Asia-Pacific
Employment-protection coverage across Asia-Pacific: composite scores, sources, and the most recent data year for each economy.
Asia-Pacific spans 33 countries in the employment-protection register, with the strongest statutory dismissal protection in Tajikistan (0.661 on the ILO EPLex scale); the regional ILO EPLex average is 0.456 on the 0–1 scale.
21 EPLex · 26 B-READY · 10 OECD · #3 of 4 regions by inventory. Higher = stronger statutory protection.
ILO EPLex Regional Atlas
Asia-Pacific's ILO EPLex regional average is 0.456 across 21 reporting countries; peer regional averages sit at Europe 0.468, Americas 0.352, Middle East & Africa 0.401.
Region EPLex year-mean
Up 0.019 from 2009→2019 · peak 0.462 in 2016 (n=21)
Mean ILO EPLex composite across Asia-Pacific countries with at least five reporters in a year (2009–2019). Latest panel: 0.462 (n=17). Source: ILO EPLex yearly panel via PlainEmploy.
| # | Country | Protection score | Year |
|---|---|---|---|
| 1 | Taiwan 🇹🇼 | 81.4 (B-READY) | 2025 |
| 2 | Hong Kong 🇭🇰 | 74.4 (B-READY) | 2025 |
| 3 | Kyrgyz Republic 🇰🇬 | 69.9 (B-READY) | 2025 |
| 4 | Lao PDR 🇱🇦 | 68.8 (B-READY) | 2025 |
| 5 | Tajikistan 🇹🇯 | 0.661 (EPLex) | 2025 |
| 6 | Samoa 🇼🇸 | 64.0 (B-READY) | 2025 |
| 7 | Pakistan 🇵🇰 | 63.9 (B-READY) | 2025 |
| 8 | Indonesia 🇮🇩 | 0.638 (EPLex) | 2025 |
| 9 | Nepal 🇳🇵 | 62.3 (B-READY) | 2025 |
| 10 | Turkmenistan 🇹🇲 | 0.619 (EPLex) | 2025 |
| 11 | Philippines 🇵🇭 | 0.606 (EPLex) | 2025 |
| 12 | Uzbekistan 🇺🇿 | 0.599 (EPLex) | 2025 |
| 13 | Vanuatu 🇻🇺 | 58.3 (B-READY) | 2025 |
| 14 | Bhutan 🇧🇹 | 55.5 (B-READY) | 2025 |
| 15 | Timor-Leste 🇹🇱 | 55.2 (B-READY) | 2025 |
| 16 | Kazakhstan 🇰🇿 | 0.551 (EPLex) | 2025 |
| 17 | Papua New Guinea 🇵🇬 | 54.0 (B-READY) | 2025 |
| 18 | Viet Nam 🇻🇳 | 0.535 (EPLex) | 2025 |
| 19 | Tonga 🇹🇴 | 49.2 (B-READY) | 2025 |
| 20 | China 🇨🇳 | 0.463 (EPLex) | 2017 |
| 21 | Cambodia 🇰🇭 | 0.455 (EPLex) | 2025 |
| 22 | Afghanistan 🇦🇫 | 0.454 (EPLex) | 2019 |
| 23 | South Korea 🇰🇷 | 0.454 (EPLex) | 2025 |
| 24 | New Zealand 🇳🇿 | 0.431 (EPLex) | 2025 |
| 25 | India 🇮🇳 | 0.430 (EPLex) | 2019 |
| 26 | Azerbaijan 🇦🇿 | 0.423 (EPLex) | 2025 |
| 27 | Australia 🇦🇺 | 0.404 (EPLex) | 2019 |
| 28 | Japan 🇯🇵 | 0.356 (EPLex) | 2019 |
| 29 | Bangladesh 🇧🇩 | 0.354 (EPLex) | 2025 |
| 30 | Sri Lanka 🇱🇰 | 0.337 (EPLex) | 2019 |
| 31 | Thailand 🇹🇭 | 0.302 (EPLex) | 2019 |
| 32 | Malaysia 🇲🇾 | 0.264 (EPLex) | 2025 |
| 33 | Singapore 🇸🇬 | 0.234 (EPLex) | 2025 |
The magnitude bar normalizes each country to a 0–100 protection index for visual comparison; the score column shows the raw value and its source, ILO EPLex (0–1), World Bank B-READY (0–100), or OECD EPL (0–6). Higher = more protective.
Source: ILO EPLex + World Bank B-READY 2025 + OECD Employment Protection Legislation Termination protection composites (EPLex 0-1, B-READY 0-100, OECD 0-6); 33 countries in Asia-Pacific · 2025 EPLex updated periodically by ILO; B-READY released by World Bank in 2025; OECD EPL maintained as a multi-year panel for member countries.
Read our methodology for how this data is sourced, computed, and verified. ILO EPLex eplex.ilo.org