	2008	900,000	2006	Increase 1-10%
Democratic Republic of the Congo	ITUC					Not known
Denmark	US State Dept	72%	2008	1,890,700	2008	Decrease 1-10%
Djibouti	ITUC					Not known
Dominica	US State Dept	33%	2007			Not known
Dominican Republic	ITUC	8%	2008			Not known
East Timor	ITUC					Not known
Ecuador	ITUC	1%	2008			Not known
Egypt	ITUC	16%	2007	4,500,000	2008	Increase 25-50%
El Salvador	ITUC	6.7%	2008	138,447	2002	Increase 1-10%
Equatorial Guinea	ITUC					Not known
Eritrea	ITUC			26,000	2005	Not known
Estonia	ITUC	6.9%	2007	80,000	2004	Decrease 10-25%
Ethiopia	ITUC	1%	2007	300,000	2008	Stability +/- 1%
Fiji	ITUC	31%	2008	45,000	2003	Not known
Finland	US State Dept	64%	2006	2,100,000	2007	Increase 1-10%
France	ITUC	8%	2008	1,800,000	2005	Decrease 1-10%
Gabon	ITUC					Not known
Gambia	US State Dept	10%	2004	51,000	2005	Increase 50% +
Georgia	ITUC	14.9%	2007			Not known
Germany	ITUC	17.5%	2007	8,200,689	2008	Decrease 1-10%
Ghana	ITUC	5%	2004	360,545	2005	Increase 50% +
Greece	US State Dept	280%	2009	650,000	2007	Increase 1-10%
Grenada	US State Dept	56%	2008			Not known
Guatemala	ITUC	3%	2009			Not known
Guinea	ITUC			167,000	2008	Increase 1-10%
Guinea-Bissau	ITUC					Not known
Guyana	ITUC	20%	2008			Not known
Haiti	ITUC	5%	2008			Not known
Honduras	ITUC	8%	2008			Not known
Hungary	ITUC	19.6%	2007	976,000	2004	Increase 1-10%
Iceland	US State Dept	80%	2008	129,619	2003	Increase 10-25%
India	ITUC	2.4%	2005	41,921,636	2002	Increase 25-50%
Indonesia	ITUC	3.6%	2006	3,400,000	2006	Stability +/- 1%
Iran	ITUC					Not known
Iraq	ITUC					Not known
Ireland	US State Dept	34%	2009	632,035	2008	Increase 10-25%
Israel	ITUC	25%	2006	650,000	2005	Decrease 10-25%
Italy	US State Dept	33%	2009	12,000,000	2007	Increase 1-10%
Jamaica	ITUC	20%	2008			Not known
Japan	ITUC	18.5%	2009	10,078,000	2009	Decrease 10-25%
Jordan	ITUC	10%	2008	229,814	2001	Not known
Kazakhstan	US State Dept	31%	2002			Not known
Kenya	ITUC	33%	2006	600,000	2006	Increase 10-25%
Kiribati	US State Dept	10%	2006	800	2006	Not known
Kosovo	US State Dept					Not known
Kuwait	ITUC	2.3%	2002	80,000	2008	Increase 50% +
Kyrgyzstan	ITUC	94%	2008			Not known
Laos	ITUC	1%	2008	12,111	2008	Not known
Latvia	ITUC	11.6%	2007	180,000	2006	Stability +/- 1%
Lebanon	ITUC	6%	2008			Not known
Lesotho	ITUC			25,070	2008	Decrease 10-25%
Liberia	ITUC					Not known
Libya	ITUC			500,000	2005	Not known
Liechtenstein	US State Dept	3%	2008			Not known
Lithuania	US State Dept	10%	2008	200,000	2006	Not known
Luxembourg	US State Dept	39%	2008	150,000	2007	Increase 25-50%
Macedonia, Republic of	US State Dept	50%	2008			Not known
Madagascar	ITUC	10%	2008			Not known
Malawi	ITUC	2.7%	2006	52,000	2005	Decrease 25-50%
Malaysia	ITUC	7.8%	2010	801,604	2005	Increase 1-10%
Maldives	ITUC	0%	2009	0	2009	No unions
Mali	ITUC			137,010	2005	Not known
Malta	US State Dept	65%	2008	86,000	2007	Decrease 1-10%
Marshall Islands	US State Dept	0%	2008	0	2008	No unions
Mauritania	ITUC	22.5%	2002			Not known
Mauritius	ITUC	14.8%	2007	115,000	2004	Not known
Mexico	ITUC	11.2%	2008	4,000,000	2002	Not known
Moldova	ITUC	26.8%	2007			Not known
Monaco	US State Dept	5%	2008			Not known
Mongolia	US State Dept	25%	2008	209,000	2008	Decrease 25-50%
Montenegro	US State Dept	45%				Not known
Morocco	ITUC	5.5%	2008	650,000	2003	Not known
Mozambique	ITUC					Not known
Myanmar	ITUC					Not known
Namibia	ITUC	26%		140,700	2004	Increase 25-50%
Nauru	US State Dept	0%	2008	0	2008	No unions
Nepal	ITUC	7.5%	2008	500,000	2002	Not known
Netherlands	US State Dept	17.7%	2007	1,898,000	2008	Decrease 1-10%
New Zealand	US State Dept	17.2%	2008	373,327	2008	Increase 10-25%
Nicaragua	ITUC	2.1%	2006			Not known
Niger	ITUC	1.1%	2008			Not known
Nigeria	ITUC			8,000,000	2008	Increase 50% +
North Korea	ITUC					Not known
Norway	US State Dept	65.5%	2006	1,576,255	2008	Increase 1-10%
Oman	ITUC					Not known
Pakistan	ITUC	3%	2004	1,000,000	2002	Not known
Palau	US State Dept	0%	2008	0	2008	No unions
Palestinian territories	ITUC					Not known
Panama	ITUC	11%	2005			Not known
Papua New Guinea	US State Dept			125,000	2008	Increase 50% +
Paraguay	ITUC	10%	2008	160,000	2008	Increase 25-50%
Peru	ITUC	7%	2008	415,000	2001	Not known
Philippines	ITUC	1.7%	2007	1,900,000	2008	Increase 50% +
Poland	ITUC	14%	2008	1,775,892	2008	Decrease 10-25%
Portugal	ITUC	14.7%	2003	854,000	2008	Increase 1-10%
Puerto Rico		14%	2002			Not known
Qatar	ITUC					Not known
Romania	ITUC	21.4%	2007	2,120,000	2008	Increase 1-10%
Russian Federation	ITUC			32,700,000	2005	Not known
Rwanda	ITUC	25%	2008			Not known
Saint Kitts and Nevis	US State Dept	10%	2008			Not known
Saint Lucia	US State Dept	25%	2007			Not known
Saint Vincent and the Grenadines	US State Dept	11%	2007			Not known
Samoa	US State Dept					Not known
San Marino	US State Dept	50%	2008	10,500	2008	Not known
São Tomé and Príncipe	US State Dept			5,000	2005	Not known
Saudi Arabia	ITUC	0%	2000		2000	Not known
Senegal	ITUC	2%	2008			Not known
Serbia	ITUC	19%	2007	950,000	2003	Not known
Seychelles	US State Dept					Not known
Sierra Leone	US State Dept	3.6%	2008	24,085	2005	Not known
Singapore	ITUC	20%	2007	500,000	2007	Increase 50% +
Slovak Republic	US State Dept	13.6%	2007	379,041	2008	Decrease 50% +
Slovenia	US State Dept	30%	2008	374,400	2008	Increase 1-10%
Solomon Islands	ITUC					Not known
Somalia	US State Dept					Not known
South Africa	ITUC	24.9%	2008	3,400,000	2008	Increase 10-25%
South Korea	ITUC	6.7%	2006	1,500,000	2007	Decrease 1-10%
Spain	ITUC	11.9%	2006	2,602,028	2008	Increase 25-50%
Sri Lanka	ITUC	25%	2004	1,220,000	2005	Increase 10-25%
Sudan	ITUC			800,000	2007	Not known
Suriname	US State Dept	60%	2008			Not known
Swaziland	ITUC			36,000	2005	Not known
Sweden	US State Dept	65.8%	2007	3,318,400	2008	Decrease 10-25%
Switzerland	ITUC	18.6%	2007	792,498	2002	Increase 10-25%
Syria	ITUC	16.9%	2003	808,419	2008	Increase 50% +
Taiwan	ITUC	28%	2008	2,986,804	2006	Increase 1-10%
Tajikistan	US State Dept	63%	2008	1,300,000	2008	Decrease 10-25%
Tanzania	ITUC	2.2%	2009	373,939	2005	Increase 1-10%
Thailand	ITUC	1.4%	2007	516,000	2006	Not known
Togo	ITUC			73,371	2005	Not known
Tonga	US State Dept					Not known
Trinidad and Tobago	ITUC	20%	2005			Not known
Tunisia	ITUC			539,000	2006	Increase 1-10%
Turkey	ITUC	14.6%	2007	2,901,943	2004	Increase 10-25%
Turkmenistan	US State Dept					Not known
Tuvalu	US State Dept			1,200	2008	Not known
Uganda	ITUC	1.1%	2005	855,000	2008	Increase 50% +
Ukraine	ITUC					Not known
United Arab Emirates	ITUC	0%	2004	0	2002	No unions
United Kingdom	ITUC	27.4%	2009	7,100,000	2008	Decrease 1-10%
United States	ITUC	12.3%	2009	15,300,000	2009	Decrease 1-10%
Uruguay	ITUC	13.3%	2006			Not known
Uzbekistan	US State Dept					Not known
Vanuatu	US State Dept	40%	2006	1,900	2008	Increase 50% +
Vatican City				320	2007	Not known
Venezuela	ITUC	11%	2008			Not known
Vietnam	ITUC			6,200,000	2008	Increase 1-10%
Western Sahara	US State Dept					Not known
Yemen	ITUC					Not known
Zambia	ITUC			232,375	2005	Increase 1-10%
Zimbabwe	ITUC	15%	2004	165,000	2000	Not known

Source: New Unionism Network global union database (extracted 25 March 2010).

Top levels of union density, by country

Country	Rights report	Union density (1)	Year	Total membership (2)	Year	General trend post 2000 (3)
Kyrgyzstan	ITUC	94%	2008			Not known
Belarus	ITUC	90.5%	2007			Not known
China, People's Republic of	ITUC	90%	2000	212,000,000	2008	Increase 50% +
Iceland	US State Dept	80%	2008	129,619	2003	Increase 10-25%
Denmark	US State Dept	72%	2008	1,828,700	2008	Decrease 1-10%
Cuba	ITUC	71%	2008	3,920,000	2006	Not known
Cyprus	US State Dept	70%	2008	205,852	2008	Increase 10-25%
Algeria	ITUC	66%	2008	1,532,968	2006	Increase 10-25%
Sweden	US State Dept	72%	2007	3,318,400	2008	Decrease 10-25%
Norway	US State Dept	65.5%	2006
Malta	US State Dept	65%	2008	86,000	2007	Decrease 1-10%
Finland	US State Dept	64%	2006	2,100,000	2007	Increase 1-10%
Tajikistan	US State Dept	63%	2008	1,300,000	2008	Decrease 10-25%
Antigua and Barbuda	US State Dept	60%	2007	10,000	2007	Not known
Suriname	US State Dept	60%	2008			Not known
Belgium	ITUC	58%	2008	3,300,000	2005	Increase 10-25%
Grenada	US State Dept	56%	2008			Not known
Croatia	ITUC	50%	2008	500,000	2005	Not known
Macedonia, Republic of	US State Dept	50%	2008			Not known
San Marino	US State Dept	50%	2008	10,500	2008	Not known

Source: New Unionism Network global union database (extracted 6 February 2010).

Observations

Union growth
As we have noted elsewhere, the best data we have been able to find seems to show that union decline (viewed internationally) has come to an end, when looked at internationally. Indeed, the movement appears to be entering a fourth wave of growth. We have collected comparable data on union membership (post-2000) for 80 countries. Between them, these cover by far the majority of the world's workers. Of these countries:
     • 51 experienced union growth over the period measured
     • 23 experienced union decline over the period measured
     • A further 6 either experienced stability (meaning less than 1% change), or do not have any unions.
        (figures taken at 24 January 2010)
It is important to note, however, that a 5% growth in membership may be offset than an even higher growth in the number of people employed. Conversely, where the employed labour force declines, 'union density' increases. The figures above do not attempt to capture these trends.

Union density and influence
From Table Two, it seems clear that high levels of union density represent a poor predictor of influence. This can be confirmed by checking rights reports against density figures. By contrast, consider the strong influence of unions in countries like France, Spain and Germany (8%, 15% and 20% density, respectively). So what other factors make unions influential? We will be doing more work on defining and measuring union influence in 2010.

Notes

1] Density
One must avoid comparing union density figures! Some of the figures cited above represent the number of union members as a percentage of those eligible to join; others refer to members as a percentage of employed workers. Some exclude certain sections of the workforce (eg informal economy workers, the military, the agricultural sector); others include members who have not paid union fees in years. Contact us for source references if you want to know how a particular figure(s) was derived.

2] Membership
We have tried to find data which applies the standard definition: 'fee-paying, employed members' (ie excluding retirees, students and the unemployed), however there are times when this data is not available. Again, this makes meaningful comparisons difficult. It also means that we must resist any temptation to produce totals. Contact us for source references if you want to know where a particular figure(s) was found, or how it has been derived.

3] General trend
This should not be taken as a standard and comparable measure of change from the year 2000 up to the cited date. This is what we are aiming for, over time, but there are many countries for whom no so such data series is available. What we have done is to collect as much information as possible and then, where comparable sources exist over time (for years since 2000), we have measured the rate of change. Contact us for source references if you want to know how a particular figure(s) was derived.

4] Rights reports
There are several potential sources for annual reports on rights. Wherever possible we have cited the most recent International Trade Union Confederation (ITUC) report. The US State Department reports for 2008 are better than previous years; in the past more country reports were subject to bias, and until last year much data was simply repeated, year after year, without acknowledging the fact that it was no longer current. Union membership figures from both sources are generally poor, and are often inconsistent, though in saying this we acknowledge the inherent difficulties in collecting such figures.

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