Labor force

This entry contains the total labor force figure.

Country Comparison Ranking

• Afghanistan

  8.478 million (2017 est.)

• Albania

  1.104 million (2020 est.)

• Algeria

  10.859 million (2017 est.)

• American Samoa

  17,850 (2015 est.)

• Andorra

  39,750 (2016)

• Angola

  12.51 million (2017 est.)

• Anguilla

  6,049 (2001)

• Antigua and Barbuda

  30,000 (1991)

• Argentina

  18 million (2017 est.)

  note: urban areas only

• Armenia

  1.507 million (2017 est.)

• Aruba

  51,610 (2007 est.)

  note: of the 51,610 workers aged 15 and over in the labor force, 32,252 were born in Aruba and 19,353 came from abroad; foreign workers are 38% of the employed population

• Australia

  12.568 million (2020 est.)

• Austria

  3.739 million (2020 est.)

• Azerbaijan

  4.939 million (2019 est.)

• Bahamas, The

  196,900 (2013 est.)

• Bahrain

  831,600 (2017 est.)

  note: excludes unemployed; 44% of the population in the 15-64 age group is non-national

• Bangladesh

  66.64 million (2017 est.)

  note: extensive migration of labor to Saudi Arabia, Kuwait, UAE, Oman, Qatar, and Malaysia

• Barbados

  144,000 (2017 est.)

• Belarus

  4.381 million (2016 est.)

• Belgium

  4.122 million (2020 est.)

• Belize

  120,500 (2008 est.)

  note: shortage of skilled labor and all types of technical personnel

• Benin

  3.662 million (2007 est.)

• Bermuda

  33,480 (2016 est.)

• Bhutan

  397,900 (2017 est.)

  note: major shortage of skilled labor

• Bolivia

  5.719 million (2016 est.)

• Bosnia and Herzegovina

  806,000 (2020 est.)

• Botswana

  1.177 million (2017 est.)

• Brazil

  86.621 million (2020 est.)

• British Virgin Islands

  12,770 (2004)

• Brunei

  203,600 (2014 est.)

• Bulgaria

  3.113 million (2020 est.)

  note: number of employed persons

• Burkina Faso

  8.501 million (2016 est.)

  note: a large part of the male labor force migrates annually to neighboring countries for seasonal employment

• Burma

  22.3 million (2017 est.)

• Burundi

  5.012 million (2017 est.)

• Cabo Verde

  196,100 (2007 est.)

• Cambodia

  8.913 million (2017 est.)

• Cameroon

  9.912 million (2017 est.)

• Canada

  18.136 million (2020 est.)

• Cayman Islands

  39,000 (2007 est.)

  note: nearly 55% are non-nationals

• Central African Republic

  2.242 million (2017 est.)

• Chad

  5.654 million (2017 est.)

• Chile

  7.249 million (2020 est.)

• China

  774.71 million (2019 est.)

  note: by the end of 2012, China's working age population (15-64 years) was 1.004 billion

• Christmas Island

  NA

• Cocos (Keeling) Islands

  NA

• Colombia

  19.309 million (2020 est.)

• Comoros

  278,500 (2016 est.)

• Congo, Democratic Republic of the

  20.692 million (2012 est.)

• Congo, Republic of the

  2.055 million (2016 est.)

• Cook Islands

  6,820 (2001)

• Costa Rica

  1.843 million (2020 est.)

  note: official estimate; excludes Nicaraguans living in Costa Rica

• Cote d'Ivoire

  8.747 million (2017 est.)

• Croatia

  1.656 million (2020 est.)

• Cuba

  4.691 million (2017 est.)

  note: state sector 72.3%, non-state sector 27.7%

• Curacao

  73,010 (2013)

• Cyprus

  416,000 (2019 est.)

• Czechia

  5.222 million (2020 est.)

• Denmark

  2.736 million (2020 est.)

• Djibouti

  294,600 (2012)

• Dominica

  25,000 (2000 est.)

• Dominican Republic

  4.732 million (2017 est.)

• Ecuador

  8.086 million (2017 est.)

• Egypt

  24.113 million (2020 est.)

• El Salvador

  2.908 million (2019 est.)

• Equatorial Guinea

  195,200 (2007 est.)

• Eritrea

  2.71 million (2017 est.)

• Estonia

  648,000 (2020 est.)

• Eswatini

  427,900 (2016 est.)

• Ethiopia

  52.82 million (2017 est.)

• European Union

  238.9 million (2016 est.)

• Falkland Islands (Islas Malvinas)

  1,850 (2016 est.)

• Faroe Islands

  27,540 (2017 est.)

• Fiji

  353,100 (2017 est.)

• Finland

  2.52 million (2020 est.)

• France

  27.742 million (2020 est.)

• French Polynesia

  126,300 (2016 est.)

• Gabon

  557,800 (2017 est.)

• Gambia, The

  777,100 (2007 est.)

• Gaza Strip

  1.24 million (2017 est.)

  note: excludes the West Bank

• Georgia

  686,000 (2019 est.)

• Germany

  44.585 million (2020 est.)

• Ghana

  12.49 million (2017 est.)

• Gibraltar

  24,420 (2014 est.)

• Greece

  4 million (2020 est.)

• Greenland

  26,840 (2015 est.)

• Grenada

  55,270 (2017 est.)

• Guam

  73,210 (2016 est.)

  note: includes only the civilian labor force

• Guatemala

  6.664 million (2017 est.)

• Guernsey

  31,470 (March 2006)

• Guinea

  5.558 million (2017 est.)

• Guinea-Bissau

  731,300 (2013 est.)

• Guyana

  313,800 (2013 est.)

• Haiti

  4.594 million (2014 est.)

  note: shortage of skilled labor; unskilled labor abundant

• Holy See (Vatican City)

  4,822 (2016)

• Honduras

  3.735 million (2017 est.)

• Hong Kong

  3.627 million (2020 est.)

• Hungary

  4.414 million (2020 est.)

• Iceland

  200,000 (2020 est.)

• India

  521.9 million (2017 est.)

• Indonesia

  129.366 million (2019 est.)

• Iran

  30.5 million (2017 est.)

  note: shortage of skilled labor

• Iraq

  8.9 million (2010 est.)

• Ireland

  2.289 million (2020 est.)

• Isle of Man

  41,790 (2006)

• Israel

  3.893 million (2020 est.)

• Italy

  22.92 million (2020 est.)

• Jamaica

  1.113 million (2020 est.)

• Japan

  66.54 million (2020 est.)

• Jersey

  59,950 (2017 est.)

• Jordan

  731,000 (2020 est.)

• Kazakhstan

  8.685 million (2020 est.)

• Kenya

  19.6 million (2017 est.)

• Kiribati

  39,000 (2010 est.)

  note: economically active, not including subsistence farmers

• Korea, North

  14 million (2014 est.)

  note: estimates vary widely

• Korea, South

  26.839 million (2020 est.)

• Kosovo

  500,300 (2017 est.)

  note: includes those estimated to be employed in the gray economy

• Kuwait

  2.695 million (2017 est.)

  note: non-Kuwaitis represent about 60% of the labor force

• Kyrgyzstan

  2.841 million (2017 est.)

• Laos

  3.582 million (2017 est.)

• Latvia

  885,000 (2020 est.)

• Lebanon

  2.166 million (2016 est.)

  note: excludes as many as 1 million foreign workers and refugees

• Lesotho

  930,800 (2017 est.)

• Liberia

  1.677 million (2017 est.)

• Libya

  1.114 million (2017 est.)

• Liechtenstein

  38,520 (2012) (2015 est.)

  note: 51% of the labor force in Liechtenstein commute daily from Austria, Switzerland, and Germany

• Lithuania

  1.333 million (2020 est.)

• Luxembourg

  476,000 (2020 est.)

  note: data exclude foreign workers; in addition to the figure for domestic labor force, about 150,000 workers commute daily from France, Belgium, and Germany

• Macau

  392,000 (2020 est.)

• Madagascar

  13.4 million (2017 est.)

• Malawi

  7 million (2013 est.)

• Malaysia

  15.139 million (2020 est.)

• Maldives

  222,200 (2017 est.)

• Mali

  6.447 million (2017 est.)

• Malta

  223,000 (2019 est.)

• Marshall Islands

  10,670 (2013 est.)

• Mauritania

  1.437 million (2017 est.)

• Mauritius

  554,000 (2020 est.)

• Mexico

  50.914 million (2020 est.)

• Micronesia, Federated States of

  37,920 (2010 est.)

• Moldova

  1.295 million (2017 est.)

• Monaco

  52,000 (2014 est.)

  note: includes all foreign workers

• Mongolia

  1.241 million (2017 est.)

• Montenegro

  167,000 (2020 est.)

• Montserrat

  4,521 (2012)

• Morocco

  10.399 million (2020 est.)

• Mozambique

  12.9 million (2017 est.)

• Namibia

  956,800 (2017 est.)

• Nauru

  NA

• Nepal

  16.81 million (2017 est.)

  note: severe lack of skilled labor

• Netherlands

  8.907 million (2020 est.)

• New Caledonia

  119,500 (2016 est.)

• New Zealand

  2.709 million (2020 est.)

• Nicaragua

  3.046 million (2017 est.)

• Niger

  6.5 million (2017 est.)

• Nigeria

  60.08 million (2017 est.)

• Niue

  663 (2001)

• Norfolk Island

  978 (2006)

• North Macedonia

  793,000 (2020 est.)

• Northern Mariana Islands

  27,970 (2010 est.)

  note: includes foreign workers

• Norway

  2.699 million (2020 est.)

• Oman

  2.255 million (2016 est.)

  note: about 60% of the labor force is non-national

• Pakistan

  61.71 million (2017 est.)

  note: extensive export of labor, mostly to the Middle East, and use of child labor

• Palau

  11,610 (2016)

• Panama

  1.633 million (2017 est.)

  note: shortage of skilled labor, but an oversupply of unskilled labor

• Papua New Guinea

  3.681 million (2017 est.)

• Paraguay

  3.428 million (2017 est.)

• Peru

  3.421 million (2020 est.)

  note: individuals older than 14 years of age

• Philippines

  41.533 million (2020 est.)

• Pitcairn Islands

  15 (2004)

• Poland

  9.561 million (2020 est.)

• Portugal

  4.717 million (2020 est.)

• Puerto Rico

  1.139 million (December 2014 est.)

• Qatar

  1.953 million (2017 est.)

• Romania

  4.889 million (2020 est.)

• Russia

  69.923 million (2020 est.)

• Rwanda

  6.227 million (2017 est.)

• Saint Helena, Ascension, and Tristan da Cunha

  2,486 (1998 est.)

• Saint Kitts and Nevis

  18,170 (June 1995 est.)

• Saint Lucia

  79,700 (2012 est.)

• Saint Martin

  17,300 (2008 est.)

• Saint Pierre and Miquelon

  4,429 (2015)

• Saint Vincent and the Grenadines

  57,520 (2007 est.)

• Samoa

  50,700 (2016 est.)

• San Marino

  21,960 (September 2013 est.)

• Sao Tome and Principe

  72,600 (2017 est.)

• Saudi Arabia

  13.8 million (2017 est.)

  note: comprised of 3.1 million Saudis and 10.7 million non-Saudis

• Senegal

  6.966 million (2017 est.)

• Serbia

  3 million (2020 est.)

• Seychelles

  51,000 (2018 est.)

• Sierra Leone

  132,000 (2013 est.)

• Singapore

  3.778 million (2019 est.)

  note: excludes non-residents

• Sint Maarten

  23,200 (2008 est.)

• Slovakia

  2.511 million (2020 est.)

• Slovenia

  885,000 (2020 est.)

• Solomon Islands

  202,500 (2007 est.)

• Somalia

  4.154 million (2016 est.)

• South Africa

  14.687 million (2020 est.)

• Spain

  19.057 million (2020 est.)

• Sri Lanka

  8 million (2020 est.)

• Sudan

  11.92 million (2007 est.)

• Suriname

  144,000 (2014 est.)

• Svalbard

  1,590 (2013)

• Sweden

  5.029 million (2020 est.)

• Switzerland

  5.067 million (2020 est.)

• Syria

  3.767 million (2017 est.)

• Taiwan

  11.498 million (2020 est.)

• Tajikistan

  2.295 million (2016 est.)

• Tanzania

  24.89 million (2017 est.)

• Thailand

  37.546 million (2020 est.)

• Timor-Leste

  286,700 (2016 est.)

• Togo

  2.595 million (2007 est.)

• Tokelau

  1,100 (2019 est.)

• Tonga

  33,800 (2011 est.)

• Trinidad and Tobago

  629,400 (2017 est.)

• Tunisia

  4.054 million (2017 est.)

• Turkey

  25.677 million (2020 est.)

  note: this number is for the domestic labor force only; number does not include about 1.2 million Turks working abroad, nor refugees

• Turkmenistan

  2.305 million (2013 est.)

• Turks and Caicos Islands

  4,848 (1990 est.)

• Tuvalu

  3,615 (2004 est.)

• Uganda

  15.84 million (2015 est.)

• Ukraine

  16.033 million (2017 est.)

• United Arab Emirates

  5.344 million (2017 est.)

  note: expatriates account for about 85% of the workforce

• United Kingdom

  16.033 million (2020 est.)

• United States

  146.128 million (2020 est.)

  note: includes unemployed

• Uruguay

  1.748 million (2017 est.)

• Uzbekistan

  13.273 million (2018 est.)

• Vanuatu

  115,900 (2007 est.)

• Venezuela

  14.21 million (2017 est.)

• Vietnam

  54.659 million (2019 est.)

• Virgin Islands

  48,550 (2016 est.)

• Wallis and Futuna

  4,482 (2013)

• West Bank

  1.24 million (2017 est.)

  note: excludes Gaza Strip

• World

  3.432 billion (2017 est.)

• Yemen

  7.425 million (2017 est.)

• Zambia

  6.898 million (2017 est.)

• Zimbabwe

  7.907 million (2017 est.)