Public sector employment (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...

Countries reporting
89
Highest
21,941
United States of America
Lowest
10.66
Grenada
Median
548.23
Years covered
51
1976–2026
Data points
1,423

What the numbers show

Public sector employment (previous ILO definition - ICLS13) (15+) is currently reported for 89 countries. The highest value is 21,941 in United States of America; the lowest is 10.66 in Grenada.

The median across all reporting countries is 548.23, and the mean is 1,703.

The gap between the highest and lowest reporting country is a factor of about 2,057.

Over the past decade 60 countries rose and 28 fell. The largest increase was in Montenegro (up 228.6%), and the largest decrease in Belize (down 66.6%).

Public sector employment (previous ILO definition - ICLS13): full country ranking

#Country LatestYear 10-year changeTrend
1 United States of America 21,941 2025 up 6.3% rising
2 Brazil 12,786 2025 up 14.9% rising
3 United Kingdom of Great Britain and Northern Ireland 8,168 2025 up 18.2% rising
4 Mexico 5,964 2026 down 1.9% rising
5 France 5,852 2024 up 4.8% rising
6 Pakistan 5,340 2025 up 29.5% rising
7 Egypt 5,264 2024 down 16.6% falling
8 Japan 5,263 2023 up 7.6% falling
9 Türkiye 5,156 2025 up 54.7% rising
10 Canada 4,549 2025 up 29.4% rising
11 Viet Nam 4,309 2024 down 21.0% rising
12 Philippines 4,289 2023 up 41.2% rising
13 Poland 4,198 2025 up 9.2% falling
14 Australia 3,678 2021 up 25.3% rising
15 Thailand 3,675 2025 up 2.7% rising
16 Spain 3,549 2025 up 19.3% rising
17 Iran, Islamic Republic of 3,493 2024 down 3.1% falling
18 Nigeria 3,373 2024 down 35.5% falling
19 Venezuela, Bolivarian Republic of 3,114 2017 up 59.9% rising
20 South Africa 2,790 2024 up 3.8% rising
21 Bangladesh 2,767 2024 up 0.9% rising
22 Argentina 2,123 2025 up 11.7% rising
23 Kenya 2,023 2021 up 41.6% rising
24 Peru 1,625 2025 up 10.5% rising
25 Tanzania, United Republic of 1,378 2024 up 65.7% rising
26 Myanmar 1,240 2020 down 8.6% falling
27 Sri Lanka 1,149 2024 down 3.2% rising
28 Tunisia 1,120 2021 up 61.0% rising
29 Angola 1,045 2025 up 35.6% rising
30 Chile 904.42 2025 down 3.9% rising
31 Colombia 873.39 2025 up 3.9% falling
32 Switzerland 803.01 2025 up 13.8% rising
33 Greece 795.84 2020 down 18.3% rising
34 Slovakia 755.5 2023 up 19.3% rising
35 Dominican Republic 731.2 2025 up 33.2% rising
36 Serbia 719.18 2020 up 2.6% flat
37 United Arab Emirates 710.19 2025 down 7.6% falling
38 Cambodia 704.2 2025 up 60.0% rising
39 Ghana 703 2024 down 1.4% rising
40 Afghanistan 642.83 2021 down 5.4% rising
41 Jordan 640.37 2024 up 3.3% flat
42 Uganda 607.09 2021 up 58.8% rising
43 Zambia 605.39 2024 up 60.9% rising
44 Ecuador 569.88 2025 down 15.1% rising
45 Guatemala 548.23 2025 up 42.1% rising
46 Kyrgyzstan 501.22 2023 up 20.1% rising
47 Bolivia, Plurinational State of 442.31 2025 down 0.2% rising
48 Zimbabwe 439.74 2024 up 28.0% rising
49 Côte d'Ivoire 398.4 2022 up 91.9% rising
50 Austria 377.79 2025 down 2.8% falling
51 Bosnia and Herzegovina 347.79 2025 up 39.9% flat
52 Georgia 336.93 2025 up 17.6% rising
53 Costa Rica 330.06 2025 up 11.5% rising
54 Senegal 329.17 2024 up 20.5% rising
55 Panama 323.46 2025 up 18.4% rising
56 Paraguay 322.25 2025 down 11.2% rising
57 Rwanda 320.44 2025 up 138.8% rising
58 Burkina Faso 294.44 2025 down 7.8% flat
59 Mongolia 282.35 2025 up 14.2% rising
60 Uruguay 272.31 2025 up 12.7% rising
61 El Salvador 266.24 2025 up 30.7% rising
62 Honduras 264.48 2025 up 14.2% rising
63 Republic of Moldova 237.93 2025 down 8.0% falling
64 Montenegro 232.44 2024 up 228.6% volatile
65 Armenia 230.79 2023 down 8.6% falling
66 Mali 225.89 2024 up 46.9% rising
67 Singapore 225.04 2025 falling
68 Albania 177.93 2024 up 2.2% flat
69 Niger 166.12 2022 down 18.3% rising
70 North Macedonia 163.81 2025 up 3.8% flat
71 Jamaica 159.37 2023 up 9.0% rising
72 Botswana 154.13 2024 down 1.4% rising
73 Palestine, State of 141.26 2025 down 38.1% falling
74 Trinidad and Tobago 132.21 2024 down 23.2% volatile
75 Togo 122.71 2022 up 24.4% rising
76 Namibia 117.76 2018 up 5.9% flat
77 Kosovo 109.04 2024 up 8.2% rising
78 Mauritius 106 2024 up 14.6% rising
79 Guyana 97.81 2024 up 82.1% rising
80 Timor-Leste 89.61 2021 up 123.4% volatile
81 Bhutan 84.58 2024 up 56.4% rising
82 Brunei Darussalam 67.43 2024 down 24.0% falling
83 New Caledonia 25.7 2023 down 13.9% rising
84 Barbados 25.61 2024 up 1.7% flat
85 Seychelles 20 2025 up 112.7% rising
86 Saint Lucia 18.66 2025 up 40.2% rising
87 Vanuatu 15.85 2025 down 22.6% volatile
88 Belize 14.42 2019 down 66.6% falling
89 Grenada 10.66 2023 down 8.5% flat

Share, cite or embed this page

Cite this page

Public sector employment (previous ILO definition - ICLS13) by country. Statizoid, drawing on International Labour Organization. Retrieved 06 September 2026, from https://labour.statizoid.com/stat/public-sector-employment-previous-ilo-definition-icls13-15/

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/public-sector-employment-previous-ilo-definition-icls13-15/">Public sector employment (previous ILO definition - ICLS13) by country</a> — Statizoid

About this data

Indicator
Public sector employment (previous ILO definition - ICLS13) (15+)
Source
International Labour Organization
Licence
ILO Terms of Use (attribution required)
Coverage
89 places, 1,423 data points, 1976–2026
Last refreshed

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 employed comprise all persons of working age who, during a specified brief period, were in one of the following categories: a) paid employment (whether at work or with a job but not at work); or b) self-employment (whether at work or with an enterprise but not at work). For more information, refer to the Worker and Sector Profiles (PROF) database description.