Potential labour force (previous ILO definition - ICLS13) (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 is based on the 13th ICLS definitions. For time series comparability, it includes countries that have...
What the numbers show
Potential labour force (previous ILO definition - ICLS13) (15+) is currently reported for 88 countries. The highest value is 6,916 in Indonesia; the lowest is 1.1 in Barbados.
The median across all reporting countries is 123.38, and the mean is 572.45.
The gap between the highest and lowest reporting country is a factor of about 6,270.
Over the past decade 34 countries rose and 51 fell. The largest increase was in Guatemala (up 4,346.6%), and the largest decrease in Albania (down 89.9%).
Potential labour force (previous ILO definition - ICLS13): full country ranking
| # | Country | Latest | Year | 10-year change | Trend |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| 1 | Indonesia | 6,916 | 2023 | down 15.4% | falling |
| 2 | Brazil | 5,454 | 2025 | up 18.4% | rising |
| 3 | South Africa | 4,135 | 2024 | up 29.1% | rising |
| 4 | Angola | 3,508 | 2025 | up 197.4% | rising |
| 5 | Malawi | 2,259 | 2024 | up 796.4% | volatile |
| 6 | Turkey | 2,140 | 2013 | up 593.3% | volatile |
| 7 | Senegal | 2,074 | 2024 | up 59.5% | rising |
| 8 | Italy | 2,057 | 2024 | down 39.2% | rising |
| 9 | United States | 1,732 | 2025 | down 7.4% | rising |
| 10 | Burkina Faso | 1,486 | 2025 | up 181.3% | rising |
| 11 | Bangladesh | 1,382 | 2024 | up 153.5% | rising |
| 12 | Philippines | 1,234 | 2023 | down 15.8% | rising |
| 13 | Guatemala | 1,217 | 2024 | up 4,346.6% | volatile |
| 14 | Germany | 1,181 | 2024 | up 33.0% | falling |
| 15 | France | 1,167 | 2024 | up 18.5% | rising |
| 16 | Zambia | 952.65 | 2024 | up 26.6% | rising |
| 17 | Chile | 951.13 | 2025 | up 18.8% | rising |
| 18 | United Kingdom | 949.25 | 2025 | down 5.6% | flat |
| 19 | Spain | 870.28 | 2025 | down 18.7% | rising |
| 20 | Russia | 838.43 | 2025 | down 46.1% | falling |
| 21 | Zimbabwe | 713.46 | 2024 | up 44.6% | rising |
| 22 | Rwanda | 650.33 | 2025 | up 906.3% | rising |
| 23 | South Korea | 522.41 | 2019 | up 540.8% | volatile |
| 24 | Sweden | 355.93 | 2024 | up 79.5% | rising |
| 25 | Cote d'Ivoire | 315.38 | 2022 | up 44.5% | volatile |
| 26 | Honduras | 270.7 | 2025 | down 30.4% | volatile |
| 27 | Netherlands | 266.78 | 2024 | down 46.3% | rising |
| 28 | Dominican Republic | 233.53 | 2025 | down 38.8% | falling |
| 29 | Georgia | 218.14 | 2025 | up 87.1% | rising |
| 30 | Poland | 217.71 | 2024 | down 69.7% | volatile |
| 31 | Switzerland | 217.71 | 2025 | — | volatile |
| 32 | Romania | 217.12 | 2024 | down 42.8% | falling |
| 33 | Colombia | 191.01 | 2025 | down 14.4% | falling |
| 34 | Armenia | 183.18 | 2018 | up 2,135.0% | rising |
| 35 | United Arab Emirates | 164.93 | 2023 | up 16.5% | rising |
| 36 | Canada | 160.31 | 2025 | up 25.3% | volatile |
| 37 | Mali | 151.77 | 2024 | up 31.3% | volatile |
| 38 | Finland | 148.78 | 2024 | down 15.6% | falling |
| 39 | Jordan | 142.33 | 2024 | down 31.7% | falling |
| 40 | Kosovo | 141.58 | 2024 | down 31.7% | falling |
| 41 | Ireland | 136.6 | 2024 | up 276.3% | volatile |
| 42 | Austria | 134.15 | 2025 | down 32.5% | rising |
| 43 | Myanmar | 130.46 | 2020 | down 37.8% | falling |
| 44 | Portugal | 126.82 | 2025 | down 53.9% | volatile |
| 45 | Sri Lanka | 119.95 | 2024 | up 551.4% | volatile |
| 46 | Serbia | 108.03 | 2025 | down 72.3% | falling |
| 47 | Greece | 105.91 | 2025 | down 26.8% | volatile |
| 48 | Norway | 100.92 | 2024 | up 51.7% | rising |
| 49 | Denmark | 96.77 | 2024 | up 19.3% | rising |
| 50 | Belgium | 96.52 | 2024 | down 22.3% | rising |
| 51 | Thailand | 92.49 | 2025 | down 22.4% | falling |
| 52 | Costa Rica | 91.72 | 2025 | down 42.0% | falling |
| 53 | Bolivia | 82.37 | 2025 | down 35.4% | falling |
| 54 | Belarus | 69.29 | 2024 | down 54.5% | falling |
| 55 | Hungary | 65.52 | 2024 | down 64.0% | falling |
| 56 | Bulgaria | 58.31 | 2024 | down 77.3% | volatile |
| 57 | Cambodia | 52.05 | 2019 | down 87.2% | volatile |
| 58 | Singapore | 50.76 | 2025 | — | falling |
| 59 | Uruguay | 50.34 | 2025 | down 40.1% | falling |
| 60 | Bosnia and Herzegovina | 49.68 | 2025 | down 68.0% | volatile |
| 61 | Guyana | 44.93 | 2024 | up 0.9% | rising |
| 62 | North Macedonia | 42.51 | 2025 | down 13.0% | flat |
| 63 | Vietnam | 39.73 | 2024 | down 89.8% | volatile |
| 64 | Croatia | 38.69 | 2024 | down 77.9% | falling |
| 65 | El Salvador | 34.59 | 2025 | down 59.2% | falling |
| 66 | Estonia | 32.6 | 2024 | down 5.2% | falling |
| 67 | Czechia | 32.09 | 2024 | down 53.4% | falling |
| 68 | Lithuania | 30.98 | 2024 | up 67.9% | falling |
| 69 | Mongolia | 30.95 | 2025 | down 40.3% | falling |
| 70 | Slovakia | 30.68 | 2023 | down 52.6% | falling |
| 71 | Albania | 25.24 | 2024 | down 89.9% | volatile |
| 72 | Latvia | 24.33 | 2024 | down 54.7% | falling |
| 73 | Palestine | 24.15 | 2025 | down 81.8% | falling |
| 74 | Panama | 20.94 | 2025 | up 93.5% | rising |
| 75 | Luxembourg | 19.72 | 2024 | up 17.9% | volatile |
| 76 | Slovenia | 15.66 | 2024 | down 57.4% | falling |
| 77 | Montenegro | 15.25 | 2024 | down 49.8% | falling |
| 78 | Moldova | 11.96 | 2025 | up 132.5% | volatile |
| 79 | East Timor | 8.87 | 2022 | up 80.3% | volatile |
| 80 | Mauritius | 8.31 | 2024 | down 30.4% | volatile |
| 81 | Iceland | 7.73 | 2023 | down 10.6% | rising |
| 82 | Cyprus | 6.82 | 2024 | down 66.3% | volatile |
| 83 | Brunei | 6.47 | 2024 | down 46.1% | falling |
| 84 | Belize | 4.94 | 2017 | — | falling |
| 85 | Seychelles | 4.29 | 2025 | up 586.4% | volatile |
| 86 | Malta | 2.42 | 2024 | down 14.9% | falling |
| 87 | Saint Lucia | 1.8 | 2025 | down 65.7% | falling |
| 88 | Barbados | 1.1 | 2024 | down 53.5% | falling |
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. 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. Data disaggregated by level of education are provided on the highest level of education completed, classified according to the International Standard Classification of Education (ISCED). Data may have been regrouped from national classifications, which may not be strictly compatible with ISCED. For more information, refer to the Education and Mismatch Indicators (EMI) database description.