Public sector employment (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
Public sector employment (previous ILO definition - ICLS13) is currently reported for 42 countries. The highest value is 21,941 in United States of America; the lowest is 16.76 in Belize.
The median across all reporting countries is 587.64, and the mean is 2,051.
The gap between the highest and lowest reporting country is a factor of about 1,309.
Over the past decade 30 countries rose and 10 fell. The largest increase was in Montenegro (up 228.6%), and the largest decrease in Brunei Darussalam (down 24.0%).
Public sector employment: full country ranking
| # | Country | Latest | Year | 10-year change | Trend |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| 1 | United States of America | 21,941 | 2025 | up 6.3% | rising |
| 2 | Brazil | 11,337 | 2015 | up 25.6% | rising |
| 3 | United Kingdom of Great Britain and Northern Ireland | 8,168 | 2025 | up 17.1% | rising |
| 4 | Mexico | 5,964 | 2026 | down 1.9% | rising |
| 5 | France | 5,852 | 2024 | up 4.8% | rising |
| 6 | Türkiye | 5,156 | 2025 | up 54.7% | rising |
| 7 | Poland | 4,198 | 2025 | up 9.2% | flat |
| 8 | Australia | 3,678 | 2021 | up 25.3% | rising |
| 9 | Spain | 3,549 | 2025 | — | flat |
| 10 | Argentina | 2,123 | 2025 | up 11.7% | rising |
| 11 | Tanzania, United Republic of | 1,378 | 2024 | up 80.4% | rising |
| 12 | Angola | 1,045 | 2025 | up 6.6% | rising |
| 13 | Chile | 904.42 | 2025 | down 18.9% | falling |
| 14 | Switzerland | 803.01 | 2025 | up 13.8% | rising |
| 15 | Greece | 795.84 | 2020 | down 18.3% | rising |
| 16 | Slovakia | 755.5 | 2023 | up 19.3% | rising |
| 17 | Dominican Republic | 731.2 | 2025 | up 33.2% | rising |
| 18 | Serbia | 719.18 | 2020 | up 2.6% | flat |
| 19 | Cambodia | 704.2 | 2025 | up 31.6% | rising |
| 20 | Ghana | 703 | 2024 | down 1.4% | rising |
| 21 | Zambia | 605.39 | 2024 | up 77.1% | rising |
| 22 | Ecuador | 569.88 | 2025 | down 15.1% | rising |
| 23 | Zimbabwe | 439.74 | 2024 | up 28.0% | rising |
| 24 | Austria | 377.79 | 2025 | down 2.8% | falling |
| 25 | Bosnia and Herzegovina | 347.79 | 2025 | up 39.9% | rising |
| 26 | Costa Rica | 330.06 | 2025 | up 11.5% | rising |
| 27 | Rwanda | 320.44 | 2025 | up 138.8% | rising |
| 28 | Panama | 300.55 | 2021 | up 47.2% | rising |
| 29 | Mongolia | 282.35 | 2025 | down 3.1% | flat |
| 30 | Bolivia, Plurinational State of | 266.9 | 2002 | up 72.6% | volatile |
| 31 | Honduras | 252.31 | 2019 | up 33.2% | rising |
| 32 | Uruguay | 249.31 | 2024 | up 1.3% | rising |
| 33 | Montenegro | 232.44 | 2024 | up 228.6% | volatile |
| 34 | Armenia | 230.79 | 2023 | down 5.4% | flat |
| 35 | Paraguay | 224.52 | 2007 | up 27.6% | rising |
| 36 | Albania | 177.93 | 2024 | up 15.1% | flat |
| 37 | Trinidad and Tobago | 132.21 | 2024 | down 23.2% | volatile |
| 38 | Kosovo | 109.04 | 2024 | up 8.2% | rising |
| 39 | Timor-Leste | 89.61 | 2021 | up 123.4% | volatile |
| 40 | Brunei Darussalam | 67.43 | 2024 | down 24.0% | falling |
| 41 | Saint Lucia | 18.66 | 2025 | up 40.2% | rising |
| 42 | Belize | 16.76 | 2017 | — | 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. 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.