Population by labor force status in Afghanistan
Afghanistan: Population by labor force status was 18.66 million people in 2025. ▲ Rising
Population by labor force status in Afghanistan, 1991–2025
Source: UN, World Population Prospects (2024) – processed by Our World in Data. Measured in people.
Analysis
Afghanistan recorded 18.66 million people for population by labor force status in 2025. That is the highest value across all 35 years on record.
Compared with earlier readings it is up 2.0% on the previous year and up 19.2% over ten years.
Over the whole period, population by labor force status in Afghanistan peaked at 18.66 million people in 2025 and was at its lowest, 5.86 million people, in 1991.
Afghanistan ranks 21st of 186 countries on this measure, in the top quarter.
The long-run direction has been consistently rising across the 35 years of available data.
Averages by decade
| Decade | Average | Lowest | Highest | Years |
|---|---|---|---|---|
| 1990s | 8.09 million people | 5.86 million people | 9.91 million people | 9 |
| 2000s | 11.84 million people | 10.07 million people | 13.42 million people | 10 |
| 2010s | 15.37 million people | 13.71 million people | 16.88 million people | 10 |
| 2020s | 17.90 million people | 17.28 million people | 18.66 million people | 6 |
Countries ranked near Afghanistan
More work & labour data for Afghanistan
- Legislation on sexual harassment in employment 1 (1=yes; 0=no) (2023)
- Criminal sanctions or compensation for workplace sexual harassment 1 (1=yes; 0=no) (2023)
- Women can take the same jobs as men 0 (1=yes; 0=no) (2023)
- Labor force participation rate, total (% of total population ages 15+) 37.5% (2025)
- Labor force participation rate, male (% of male population ages 15+) 69.8% (2025)
- Ratio of female to male labor force participation rate (%) 7.3% (2025)
- Labor force participation rate, female (% of female population ages 15 5.1% (2025)
- Labor force participation rate, total (% of total population ages 15-6 38.4% (2025)
- Labor force participation rate, male (% of male population ages 15-64) 71.1% (2025)
- Labor force participation rate, female (% of female population ages 15 5.3% (2025)
Frequently asked questions
- What is population by labor force status in Afghanistan?
- Population by labor force status in Afghanistan was 18.66 million people in 2025, according to UN, World Population Prospects (2024) – processed by Our World in Data.
- What is the highest population by labor force status recorded in Afghanistan?
- The highest recorded value was 18.66 million people in 2025.
- What is the lowest population by labor force status recorded in Afghanistan?
- The lowest recorded value was 5.86 million people in 1991.
- How does Afghanistan rank for population by labor force status?
- Afghanistan ranks 21st out of 186 countries with data for 2025.
- Is population by labor force status rising or falling in Afghanistan?
- Over the last ten years it is up 19.2%. The long-run trend across the full record is rising.
- Where does this Afghanistan data come from?
- The figures come from UN, World Population Prospects (2024) – processed by Our World in Data, published as part of Population by labor force status. Statizoid updates them automatically from the source API.
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CSV · JSON — 35 observations, free to reuse under CC BY 4.0 (Our World in Data).
About this data
Population below working age (under 15 years old).