Trade union membership rates vary wildly across the world – from 0% in countries where organised labour is outlawed to over 90% in one particular Nordic nation. High rates of membership typically bring better pay, benefits, and working conditions, not to mention less income inequality. Studies also show that trade unions are crucial in closing gender and racial pay gaps.

However, critics argue that organised labour increases costs, decreases productivity and competitiveness, and can cause widespread market disruption through strikes and lockouts.

Read on to discover the union membership rates for 30 selected countries, from the lowest to the highest, according to the most recent reliable data. All dollar amounts in US dollars.

Trade unions are banned in the UAE and striking is strictly prohibited.

Recent years have seen a modicum of progress when it comes to employee rights in the country, but the notorious kafala system – which has been likened to modern slavery – remains in place. Migrant workers, particularly those engaged in construction, domestic service, and security are often subjected to widespread abuses, from verbal, psychological, and physical violence to the withholding of their often meagre pay.

Just 4.7% of employees in Colombia were trade union members in 2019, the most recent year for which reliable data is available. And with anti-union violence rife in the Latin American nation, it's little wonder the figure is so low.

The country has long been regarded as the most dangerous place in the world to be a trade unionist. More than 3,000 have been murdered since 1989, more than the rest of the world combined. Between March 2020 and April 2021, 22 trade unionists were killed, while 15 were murdered between April and October 2022.

Malaysia's trade union movement began in the 1920s before the country gained independence, and it played a crucial role in securing workers' rights.

However, membership has plummeted over the years. Though there are 767 unions in the nation, only 5.8% of the workforce was unionised in 2022, and collective bargaining agreements covered less than 2%. This is partly due to the low level of union awareness among workers. Recent labour reforms, which liken trade union activity to war crimes against the state and terrorism, threaten to further erode Malaysia's labour movement.

According to the latest reliable data quoted by the Labour Rights Index, only 8.5% of Filipino employees were union members as of 2020.

The 2023 International Trade Union Confederation (ITU) Global Rights Index places the Philippines among the 10 worst countries for workers. It joins Bangladesh, Belarus, Ecuador, Egypt, Eswatini, Guatemala, Myanmar, Tunisia, and Türkiye on the list. Unionised workers and their representatives are frequently persecuted for being 'communists' (a process known as red-tagging) and are vulnerable to arbitrary arrest, kidnapping and violence.

In 2022, labour union membership in the US fell to 10.1%, the lowest percentage on record. The figure may come as a surprise since a Gallup poll conducted in August that year found that 71% of Americans approved of unions, the highest percentage since 1965.

Moreover, President Biden describes himself as the most pro-union president in recent times – on 26 September 2023 he became the first POTUS in history to join a picket line – while several unions have won jaw-dropping successes of late. These include the Teamsters, who negotiated a plum deal for UPS workers last year, and the Writers Guild of America. The union ended its historic strike later in September, ratifying a new three-year contract with the Alliance of Motion Picture and Television Producers (AMPTP).

The latest data on union membership in France shows the rate fell from 11% in 2013 to 10.3% in 2019, with just 7.8% of private sector employees signed up to a trade union.

That said, a whopping 98% of French employees are covered by collective bargaining agreements, and the recent movement against pension reform is said to have resulted in an upswing in union membership. Plus, France has seen more strikes than any other European country over the past few years.

According to the OECD, Mexico's union density stood at 12.4% in 2020 (figures for 2021 and 2022 aren't yet available). However, only 10.4% of employees in the country benefit from collective bargaining agreements.

Under pressure from the US and as part of the new US-Mexico-Canada Agreement (USMCA), the Mexican government has enacted labour law reform, so the figure may rise in the future. For years, Mexico's unions have been seen as anti-democratic and, ironically, have actually kept wages low by colluding with unscrupulous employers.

Union membership in Spain is relatively low by European standards. In 2019, the most recent year for which reliable figures are available, only 12.4% of employees were unionised.

However, the country's progressive coalition government has since enacted labour reforms that have reintroduced sectoral collective bargaining agreements. Could this lead to a boost in union membership numbers in the future? Watch this space.

Union membership has sunk to a new low in Australia. At the end of last year, data from the Australian Bureau of Statistics showed that just 12.5% of employees were union members, a drop of almost 2% from 2020.

But the more progressive, pro-union Australian Labor Party (ALP) government, which came to power under Anthony Albanese in 2022, could turn things around. For example, the ALP passed the Fair Work Legislation Amendment (Secure Jobs, Better Pay) Act 2022 (SJBP Act), which bolsters collective bargaining and provides better protections for Aussie workers.

Trade union density in Brazil stood at just over 13% in 2019.

The number is relatively high considering Brazil is one of the most dangerous countries in the world for union organisers and members. Violence against trade unionists and members is common, and Brazil is one of eight countries in which union representatives were murdered last year.

Other nations where union organisers have been victims of homicide in 2023 are the aforementioned Colombia, as well as Ecuador, El Salvador, Eswatini, Guatemala, Peru, and Sierra Leone.

Unlike neighbouring Australia, trade union membership has been growing in New Zealand in recent years. As of March 2022, 14.3% of employees were signed up to a union, an increase of 3% from March 2021.

According to Stuff, which spoke to Massey University management lecturer Zoe Port in 2022, young people are leading the charge, with rising living costs a key driver. The publication even suggested New Zealand could be entering a new golden age for unions.

In Switzerland, 14.8% of employees belonged to a trade union, as per the last count in 2018. The figure has dropped by over 20% since 2000.

Nonetheless, labour unions have a lot of clout in the affluent country and the Swiss Trade Union Federation has led the way in defending the country's robust wage protections. It's currently at loggerheads with the European Commission, which has demanded that EU companies with offices in the country stop paying their workers elevated Swiss salary rates.

Germany's union density came in at 16.3% in 2019, though figures from 2022 show that between 41% and 50% of the German workforce is covered by collective bargaining agreements.

With the cost of living firmly on the up, 2023 saw significant strike action as unions demand large pay rises. On 27 March last year, a major walkout – one of the biggest in decades – crippled train, plane, and public transit services in the country.

Japan has a long history of trade unionism and is famous for its annual "spring offensive" (shuntō), during which unions, businesses and the government come together to negotiate pay increases. Last year's shuntō saw Japanese workers walk away with their fattest rise in decades.

Still, the percentage of Japanese employees who belong to a union dropped by 0.4% in 2022. Union membership now sits at 16.5%, the lowest figure since statistics were first collected in 1947.

In 2017, India's union density stood at 19.8%. Though public support for unions is relatively weak, India has seen several major strikes over the past few years, including a mass two-day walkout in March 2022, during which 50 million workers downed their tools.

However, unions had expected 200 million workers to participate. The relatively low turnout could be because a large proportion of India's workforce simply can't afford to go on strike.

In Singapore, 22.2% of employees are signed-up union members, according to data collated in 2019.

Unlike many other countries, industrial action is rare in the affluent city-state, partly because strikers have to adhere to super-strict labour laws. In fact, there have only been two major strikes in the country over the past few decades: one in 1986 by shipyard workers, and another in 2012 when migrant bus drivers staged a wildcat (unofficial) walkout.

Trade union membership in the UK has been on quite the rollercoaster – it peaked in 1979, nosedived during the anti-union Thatcher and Major governments of the 1980s and 1990s, and then experienced a slower decline to the present day. In 2022, 22.3% of employees were union members, down from 23.1% in 2021.

The cost of living crisis has triggered a tsunami of industrial action in Britain as unions demand pay rises in line with inflation. This has prompted the Conservative government to introduce controversial strike laws that ban workers in key sectors, including healthcare and education, from walking out. Unsurprisingly, the move has attracted criticism from the UK Parliament's joint committee on human rights, civil liberties groups, and the UN's International Labour Organisation (ILO).

Reflecting the situation in a slew of nations around the world, labour union membership in South Africa has been declining “at an alarming rate”, according to Jahnie De Villiers of workers' consultancy service Labour Amplified.

As per figures from the Organisation for Economic Co-operation and Development (OECD), union density in the country currently stands at 23%, down from 29% in 2019. This is despite workers experiencing a sharp decline in real wages, with South Africa grappling with high interest rates and rising prices for everything from food to healthcare and transportation.

Austria's union density rate was around 26% in 2020.

According to The Local Austria, the country hasn't yet seen a wave of labour disputes triggered by the cost of living crisis. This might have something to do with Austria's extremely high collective bargaining coverage, with agreements covering around 98% of workers.

Collective bargaining coverage in Ireland is much lower. It's currently estimated at 34%, while union density is around 27-28%, according to Irish Congress of Trade Unions (ICTU) General Secretary Owen Reidy.

However, a new EU directive is set to change that by obligating the Irish government to promote collective bargaining between unions and employers. The goal is to have around 80% of Irish employees covered.

Russia's union density rate was pegged by the OECD at 27.5% in 2017. More recent figures are unavailable.

Trade unions in the country are incredibly weak, and according to sociologist Pyotr Bizyukov, who spoke to openDemocracy in July 2022, strikes were pretty much banned in 1993. Official figures paint a picture of contented workers and few disputes, but in reality, unofficial protests are common. Bizyukov found that in 2021 alone, there were 400 workplace protests nationwide.

Canada is among the long list of countries that have seen union membership tank over the years. Research from the Angus Reid Institute has found that rates declined from 38% in 1981 to 29% in 2022..

But the tide could be turning. Mirroring the situation in the US, Canada experienced what the media has called a "summer of strikes" after years of minimal industrial action, with grocery employees in Toronto, city staff in Saint John, and port workers in Vancouver all staging walkouts last year.

In 2019, 32.5% of Italy's employees belonged to a labour union, which is relatively high for a southern European country.

But while membership levels are comparatively strong, union power is on the weak side, and Italy has the largest proportion of workers in the informal economy in Europe. Even so, there's been a wave of strikes in the country of late, with multiple unions staging a mass nationwide walkout on 20 October last year.

China's union density stood at 44.3% in 2017.

In theory, Chinese workers have the right to form and join a trade union, but independent unions are effectively banned; unions have to be affiliated with the All-China Federation of Trade Unions (ACFTU), which is strictly controlled by the state. Strikes exist in the People's Republic though, and according to China Labour Bulletin – which monitors industrial action in the country – walkouts have reached new heights following the COVID pandemic as the nation's economy has hit the skids.

Almost half of Belgium's employees belonged to a trade union in 2019, while nearly all workers are covered by collective bargaining agreements.

In contrast to many other EU nations, labour unions remain strong in Belgium and yield much more power, as research conducted in 2022 by the European trade union federation UNI Europa shows.

The Nordic countries boast the world's highest union densities. It's no coincidence these nations are also among the most equal in terms of income, particularly when it comes to the gender pay gap.

In Norway, over half of all employees are signed-up union members, as per the latest data, while the majority are covered by collective bargaining agreements. Unsurprisingly, the country ranked high on the 2023 Worker's Rights Index, securing first place for gender equality and second place for its parental leave standards.

Finland's union density stood at 58.8% in 2018. Collective bargaining agreements cover an even larger proportion, with almost 90% of employees included.

However, the country is facing an autumn of discontent. Labour unions are currently challenging austerity measures and tax cuts for the rich, which were introduced by the new right-wing government and have been described as a sign of a “reverse Robin Hood administration” by union leaders, Euronews reported last year.

Denmark had a union density of 67% in 2019, and collective bargaining agreements cover more than 80% of employees.

As you might expect, the Nordic nation was in the top-rated tier of countries featured in the 2023 Worker's Rights Index, ranking second for both gender equality and work/life balance.

Research from Lund University shows that 68.9% of employees in Sweden belonged to a union in 2022. That's down from 70% the previous year but an increase from 2019, when the figure stood at 67.8%. Almost 90% of Swedish employees are covered by collective bargaining agreements.

Workers' rights are fiercely protected, and Sweden is world-leading in terms of the parental leave it offers employees.

Iceland has the highest trade union density on the planet. In 2020, 92.2% of employees were trade union members, and a similar percentage of workers are covered by collective bargaining agreements.

According to the OECD, wage bargaining is a cornerstone of the Icelandic economy. Powerful unions have made for low income inequality, high inclusiveness, and a narrow gender pay gap. A potential downside is that Iceland experiences periodic bouts of labour unrest, which tend to exacerbate the small economy's propensity for boom and bust cycles.

Now discover what the average person earns in different countries around the world