Persons outside the labour force (previous ILO definition - ICLS13) 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 is based on the 13th ICLS definitions. For time series comparability, it includes countries that have...
What the numbers show
Persons outside the labour force (previous ILO definition - ICLS13) is currently reported for 57 countries. The highest value is 102,846 in United States of America; the lowest is 113.65 in Seychelles.
The median across all reporting countries is 3,032, and the mean is 8,280.
The gap between the highest and lowest reporting country is a factor of about 905.
Over the past decade 46 countries rose and 10 fell. The largest increase was in Seychelles (up 353.3%), and the largest decrease in Republic of Moldova (down 25.4%).
Persons outside the labour force: full country ranking
| # | Country | Latest | Year | 10-year change | Trend |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| 1 | United States of America | 102,846 | 2025 | up 9.8% | rising |
| 2 | Indonesia | 68,083 | 2023 | up 12.5% | rising |
| 3 | Germany | 31,097 | 2022 | up 7.7% | flat |
| 4 | Italy | 23,959 | 2025 | down 2.6% | falling |
| 5 | France | 23,708 | 2025 | up 7.1% | rising |
| 6 | United Kingdom of Great Britain and Northern Ireland | 21,214 | 2025 | up 7.5% | rising |
| 7 | Poland | 16,874 | 2025 | up 25.0% | rising |
| 8 | Spain | 16,686 | 2025 | up 11.9% | rising |
| 9 | Thailand | 15,123 | 2019 | up 20.5% | rising |
| 10 | Colombia | 14,654 | 2025 | up 10.4% | rising |
| 11 | Sri Lanka | 9,239 | 2024 | up 18.2% | rising |
| 12 | Romania | 7,824 | 2025 | up 4.0% | falling |
| 13 | Peru | 7,355 | 2025 | up 32.4% | rising |
| 14 | Ghana | 7,109 | 2024 | up 84.3% | volatile |
| 15 | Senegal | 6,164 | 2024 | up 40.3% | rising |
| 16 | Chile | 6,152 | 2022 | up 4.1% | rising |
| 17 | Netherlands | 6,106 | 2025 | up 7.7% | rising |
| 18 | Côte d'Ivoire | 5,802 | 2022 | up 21.0% | rising |
| 19 | Tanzania, United Republic of | 5,487 | 2024 | up 32.9% | rising |
| 20 | Belgium | 4,447 | 2025 | up 8.0% | rising |
| 21 | Zambia | 4,409 | 2024 | down 10.4% | falling |
| 22 | Greece | 3,972 | 2025 | down 7.1% | falling |
| 23 | Burkina Faso | 3,834 | 2025 | up 60.8% | rising |
| 24 | Sweden | 3,805 | 2025 | up 20.9% | rising |
| 25 | Portugal | 3,684 | 2025 | up 1.5% | rising |
| 26 | Czechia | 3,530 | 2025 | up 1.0% | flat |
| 27 | Zimbabwe | 3,267 | 2024 | up 171.2% | rising |
| 28 | Austria | 3,259 | 2025 | up 7.7% | rising |
| 29 | Hungary | 3,032 | 2025 | down 15.1% | falling |
| 30 | Bolivia, Plurinational State of | 2,758 | 2024 | up 32.6% | rising |
| 31 | Switzerland | 2,723 | 2024 | up 13.7% | rising |
| 32 | Cambodia | 2,448 | 2023 | up 19.5% | rising |
| 33 | Israel | 2,396 | 2023 | up 17.0% | rising |
| 34 | Serbia | 2,351 | 2025 | down 9.9% | falling |
| 35 | Finland | 2,157 | 2025 | up 10.7% | rising |
| 36 | Bulgaria | 2,145 | 2025 | down 10.6% | falling |
| 37 | Denmark | 2,114 | 2025 | up 6.1% | rising |
| 38 | Rwanda | 2,051 | 2025 | up 88.1% | rising |
| 39 | Costa Rica | 1,969 | 2025 | up 30.7% | rising |
| 40 | Norway | 1,923 | 2025 | up 21.7% | rising |
| 41 | Palestine, State of | 1,838 | 2022 | — | rising |
| 42 | Slovakia | 1,700 | 2025 | up 4.8% | falling |
| 43 | Ireland | 1,587 | 2025 | up 5.4% | rising |
| 44 | Togo | 1,420 | 2022 | up 86.9% | rising |
| 45 | Croatia | 1,379 | 2025 | down 11.5% | falling |
| 46 | Mongolia | 907.42 | 2025 | up 11.6% | rising |
| 47 | Lithuania | 905.15 | 2025 | down 10.1% | falling |
| 48 | Slovenia | 751.02 | 2025 | up 6.6% | flat |
| 49 | Armenia | 707.22 | 2023 | down 11.8% | falling |
| 50 | Latvia | 697.99 | 2025 | up 2.4% | falling |
| 51 | Republic of Moldova | 545.79 | 2025 | down 25.4% | falling |
| 52 | Botswana | 511.15 | 2024 | up 13.3% | rising |
| 53 | Estonia | 502.01 | 2025 | up 20.1% | rising |
| 54 | Cyprus | 298.67 | 2025 | up 17.8% | rising |
| 55 | Luxembourg | 218.12 | 2025 | up 29.1% | rising |
| 56 | Iceland | 118.09 | 2020 | up 42.0% | rising |
| 57 | Seychelles | 113.65 | 2025 | up 353.3% | volatile |
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 is based on the 13th ICLS definitions. For time series comparability, it includes countries that have implemented the 19th ICLS standards, for which data are also available in the Work Statistics -- 19th ICLS (WORK) database. 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). The term disability, as defined in the International Classification of Functioning, Disability and Health (ICF), is used as an umbrella term, covering impairments, activity limitations, and participation restrictions. For measurement purposes, a person with disability is defined as a person who is limited in the kind or amount of activities that he or she can do because of ongoing difficulties due to a long-term physical condition, mental condition or health problem. For more information, refer to the Disability Labour Market Indicators (DLMI) database description.