Countries in North America Ranked by Labour force size (2025)
Labour force size: each country's latest value (2020–2025), ranked from highest to lowest. Source: The World Bank (CC BY 4.0).
Summary
United States ranks #1 with 174.83 million people. That is 2.8 times Mexico in second place (61.71 million people). The top five are United States, Mexico, Canada, Guatemala and Dominican Republic. Together the top 10 account for 97% of the total across the 21 countries in North America listed. The median across all 21 is 2.43 million people; Virgin Islands (US) is last at 47,132 people. United States's figure has risen 18% since 2001 (148.21 million people to 174.83 million people in 2025).
- #1
- United States · 174.83 million people
- Median
- 2.43 million people
- Coverage
- 21 countries in North America
- Data year
- 2025
- Last updated
- 2026-11-14
United States 57.8%Mexico 20.4%Canada 7.6%Guatemala 2.5%Dominican Republic 1.8%All others 9.8%
Full ranking
| Rank | Country | Labour force size (people) |
|---|---|---|
| 1 | United States | 174,830,000 |
| 2 | Mexico | 61,707,000 |
| 3 | Canada | 22,846,000 |
| 4 | Guatemala | 7,684,800 |
| 5 | Dominican Republic | 5,512,800 |
| 6 | Haiti | 5,268,200 |
| 7 | Cuba | 4,855,900 |
| 8 | Honduras | 4,340,800 |
| 9 | Nicaragua | 3,319,200 |
| 10 | El Salvador | 2,989,400 |
| 11 | Costa Rica | 2,427,200 |
| 12 | Panama | 2,287,500 |
| 13 | Jamaica | 1,612,800 |
| 14 | Puerto Rico (US) | 1,209,300 |
| 15 | Trinidad and Tobago | 651,720 |
| 16 | Bahamas, The | 245,160 |
| 17 | Belize | 184,290 |
| 18 | Barbados | 151,620 |
| 19 | St. Lucia | 101,770 |
| 20 | St. Vincent and the Grenadines | 53,688 |
| 21 | Virgin Islands (US) | 47,132 |
About the top 10
#1 United States
United States ranks #1 on this list with 174.83 million people.
- Capital
- Washington, D.C.
- Continent
- North America
- Income group
- High income
- Population
- 341.78 million people (2025)
- GDP
- US$30.77 trillion (2025)
- GDP per person
- US$90,027 (2025)
- Life expectancy
- 78.9 years (2024)
- Urban population
- 80.2% of population (2025)
Largest cities: New York metropolitan area, New York City, Chicago.
Also ranks #1 in gdp (current us$) · #1 in health expenditure per capita · #1 in imports of goods and services.
#2 Mexico
Mexico ranks #2 on this list with 61.71 million people.
- Capital
- Mexico City
- Continent
- North America
- Income group
- Upper middle income
- Population
- 131.95 million people (2025)
- GDP
- US$1.83 trillion (2025)
- GDP per person
- US$13,889 (2025)
- Life expectancy
- 75.3 years (2024)
- Urban population
- 80% of population (2025)
Largest cities: Greater Mexico City, Mexico City, Tijuana.
Also ranks #2 in remittances received · #3 in tourism arrivals · #4 in external debt stocks.
#3 Canada
Canada ranks #3 on this list with 22.85 million people.
- Capital
- Ottawa
- Continent
- North America
- Income group
- High income
- Population
- 41.65 million people (2025)
- GDP
- US$2.32 trillion (2025)
- GDP per person
- US$55,698 (2025)
- Life expectancy
- 82.1 years (2024)
- Urban population
- 82.9% of population (2025)
Largest cities: Toronto, Montreal, Calgary.
Also ranks #2 in surface area · #3 in forest area · #4 in land area.
#4 Guatemala
Guatemala ranks #4 on this list with 7.68 million people.
- Capital
- Guatemala City
- Continent
- North America
- Income group
- Upper middle income
- Population
- 18.69 million people (2025)
- GDP
- US$123.31 billion (2025)
- GDP per person
- US$6,598 (2025)
- Life expectancy
- 72.7 years (2024)
- Urban population
- 56.3% of population (2025)
Also ranks #5 in prevalence of stunting (under-5) · #9 in remittances received · #12 in gini index.
#5 Dominican Republic
Dominican Republic ranks #5 on this list with 5.51 million people.
- Capital
- Santo Domingo
- Continent
- North America
- Income group
- Upper middle income
- Population
- 11.52 million people (2025)
- GDP
- US$127.41 billion (2025)
- GDP per person
- US$11,059 (2025)
- Life expectancy
- 73.9 years (2024)
- Urban population
- 72.5% of population (2025)
Largest cities: Santo Domingo.
Also ranks #4 in crop production index · #14 in deposit interest rate · #19 in remittances received.
#6 Haiti
Haiti ranks #6 on this list with 5.27 million people.
- Capital
- Port-au-Prince
- Continent
- North America
- Income group
- Lower middle income
- Population
- 11.91 million people (2025)
- GDP
- US$32.08 billion (2025)
- GDP per person
- US$2,694 (2025)
- Life expectancy
- 65.1 years (2024)
- Urban population
- 55.6% of population (2025)
Also ranks #2 in prevalence of undernourishment · #4 in time to start a business (days) · #7 in homicide rate.
#7 Cuba
Cuba ranks #7 on this list with 4.86 million people.
- Capital
- Havana
- Continent
- North America
- Income group
- Upper middle income
- Population
- 10.94 million people (2025)
- GDP
- US$107.35 billion (2020)
- GDP per person
- US$9,605 (2020)
- Life expectancy
- 78.3 years (2024)
- Urban population
- 77.2% of population (2025)
Largest cities: Havana.
Also ranks #1 in physicians per 1,000 · #2 in women in parliament share · #3 in immunisation (measles) rate.
#8 Honduras
Honduras ranks #8 on this list with 4.34 million people.
- Capital
- Tegucigalpa
- Continent
- North America
- Income group
- Lower middle income
- Population
- 11.01 million people (2025)
- GDP
- US$39.6 billion (2025)
- GDP per person
- US$3,598 (2025)
- Life expectancy
- 73 years (2024)
- Urban population
- 59.3% of population (2025)
Largest cities: Tegucigalpa.
Also ranks #6 in deposit interest rate · #10 in gini index · #11 in homicide rate.
#9 Nicaragua
Nicaragua ranks #9 on this list with 3.32 million people.
- Capital
- Managua
- Continent
- North America
- Income group
- Lower middle income
- Population
- 7.01 million people (2025)
- GDP
- US$22.24 billion (2025)
- GDP per person
- US$3,173 (2025)
- Life expectancy
- 75.1 years (2024)
- Urban population
- 59.4% of population (2025)
Also ranks #3 in women in parliament share · #3 in women in ministerial positions share · #28 in homicide rate.
#10 El Salvador
El Salvador ranks #10 on this list with 2.99 million people.
- Capital
- San Salvador
- Continent
- North America
- Income group
- Upper middle income
- Population
- 6.37 million people (2025)
- GDP
- US$36.71 billion (2025)
- GDP per person
- US$5,767 (2025)
- Life expectancy
- 72.3 years (2024)
- Urban population
- 75.5% of population (2025)
Also ranks #1 in debt service share of exports · #6 in government debt share of gdp · #14 in mobile subscriptions per 100.
Profile facts: World Bank (CC BY 4.0) and Wikidata (CC0); weather links go to Purr Weather, another ChowChow Labs site.
Source and method
Labour force size: each country's latest value (2020–2025), ranked from highest to lowest.
Source: The World Bank, indicator SL.TLF.TOTL.IN. Licence: CC BY 4.0. Retrieved: 2026-11-14.
The World Bank: Labor force, total: International Labour Organization (ILO), type: estimates based on external database (via World Development Indicators)
Original data provider, as recorded by the World Bank: International Labour Organization (ILO), type: estimates based on external database; United Nations (UN), publisher: UN Population Division; Staff estimates, World Bank (WB).
Values are shown as published. Provider terms: The World Bank. All licences: Sources & licences.