The report reveals that certain regions are rich in specific types of freelancing talent. For instance, the US is known for its writing and translation work, while India is famous for quality programmers at a cheaper rate, and Bangladesh has an enormous sales and marketing support resource.
India tops the list with 24% of the global online workers residing in the country. Indian workers are highly competitive due to their better education levels and higher technical knowledge. More than 50% of these workers offer software development services globally. The contribution of freelancing to India’s Gross Domestic Product is a massive $400 billion. The country’s popularity in freelancing is due to the reasonable paycheck, which acts as additional or primary income, especially for women professionals and retired people who fail to find adequate jobs due to family and societal pressures.
Bangladesh is the second most popular freelancing destination, comprising 16% of the total pie, with a focus on sales, marketing support, creative and multimedia, software development, and technology. The average wage rate in Bangladesh is meager, making outsourcing a perfect opportunity for people to gain financial independence and earn a better income.
Although the US is not as populous in freelancing as compared to the top two countries, 55 million people rely on it for some extra dollars, and 35% of the American workforce is associated with outsourced work in some way. The outsourced market in the US is evenly distributed among three major segments: software development and technology, creative and multimedia, and writing and translation.
Pakistan ranks fourth, contributing over 8% of the global gig economy, with a rising number of qualified graduates who freelance their expertise. Higher education institutes produce a count of 600 thousand graduates annually from varying fields of business, computer science, and software engineering. Thus, this pool is lured towards freelancing jobs due to their better wage rate. This year, Pakistan has generated a significant amount of $1 billion entirely from freelancing.
The Philippines follows Pakistan in the freelancing rankings, contributing 6% in the global outsourcing market. One of the primary reasons is the highly concentrated job market in the country, which is pushing people towards freelancing. Another interesting reason is the severe traffic problem in urban areas, making a regular job highly challenging for many. Conversely, freelancing is giving them the liberty to work from home without the hassle of traveling. Filipinos are best suited for content writing, customer service, and technical support jobs due to the country’s nomination as one of the best English speaking countries in Asia.
The United Kingdom stands at number 6 in the market share of the global gig economy, dominating some of the major professional services, including accounting, legal services, and business consulting. Out of the total professional services category, the UK comprises 22%. Other services, such as creative and multimedia skills, are also growing. 29% of university students consider freelancing as part of their career plan, with 87% of students taking it along with their first and second-class degrees. The unstable regular job market after Brexit also has a role to play in boosting the freelancing market in the UK.
