Number of people employed in Africa

Africa: Number of people employed was 371.39 million in 2011. ▲ Rising

Latest (2011)
371.39 million
Change on year
up 2.5%
Rank
1st
of 6 groups
All-time high
371.39 million
in 2011
All-time low
210.59 million
in 1991
Years of data
21
1991–2011

Number of people employed in Africa, 1991–2011

0100.0M200.0M300.0M400.0M1991200120111991: 210.6M1992: 216.6M1993: 222.5M1994: 230.4M1995: 236.9M1996: 243.2M1997: 250.3M1998: 256.9M1999: 264.3M2000: 271.2M2001: 278.3M2002: 286.4M2003: 295.5M2004: 305.9M2005: 315.4M2006: 324.4M2007: 334.4M2008: 344.3M2009: 353.0M2010: 362.3M2011: 371.4M

Source: International Labour Organization, Key Indicators of the Labour Market database.

Analysis

Africa recorded 371.39 million for number of people employed in 2011. That is the highest value across all 21 years on record.

That represents a change of up 2.5% on the previous year and up 33.5% over ten years.

Over the whole period, number of people employed in Africa peaked at 371.39 million in 2011 and was at its lowest, 210.59 million, in 1991.

The long-run direction has been consistently rising across the 21 years of available data.

Averages by decade

DecadeAverage LowestHighest Years
1990s 236.84 million 210.59 million 264.27 million 9
2000s 310.88 million 271.20 million 353.02 million 10
2010s 366.84 million 362.30 million 371.39 million 2

Countries ranked near Africa

  1. 1 Nigeria 48.51 million compare
  2. 2 Ethiopia 39.73 million compare
  3. 3 Congo, Democratic Republic of the 24.52 million compare
  4. 4 Egypt 24.39 million compare

See the full ranking of 56 places →

More work & labour data for Africa

All data for Africa →

Frequently asked questions

What is number of people employed in Africa?
Number of people employed in Africa was 371.39 million in 2011, according to International Labour Organization, Key Indicators of the Labour Market database.
What is the highest number of people employed recorded in Africa?
The highest recorded value was 371.39 million in 2011.
What is the lowest number of people employed recorded in Africa?
The lowest recorded value was 210.59 million in 1991.
How does Africa rank for number of people employed?
Africa ranks 1st out of 6 groups with data for 2011.
Is number of people employed rising or falling in Africa?
Over the last ten years it is up 33.5%. The long-run trend across the full record is rising.
Where does this Africa data come from?
The figures come from International Labour Organization, Key Indicators of the Labour Market database, published as part of Number of people employed. Statizoid updates them automatically from the source API.

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Number of people employed in Africa. Statizoid, drawing on International Labour Organization, Key Indicators of the Labour Market database. Retrieved 22 August 2026, from https://labour.statizoid.com/stat/number-of-people-employed/africa/

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About this data

Indicator
Number of people employed
Source
International Labour Organization, Key Indicators of the Labour Market database
Licence
CC BY 4.0 (World Bank Open Data)
Coverage
56 places, 1,176 data points, 1991–2011
Last refreshed

Total employment shows the total number employed ages 15 and over.