Persons outside the labour force (current ILO definition - ICLS19) (15+) by country
With the aim of promoting international comparability, statistics presented on ILOSTAT are based on standard international definitions wherever feasible and may differ from official national figures. This series includes only countries for which the 19th ICLS definitions are applied. Persons outside the labour...
What the numbers show
Persons outside the labour force (current ILO definition - ICLS19) (15+) is currently reported for 70 countries. The highest value is 102,846 in United States of America; the lowest is 76.65 in Iceland.
The median across all reporting countries is 2,475, and the mean is 8,190.
The gap between the highest and lowest reporting country is a factor of about 1,342.
Over the past decade 40 countries rose and 26 fell. The largest increase was in Iceland (up 95.6%), and the largest decrease in Republic of Moldova (down 18.3%).
Persons outside the labour force (current ILO definition - ICLS19): full country ranking
| # | Country | Latest | Year | 10-year change | Trend |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| 1 | United States of America | 102,846 | 2025 | up 9.8% | rising |
| 2 | Brazil | 63,352 | 2025 | up 11.1% | rising |
| 3 | Russian Federation | 44,386 | 2025 | up 33.0% | rising |
| 4 | Japan | 39,620 | 2025 | down 11.0% | falling |
| 5 | Germany | 27,503 | 2025 | down 1.3% | flat |
| 6 | Italy | 25,790 | 2025 | down 2.9% | flat |
| 7 | Viet Nam | 24,971 | 2024 | — | rising |
| 8 | France | 24,057 | 2025 | up 4.1% | flat |
| 9 | United Kingdom of Great Britain and Northern Ireland | 21,214 | 2025 | up 7.5% | rising |
| 10 | Spain | 17,282 | 2025 | up 7.7% | rising |
| 11 | Republic of Korea | 16,053 | 2025 | up 0.8% | flat |
| 12 | Poland | 12,622 | 2025 | — | flat |
| 13 | Canada | 12,002 | 2025 | up 21.6% | rising |
| 14 | Ghana | 8,586 | 2024 | up 24.9% | volatile |
| 15 | Taiwan | 8,267 | 2020 | up 1.2% | flat |
| 16 | Romania | 7,750 | 2025 | up 1.5% | flat |
| 17 | Australia | 7,527 | 2025 | up 19.7% | rising |
| 18 | Zambia | 7,435 | 2024 | up 25.8% | rising |
| 19 | Angola | 6,482 | 2025 | up 18.1% | rising |
| 20 | Chile | 6,223 | 2025 | up 15.4% | rising |
| 21 | Zimbabwe | 5,326 | 2024 | up 15.1% | rising |
| 22 | Jordan | 4,983 | 2024 | up 29.5% | rising |
| 23 | Netherlands | 4,701 | 2025 | down 4.9% | falling |
| 24 | Belgium | 4,318 | 2025 | down 0.9% | flat |
| 25 | Greece | 4,241 | 2025 | down 5.2% | flat |
| 26 | Portugal | 3,854 | 2025 | up 4.4% | rising |
| 27 | Czechia | 3,454 | 2025 | down 4.7% | flat |
| 28 | Rwanda | 3,334 | 2025 | down 1.1% | flat |
| 29 | Hungary | 3,070 | 2025 | down 17.8% | falling |
| 30 | Austria | 2,965 | 2025 | up 3.7% | flat |
| 31 | Hong Kong, China | 2,876 | 2025 | up 15.9% | rising |
| 32 | Sweden | 2,811 | 2025 | up 38.4% | rising |
| 33 | Israel | 2,691 | 2025 | up 33.6% | rising |
| 34 | Switzerland | 2,491 | 2025 | up 11.8% | rising |
| 35 | Serbia | 2,477 | 2025 | — | falling |
| 36 | Bulgaria | 2,472 | 2025 | down 12.8% | falling |
| 37 | El Salvador | 2,310 | 2025 | down 3.5% | flat |
| 38 | United Arab Emirates | 2,160 | 2024 | up 18.2% | rising |
| 39 | Costa Rica | 1,876 | 2025 | up 35.7% | rising |
| 40 | Finland | 1,858 | 2025 | down 0.7% | flat |
| 41 | Denmark | 1,768 | 2025 | down 3.0% | flat |
| 42 | Slovakia | 1,749 | 2025 | down 5.6% | falling |
| 43 | Norway | 1,611 | 2025 | up 42.9% | rising |
| 44 | Croatia | 1,520 | 2025 | down 7.9% | falling |
| 45 | Ireland | 1,513 | 2025 | up 7.3% | rising |
| 46 | Bosnia and Herzegovina | 1,470 | 2025 | — | flat |
| 47 | Georgia | 1,367 | 2025 | down 8.5% | falling |
| 48 | Panama | 1,287 | 2025 | up 24.5% | rising |
| 49 | New Zealand | 1,270 | 2025 | up 11.8% | rising |
| 50 | Republic of Moldova | 1,175 | 2025 | down 18.3% | falling |
| 51 | Singapore | 1,163 | 2025 | up 12.4% | rising |
| 52 | Armenia | 1,104 | 2024 | up 21.1% | rising |
| 53 | Uruguay | 1,006 | 2025 | down 2.6% | falling |
| 54 | Lithuania | 919.59 | 2025 | down 9.3% | falling |
| 55 | Mongolia | 916.22 | 2025 | up 13.4% | rising |
| 56 | Kosovo | 791.96 | 2024 | down 14.2% | falling |
| 57 | Slovenia | 735.59 | 2025 | down 2.0% | flat |
| 58 | Botswana | 596.21 | 2024 | down 5.7% | falling |
| 59 | Latvia | 595.38 | 2025 | down 9.9% | falling |
| 60 | Trinidad and Tobago | 491.21 | 2024 | up 19.7% | rising |
| 61 | Estonia | 381.51 | 2025 | down 7.5% | falling |
| 62 | Qatar | 307.29 | 2024 | up 29.3% | rising |
| 63 | Guyana | 306.65 | 2024 | up 22.2% | rising |
| 64 | Cyprus | 282.15 | 2025 | up 11.0% | rising |
| 65 | Luxembourg | 212.75 | 2025 | up 17.2% | rising |
| 66 | Malta | 163.84 | 2025 | up 18.6% | flat |
| 67 | Belize | 121.17 | 2025 | down 1.1% | flat |
| 68 | New Caledonia | 86.33 | 2023 | up 17.0% | rising |
| 69 | Barbados | 79.84 | 2024 | down 0.7% | flat |
| 70 | Iceland | 76.65 | 2025 | up 95.6% | rising |
About this data
With the aim of promoting international comparability, statistics presented on ILOSTAT are based on standard international definitions wherever feasible and may differ from official national figures. This series includes only countries for which the 19th ICLS definitions are applied. Persons outside the labour force comprise all persons of working age who, during the specified reference period, were not in the labour force (that is, were not employed or unemployed). For more information, refer to the Work Statistics -- 19th ICLS (WORK) database description.