Public sector employment in France

France: Public sector employment was 5,852 in 2024. ▲ Rising

Latest (2024)
5,852
Change on year
up 1.7%
World rank
5th
of 42 countries
All-time high
5,852
in 2024
All-time low
5,034
in 2011
Years of data
20
2005–2024

Public sector employment in France, 2005–2024

02.0k4.0k6.0k2005201420242005: 5.5k2006: 5.4k2007: 5.5k2008: 5.2k2009: 5.2k2010: 5.1k2011: 5.0k2012: 5.1k2013: 5.3k2014: 5.6k2015: 5.5k2016: 5.4k2017: 5.4k2018: 5.4k2019: 5.6k2020: 5.6k2021: 5.7k2022: 5.7k2023: 5.8k2024: 5.9k

Source: International Labour Organization.

Analysis

In 2024, public sector employment in France stood at 5,852. That is the highest value across all 20 years on record.

The figure is up 1.7% on the previous year and up 4.8% over ten years.

Over the whole period, public sector employment in France peaked at 5,852 in 2024 and was at its lowest, 5,034, in 2011.

That places France 5th out of 42 countries with data for 2024, putting it in the top 10%.

The long-run direction has been consistently rising across the 20 years of available data.

Public sector employment in France, year by year

Annual values for Public sector employment (previous ILO definition - ICLS13) in France, 2005 to 2024.
Year Value Change
2005 5,484
2006 5,396 -1.6%
2007 5,474 +1.5%
2008 5,232 -4.4%
2009 5,163 -1.3%
2010 5,131 -0.6%
2011 5,034 -1.9%
2012 5,052 +0.4%
2013 5,331 +5.5%
2014 5,587 +4.8%
2015 5,453 -2.4%
2016 5,413 -0.7%
2017 5,380 -0.6%
2018 5,416 +0.7%
2019 5,557 +2.6%
2020 5,617 +1.1%
2021 5,658 +0.7%
2022 5,676 +0.3%
2023 5,752 +1.3%
2024 5,852 +1.7%

Averages by decade

DecadeAverage LowestHighest Years
2000s 5,350 5,163 5,484 5
2010s 5,335 5,034 5,587 10
2020s 5,711 5,617 5,852 5

Countries ranked near France

  1. 2 Brazil 11,337 compare
  2. 3 United Kingdom of Great Britain and Northern Ireland 8,168 compare
  3. 4 Mexico 5,964 compare
  4. 6 Türkiye 5,156 compare
  5. 7 Poland 4,198 compare
  6. 8 Australia 3,678 compare

See the full ranking of 42 places →

More work & labour data for France

All data for France →

Frequently asked questions

What is public sector employment in France?
Public sector employment in France was 5,852 in 2024, according to International Labour Organization.
What is the highest public sector employment recorded in France?
The highest recorded value was 5,852 in 2024.
What is the lowest public sector employment recorded in France?
The lowest recorded value was 5,034 in 2011.
How does France rank for public sector employment?
France ranks 5th out of 42 countries with data for 2024.
Is public sector employment rising or falling in France?
Over the last ten years it is up 4.8%. The long-run trend across the full record is rising.
Where does this France data come from?
The figures come from International Labour Organization, published as part of Public sector employment (previous ILO definition - ICLS13). Statizoid updates them automatically from the source API.

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Public sector employment in France. Statizoid, drawing on International Labour Organization. Retrieved 04 September 2026, from https://labour.statizoid.com/stat/public-sector-employment-previous-ilo-definition-icls13/france/

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About this data

Indicator
Public sector employment (previous ILO definition - ICLS13)
Source
International Labour Organization
Licence
ILO Terms of Use (attribution required)
Coverage
42 places, 557 data points, 1987–2026
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.