Potential labour force in Sub-Saharan Africa: Lower-middle income

Sub-Saharan Africa: Lower-middle income: Potential labour force was 18,096 in 2027. ▲ Rising

Latest (2027)
18,096
Change on year
up 3.1%
Rank
22nd
of 87 groups
All-time high
18,096
in 2027
All-time low
9,046
in 2004
Years of data
24
2004–2027

Potential labour force in Sub-Saharan Africa: Lower-middle income, 2004–2027

05.0k10.0k15.0k20.0k2004201520272004: 9.0k2005: 9.2k2006: 9.2k2007: 9.4k2008: 9.5k2009: 9.8k2010: 10.0k2011: 10.2k2012: 10.3k2013: 10.3k2014: 10.8k2015: 11.8k2016: 12.7k2017: 13.0k2018: 14.0k2019: 15.1k2020: 17.1k2021: 16.0k2022: 16.9k2023: 15.8k2024: 16.5k2025: 17.0k2026: 17.6k2027: 18.1k

Source: International Labour Organization.

Analysis

Sub-Saharan Africa: Lower-middle income recorded 18,096 for potential labour force in 2027. That is the highest value across all 24 years on record.

The figure is up 3.1% on the previous year and up 39.7% over ten years.

Over the whole period, potential labour force in Sub-Saharan Africa: Lower-middle income peaked at 18,096 in 2027 and was at its lowest, 9,046, in 2004.

Sub-Saharan Africa: Lower-middle income ranks 22nd of 87 groups on this measure, in the top quarter.

The long-run direction has been consistently rising across the 24 years of available data.

Potential labour force in Sub-Saharan Africa: Lower-middle income, year by year

Annual values for Potential labour force (ILO modelled estimates) in Sub-Saharan Africa: Lower-middle income, 2004 to 2027.
Year Value Change
2004 9,046
2005 9,170 +1.4%
2006 9,228 +0.6%
2007 9,353 +1.4%
2008 9,545 +2.0%
2009 9,792 +2.6%
2010 10,043 +2.6%
2011 10,192 +1.5%
2012 10,257 +0.6%
2013 10,314 +0.6%
2014 10,834 +5.0%
2015 11,819 +9.1%
2016 12,738 +7.8%
2017 12,954 +1.7%
2018 14,037 +8.4%
2019 15,090 +7.5%
2020 17,061 +13.1%
2021 15,983 -6.3%
2022 16,940 +6.0%
2023 15,845 -6.5%
2024 16,514 +4.2%
2025 17,026 +3.1%
2026 17,555 +3.1%
2027 18,096 +3.1%

Averages by decade

DecadeAverage LowestHighest Years
2000s 9,356 9,046 9,792 6
2010s 11,828 10,043 15,090 10
2020s 16,878 15,845 18,096 8

More work & labour data for Sub-Saharan Africa: Lower-middle income

All data for Sub-Saharan Africa: Lower-middle income →

Frequently asked questions

What is potential labour force in Sub-Saharan Africa: Lower-middle income?
Potential labour force in Sub-Saharan Africa: Lower-middle income was 18,096 in 2027, according to International Labour Organization.
What is the highest potential labour force recorded in Sub-Saharan Africa: Lower-middle income?
The highest recorded value was 18,096 in 2027.
What is the lowest potential labour force recorded in Sub-Saharan Africa: Lower-middle income?
The lowest recorded value was 9,046 in 2004.
How does Sub-Saharan Africa: Lower-middle income rank for potential labour force?
Sub-Saharan Africa: Lower-middle income ranks 22nd out of 87 groups with data for 2027.
Is potential labour force rising or falling in Sub-Saharan Africa: Lower-middle income?
Over the last ten years it is up 39.7%. The long-run trend across the full record is rising.
Where does this Sub-Saharan Africa: Lower-middle income data come from?
The figures come from International Labour Organization, published as part of Potential labour force (ILO modelled estimates). Statizoid updates them automatically from the source API.

Download this data

CSV · JSON — 24 observations, free to reuse under ILO Terms of Use (attribution required).

Share, cite or embed this page

Cite this page

Potential labour force in Sub-Saharan Africa: Lower-middle income. Statizoid, drawing on International Labour Organization. Retrieved 24 August 2026, from https://labour.statizoid.com/stat/potential-labour-force-ilo-modelled-estimates/sub-saharan-africa-lower-middle-income/

Embed or link this data

Paste this into a page to link back to these figures. The data itself is free to reuse under ILO Terms of Use (attribution required); please keep the attribution.

<a href="https://labour.statizoid.com/stat/potential-labour-force-ilo-modelled-estimates/sub-saharan-africa-lower-middle-income/">Potential labour force in Sub-Saharan Africa: Lower-middle income</a> — Statizoid

About this data

Indicator
Potential labour force (ILO modelled estimates)
Source
International Labour Organization
Licence
ILO Terms of Use (attribution required)
Coverage
87 places, 2,088 data points, 2004–2027
Last refreshed

Imputed observations are not based on national data, are subject to high uncertainty and should not be used for country comparisons or rankings. This series is based on the 13th ICLS definitions. The potential labour force refers to persons not in employment who express an interest in this form of work but for whom existing conditions limit their active job search and/or their availability. This group is used to calculate alternative measures of labour underutilization. For more information, refer to the ILO Modelled Estimates (ILOEST) database description.