Labour force (ILO modelled estimates) in Southern Africa

Southern Africa: Labour force (ILO modelled estimates) was 31,235 in 2027. β–² Rising

Latest (2027)
31,235
Change on year
up 1.3%
Rank
69th
of 87 groups
All-time high
31,235
in 2027
All-time low
16,633
in 1990
Years of data
38
1990–2027

Labour force (ILO modelled estimates) in Southern Africa, 1990–2027

010.0k20.0k30.0k1990200820271990: 16.6k1991: 17.1k1992: 17.4k1993: 17.8k1994: 18.1k1995: 18.3k1996: 18.6k1997: 18.8k1998: 19.2k1999: 19.6k2000: 19.9k2001: 20.3k2002: 20.7k2003: 21.0k2004: 21.4k2005: 21.7k2006: 22.0k2007: 22.3k2008: 22.7k2009: 22.4k2010: 22.1k2011: 22.4k2012: 22.9k2013: 23.7k2014: 24.2k2015: 25.2k2016: 25.5k2017: 26.0k2018: 26.4k2019: 27.1k2020: 25.5k2021: 26.7k2022: 28.0k2023: 29.2k2024: 30.0k2025: 30.4k2026: 30.8k2027: 31.2k

Source: International Labour Organization.

Analysis

The most recent figure for labour force (ilo modelled estimates) in Southern Africa is 31,235, measured in 2027. That is the highest value across all 38 years on record.

That represents a change of up 1.3% on the previous year and up 20.2% over ten years.

Over the whole period, labour force (ilo modelled estimates) in Southern Africa peaked at 31,235 in 2027 and was at its lowest, 16,633, in 1990.

Southern Africa ranks 69th of 87 groups on this measure, in the bottom quarter.

The long-run direction has been consistently rising across the 38 years of available data.

Averages by decade

DecadeAverage LowestHighest Years
1990s 18,153 16,633 19,602 10
2000s 21,449 19,949 22,688 10
2010s 24,549 22,076 27,070 10
2020s 28,982 25,486 31,235 8

Countries ranked near Southern Africa

  1. 66 Zambia 8,596 compare
  2. 67 Nepal 8,462 compare
  3. 68 Romania 8,098 compare
  4. 69 Guatemala 8,021 compare
  5. 70 United Arab Emirates 7,786 compare
  6. 71 Bolivia, Plurinational State of 7,271 compare
  7. 72 Zimbabwe 7,268 compare

See the full ranking of 276 places β†’

More work & labour data for Southern Africa

All data for Southern Africa β†’

Frequently asked questions

What is labour force (ilo modelled estimates) in Southern Africa?
Labour force (ilo modelled estimates) in Southern Africa was 31,235 in 2027, according to International Labour Organization.
What is the highest labour force (ilo modelled estimates) recorded in Southern Africa?
The highest recorded value was 31,235 in 2027.
What is the lowest labour force (ilo modelled estimates) recorded in Southern Africa?
The lowest recorded value was 16,633 in 1990.
How does Southern Africa rank for labour force (ilo modelled estimates)?
Southern Africa ranks 69th out of 87 groups with data for 2027.
Is labour force (ilo modelled estimates) rising or falling in Southern Africa?
Over the last ten years it is up 20.2%. The long-run trend across the full record is rising.
Where does this Southern Africa data come from?
The figures come from International Labour Organization, published as part of Labour force (ILO modelled estimates) (15+). Statizoid updates them automatically from the source API.

Download this data

CSV Β· JSON β€” 38 observations, free to reuse under ILO Terms of Use (attribution required).

Share, cite or embed this page

Cite this page

Labour force (ILO modelled estimates) in Southern Africa. Statizoid, drawing on International Labour Organization. Retrieved 20 August 2026, from https://labour.statizoid.com/stat/labour-force-ilo-modelled-estimates-15/southern-africa/

Embed or link this data

Paste this into a page to link back to these figures. The data itself is free to reuse under ILO Terms of Use (attribution required); please keep the attribution.

<a href="https://labour.statizoid.com/stat/labour-force-ilo-modelled-estimates-15/southern-africa/">Labour force (ILO modelled estimates) in Southern Africa</a> β€” Statizoid

About this data

Indicator
Labour force (ILO modelled estimates) (15+)
Source
International Labour Organization
Licence
ILO Terms of Use (attribution required)
Coverage
276 places, 10,464 data points, 1990–2027
Last refreshed

Imputed observations are not based on national data, are subject to high uncertainty and should not be used for country comparisons or rankings. This series is based on the 13th ICLS definitions. The labour force is the sum of all persons of working age who are employed and those who are unemployed. For more information, refer to the ILO Modelled Estimates (ILOEST) database description.