Labor force, total - Country Ranking

Definition: Labor force comprises people ages 15 and older who supply labor for the production of goods and services during a specified period. It includes people who are currently employed and people who are unemployed but seeking work as well as first-time job-seekers. Not everyone who works is included, however. Unpaid workers, family workers, and students are often omitted, and some countries do not count members of the armed forces. Labor force size tends to vary during the year as seasonal workers enter and leave.

Source: Derived using data from International Labour Organization, ILOSTAT database and World Bank population estimates. Labor data retrieved in September 2019.

See also: Thematic map, Time series comparison

Find indicator:
Rank Country Value Year
1 China 793,776,700.00 2021
2 India 471,295,300.00 2021
3 United States 165,530,200.00 2021
4 Indonesia 139,164,200.00 2021
5 Brazil 99,427,940.00 2021
6 Pakistan 73,780,210.00 2021
7 Russia 72,054,140.00 2021
8 Bangladesh 69,816,260.00 2021
9 Japan 68,014,220.00 2021
10 Nigeria 64,479,540.00 2021
11 Mexico 57,297,640.00 2021
12 Vietnam 56,150,900.00 2021
13 Ethiopia 55,899,320.00 2021
14 Germany 43,838,140.00 2021
15 Philippines 43,830,400.00 2021
16 Thailand 39,052,020.00 2021
17 United Kingdom 34,743,740.00 2021
18 Dem. Rep. Congo 32,706,540.00 2021
19 Turkey 32,619,100.00 2021
20 France 30,988,680.00 2021
21 Tanzania 29,043,200.00 2021
22 Korea 28,606,250.00 2021
23 Egypt 28,462,520.00 2021
24 Iran 26,410,580.00 2021
25 Colombia 25,913,120.00 2021
26 Italy 25,064,410.00 2021
27 Kenya 24,973,030.00 2021
28 Spain 23,312,310.00 2021
29 South Africa 22,668,440.00 2021
30 Myanmar 22,466,940.00 2021
31 Canada 21,072,280.00 2021
32 Argentina 20,941,280.00 2021
33 Ukraine 20,327,700.00 2021
34 Peru 18,566,810.00 2021
35 Poland 18,283,360.00 2021
36 Uganda 17,351,130.00 2021
37 Nepal 16,994,400.00 2021
38 Dem. People's Rep. Korea 16,934,340.00 2021
39 Malaysia 16,277,080.00 2021
40 Saudi Arabia 16,137,540.00 2021
41 Madagascar 14,461,910.00 2021
42 Uzbekistan 14,276,050.00 2021
43 Mozambique 14,146,460.00 2021
44 Angola 13,971,350.00 2021
45 Australia 13,776,840.00 2021
46 Ghana 13,701,870.00 2021
47 Sudan 13,059,550.00 2021
48 Algeria 12,398,340.00 2021
49 Morocco 11,958,960.00 2021
50 Cameroon 11,954,980.00 2021
51 Iraq 10,719,020.00 2021
52 Venezuela 10,665,680.00 2021
53 Netherlands 9,865,732.00 2021
54 Afghanistan 9,695,428.00 2021
55 Cambodia 9,358,533.00 2021
56 Kazakhstan 9,279,286.00 2021
57 Niger 9,248,760.00 2021
58 Côte d'Ivoire 8,806,026.00 2021
59 Malawi 8,543,391.00 2021
60 Chile 8,500,659.00 2021
61 Romania 8,450,335.00 2021
62 Ecuador 8,447,612.00 2021
63 Sri Lanka 8,189,249.00 2021
64 Zambia 7,839,814.00 2021
65 Burkina Faso 7,796,846.00 2021
66 Mali 7,616,330.00 2021
67 Zimbabwe 7,415,660.00 2021
68 Yemen 6,910,687.00 2021
69 Guatemala 6,699,367.00 2021
70 Rwanda 6,643,722.00 2021
71 United Arab Emirates 6,498,588.00 2021
72 Bolivia 6,311,729.00 2021
73 Sweden 5,557,667.00 2021
74 Syrian Arab Republic 5,447,950.00 2021
75 Czech Republic 5,381,852.00 2021
76 Chad 5,306,205.00 2021
77 Burundi 5,266,055.00 2021
78 Belgium 5,217,353.00 2021
79 Portugal 5,171,689.00 2021
80 Cuba 5,166,765.00 2021
81 Benin 5,147,914.00 2021
82 Haiti 5,068,853.00 2021
83 Azerbaijan 4,970,609.00 2021
84 Dominican Republic 4,966,066.00 2021
85 Switzerland 4,960,001.00 2021
86 Belarus 4,940,660.00 2021
87 Hungary 4,921,575.00 2021
88 Guinea 4,803,817.00 2021
89 Greece 4,653,394.00 2021
90 Austria 4,647,774.00 2021
91 Senegal 4,419,653.00 2021
92 Honduras 4,251,983.00 2021
93 Israel 4,209,156.00 2021
94 Tunisia 4,151,836.00 2021
95 Hong Kong SAR, China 3,865,680.00 2021
96 Lao PDR 3,856,860.00 2021
97 Paraguay 3,714,798.00 2021
98 Singapore 3,441,494.00 2021
99 Bulgaria 3,267,032.00 2021
100 Serbia 3,153,221.00 2021
101 Denmark 3,043,847.00 2021
102 Nicaragua 3,018,328.00 2021
103 Somalia 2,986,038.00 2021
104 Norway 2,974,296.00 2021
105 Togo 2,905,470.00 2021
106 New Zealand 2,896,322.00 2021
107 Finland 2,809,846.00 2021
108 Papua New Guinea 2,805,278.00 2021
109 Slovak Republic 2,782,034.00 2021
110 Oman 2,749,750.00 2021
111 Sierra Leone 2,735,333.00 2021
112 El Salvador 2,722,965.00 2021
113 Jordan 2,658,875.00 2021
114 Kyrgyz Republic 2,546,885.00 2021
115 Ireland 2,495,822.00 2021
116 Tajikistan 2,463,051.00 2021
117 Costa Rica 2,418,503.00 2021
118 Kuwait 2,405,824.00 2021
119 Libya 2,403,691.00 2021
120 Liberia 2,321,145.00 2021
121 Congo 2,215,222.00 2021
122 Qatar 2,208,614.00 2021
123 Lebanon 2,171,593.00 2021
124 Central African Republic 1,996,913.00 2021
125 Panama 1,984,674.00 2021
126 Turkmenistan 1,943,497.00 2021
127 Croatia 1,791,840.00 2021
128 Georgia 1,744,210.00 2021
129 Uruguay 1,714,454.00 2021
130 Eritrea 1,641,174.00 2021
131 Lithuania 1,450,936.00 2021
132 Jamaica 1,438,133.00 2021
133 Albania 1,374,799.00 2021
134 Mongolia 1,347,635.00 2021
135 Mauritania 1,292,596.00 2021
136 Armenia 1,220,498.00 2021
137 Bosnia and Herzegovina 1,175,552.00 2021
138 Puerto Rico 1,125,068.00 2021
139 Slovenia 1,033,560.00 2021
140 Bahrain 1,007,485.00 2021
141 Botswana 971,469.00 2021
142 Namibia 953,472.00 2021
143 Latvia 941,219.00 2021
144 Lesotho 931,154.00 2021
145 North Macedonia 917,597.00 2021
146 Moldova 849,706.00 2021
147 Guinea-Bissau 832,182.00 2021
148 The Gambia 802,452.00 2021
149 Estonia 701,672.00 2021
150 Gabon 689,224.00 2021
151 Trinidad and Tobago 642,296.00 2021
152 Cyprus 636,100.00 2021
153 Mauritius 599,913.00 2021
154 Timor-Leste 567,849.00 2021
155 Equatorial Guinea 503,177.00 2021
156 Macao SAR, China 387,774.00 2021
157 Eswatini 365,820.00 2021
158 Fiji 362,966.00 2021
159 Solomon Islands 360,582.00 2021
160 Bhutan 353,617.00 2021
161 Luxembourg 333,818.00 2021
162 Guyana 299,060.00 2021
163 Montenegro 278,693.00 2021
164 Malta 275,065.00 2021
165 Comoros 235,884.00 2021
166 Suriname 235,722.00 2021
167 Djibouti 224,696.00 2021
168 Cabo Verde 221,054.00 2021
169 Brunei 218,653.00 2021
170 The Bahamas 214,211.00 2021
171 Iceland 196,880.00 2021
172 Belize 178,056.00 2021
173 Barbados 143,364.00 2021
174 New Caledonia 134,632.00 2021
175 Vanuatu 133,619.00 2021
176 St. Lucia 103,488.00 2021
177 São Tomé and Principe 69,907.00 2021
178 St. Vincent and the Grenadines 55,377.00 2021
179 Samoa 53,576.00 2021
180 Tonga 32,468.00 2021

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Statistical Concept and Methodology: The labor force is the supply of labor available for producing goods and services in an economy. It includes people who are currently employed and people who are unemployed but seeking work as well as first-time job-seekers. Not everyone who works is included, however. Unpaid workers, family workers, and students are often omitted, and some countries do not count members of the armed forces. Labor force size tends to vary during the year as seasonal workers enter and leave. Data are generated with World Bank population estimates and ILO estimates on labor force participation rate. The ILO estimates are harmonized to ensure comparability across countries and over time by accounting for differences in data source, scope of coverage, methodology, and other country-specific factors. The estimates are based mainly on nationally representative labor force surveys, with other sources (population censuses and nationally reported estimates) used only when no survey data are available.

Aggregation method: Sum

Periodicity: Annual

General Comments: Data up to 2016 are estimates while data from 2017 are projections.