Labour indicators by urban-rural territorial typology β€” Labour force by country

<p>This dataset provides labour market indicators aggregated at national level and broken down by urban-rural territorial typology.</p> <p style="text-align: justify;"><strong>Data source and definition</strong></p> <p style="text-align: justify;">The indicators include labour indicators at place of residence by...

Countries reporting
18
Highest
34.93 million Persons
United States
Lowest
120,200 Persons
Iceland
Median
2.33 million Persons
Years covered
30
1995–2024
Data points
346

What the numbers show

Labour indicators by urban-rural territorial typology β€” Labour force is currently reported for 18 countries. The highest value is 34.93 million Persons in United States; the lowest is 120,200 Persons in Iceland.

The median across all reporting countries is 2.33 million Persons, and the mean is 5.86 million Persons.

The gap between the highest and lowest reporting country is a factor of about 291.

Over the past decade 15 countries rose and 3 fell. The largest increase was in Israel (up 40.7%), and the largest decrease in Romania (down 10.4%).

Labour indicators by urban-rural territorial typology β€” Labour force: full country ranking

#Country LatestYear 10-year changeTrend
1 United States 34.93 million Persons 2023 up 6.8% rising
2 Japan 20.26 million Persons 2014 down 4.6% falling
3 France 10.39 million Persons 2014 up 1.6% rising
4 Italy 9.93 million Persons 2017 up 2.1% rising
5 Spain 7.59 million Persons 2014 up 14.6% rising
6 Romania 4.29 million Persons 2009 down 10.4% falling
7 Czechia 2.85 million Persons 2013 up 0.9% flat
8 Sweden 2.64 million Persons 2016 up 8.0% rising
9 Bulgaria 2.36 million Persons 2009 up 4.7% rising
10 Switzerland 2.30 million Persons 2013 up 15.6% rising
11 Norway 1.48 million Persons 2016 up 13.3% rising
12 Denmark 1.35 million Persons 2014 down 3.3% flat
13 Australia 1.29 million Persons 2019 up 13.7% rising
14 New Zealand 1.20 million Persons 2016 up 13.1% rising
15 Austria 1.16 million Persons 2013 up 6.3% rising
16 Israel 1.08 million Persons 2014 up 40.7% rising
17 Luxembourg 346,100 Persons 2024 up 32.7% rising
18 Iceland 120,200 Persons 2008 up 29.4% rising

Regions and income groups

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

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Labour indicators by urban-rural territorial typology β€” Labour force by country. Statizoid, drawing on Organisation for Economic Co-operation and Development. Retrieved 17 August 2026, from https://labour.statizoid.com/stat/labour-indicators-by-urban-rural-territorial-typology-labour-force/

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About this data

Indicator
Labour indicators by urban-rural territorial typology β€” Labour force
Unit
Persons
Source
Organisation for Economic Co-operation and Development
Licence
OECD Terms and Conditions (attribution required)
Coverage
20 places, 346 data points, 1995–2024
Last refreshed

<p>This dataset provides labour market indicators aggregated at national level and broken down by urban-rural territorial typology.</p> <p style="text-align: justify;"><strong>Data source and definition</strong></p> <p style="text-align: justify;">The indicators include labour indicators at place of residence by type of territory. Data is based on a labor force survey using ILO methodology and collected from Eurostat (reg_lmk) for EU countries and via delegates of the OECD Working Party on Territorial Indicators (WPTI), as well as from national statistical offices' websites.</p> <p style="text-align: justify;"><strong>Territorial typology</strong></p> <p style="text-align: justify;">The OECD classifies TL3 regions as predominantly urban, intermediate or predominantly rural; rural regions can be further split into &ldquo;close to city&rdquo; and &ldquo;remote&rdquo; (see methodology <a href="https://www.oecd.org/cfe/regionaldevelopment/OECD_regional_typology_Nov2012.pdf">(pdf)</a>). This typology supports analysis of socio-economic differences across regions. See also the OECD Territorial Correspondence Table <a href="https://webfs-cfe.oecd.org/files/.Stat/region/OECD%20Territorial%20correspondence%20-%20TL2024c.xlsx">(xlsx)</a> and the OECD Territorial grid <a href="https://webfs-cfe.oecd.org/files/.Stat/region/OECD_territorial-grid_TL2024.pdf">(pdf)</a>.</p> <p><strong>Cite this dataset</strong></p> <p>OECD Regions, Cities and Local Areas database&nbsp;<a href="http://oe.cd/geostats">http://oe.cd/geostats</a></p> <p><strong>Further information</strong></p> <ul> <li><a href="https://regions-cities-atlas.oecd.org/">OECD Regions and Cities Statistical Atlas</a></li> <li><a href="https://www.oecd.org/en/publications/oecd-regions-and-cities-at-a-glance-2024_f42db3bf-en.html">OECD Regions and Cities at a Glance</a></li> </ul> <p>For questions and/or comments, please email <a href="mailto:RegionStat@oecd.org">RegionStat@oecd.org</a>.</p>