Statizoid

Labor force (15-64 years), total by country

The labor force comprising people ages 15 to 64 who meet the International Labour Organization definition of the economically active population: all people who supply labor for the production of goods and services during a specified period. It includes both the employed and the unemployed. While national practices...

Countries reporting
52
Highest
55.64 million
Nigeria
Lowest
71,411
Sao Tome and Principe
Median
5.03 million
Years covered
22
1990–2011
Data points
1,276

What the numbers show

Labor force (15-64 years), total is currently reported for 52 countries. The highest value is 55.64 million in Nigeria; the lowest is 71,411 in Sao Tome and Principe.

The median across all reporting countries is 5.03 million, and the mean is 8.78 million.

The gap between the highest and lowest reporting country is a factor of about 779.

Labor force (15-64 years), total: full country ranking

#Country LatestYear 10-year changeTrend
1 Nigeria 55.64 million 2011 up 28.7% rising
2 Ethiopia 46.64 million 2011 up 39.8% rising
3 Egypt 32.02 million 2011 up 37.3% rising
4 Democratic Republic of Congo 29.16 million 2011 up 38.6% rising
5 Tanzania 25.29 million 2011 up 33.1% rising
6 South Africa 21.69 million 2011 up 17.3% rising
7 Kenya 18.17 million 2011 up 34.0% rising
8 Sudan 16.17 million 2011 up 36.1% rising
9 Uganda 15.52 million 2011 up 32.5% rising
10 Algeria 13.51 million 2011 up 27.9% rising
11 Morocco 12.96 million 2011 up 15.8% rising
12 Mozambique 12.44 million 2011 up 26.8% rising
13 Ghana 11.93 million 2011 up 25.5% rising
14 Madagascar 11.49 million 2011 up 37.8% rising
15 Cameroon 9.43 million 2011 up 34.0% rising
16 Burkina Faso 8.79 million 2011 up 37.8% rising
17 Cote d'Ivoire 8.75 million 2011 up 23.0% rising
18 Angola 8.31 million 2011 up 38.1% rising
19 Zimbabwe 7.62 million 2011 up 20.5% rising
20 Malawi 7.58 million 2011 up 39.3% rising
21 Zambia 6.31 million 2011 up 25.4% rising
22 Senegal 6.25 million 2011 up 37.2% rising
23 Rwanda 6.14 million 2011 up 38.7% rising
24 Niger 5.80 million 2011 up 44.3% rising
25 Mali 5.12 million 2011 up 41.6% rising
26 Burundi 5.04 million 2011 up 53.8% rising
27 Chad 5.01 million 2011 up 38.7% rising
28 Guinea 4.69 million 2011 up 26.2% rising
29 Tunisia 4.42 million 2011 up 21.7% rising
30 Benin 4.14 million 2011 up 41.9% rising
31 Somalia 3.38 million 2011 up 22.7% rising
32 Togo 3.36 million 2011 up 36.1% rising
33 Eritrea 3.06 million 2011 up 51.4% rising
34 Libya 2.78 million 2011 up 26.7% rising
35 Sierra Leone 2.64 million 2011 up 44.7% rising
36 Central African Republic 2.30 million 2011 up 25.9% rising
37 Congo 1.93 million 2011 up 35.4% rising
38 Liberia 1.59 million 2011 up 43.7% rising
39 Mauritania 1.30 million 2011 up 44.1% rising
40 Botswana 1.22 million 2011 up 27.8% rising
41 Namibia 1.10 million 2011 up 42.9% rising
42 Lesotho 1.05 million 2011 up 13.2% rising
43 Gambia 872,199 2011 up 40.5% rising
44 Guinea-Bissau 744,981 2011 up 28.1% rising
45 Mauritius 675,951 2011 up 11.3% rising
46 Gabon 671,968 2011 up 35.3% rising
47 Eswatini 489,846 2011 up 29.5% rising
48 Equatorial Guinea 416,668 2011 up 43.2% rising
49 Djibouti 347,000 2011 up 39.3% rising
50 Comoros 282,888 2011 up 37.0% rising
51 Cape Verde 262,084 2011 up 41.0% rising
52 Sao Tome and Principe 71,411 2011 up 35.8% rising

Regions and income groups

Aggregates are excluded from the country ranking above so that a region can never outrank a country.

About this data

Indicator
Labor force (15-64 years), total
Source
International Labour Organization, Key Indicators of the Labour Market database
Licence
CC BY 4.0 (World Bank Open Data)
Coverage
58 places, 1,276 data points, 1990–2011
Last refreshed

The labor force comprising people ages 15 to 64 who meet the International Labour Organization definition of the economically active population: all people who supply labor for the production of goods and services during a specified period. It includes both the employed and the unemployed. While national practices vary in the treatment of such groups as the armed forces and seasonal or part-time workers, in general the labor force includes the armed forces, the unemployed, and first-time job-seekers, but excludes homemakers and other unpaid caregivers and workers in the informal sector.