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Countries Ranked by Labour force size in 2015

Labour force size for each country in 2015, ranked from highest to lowest. Source: The World Bank (CC BY 4.0).

Summary

In 2015, China ranks #1 with 781.08 million people. That is 1.6 times India in second place (500.64 million people). The top five are China, India, United States, Indonesia and Brazil. Together the top 10 account for 60.6% of the total across the 187 countries listed. The median across all 187 is 3.85 million people; São Tomé and Principe is last at 27,918 people.

#1
China · 781.08 million people
Median
3.85 million people
Coverage
187 countries
Data year
2015
Last updated
2026-11-14
Top 10: Labour force sizeBar chart of the top 10: 1. China 781.08 million; 2. India 500.64 million; 3. United States 161.93 million; 4. Indonesia 127.3 million; 5. Brazil 100.59 million; 6. Nigeria 85.77 million; 7. Russian Federation 75.41 million; 8. Pakistan 69.23 million; 9. Japan 65.93 million; 10. Bangladesh 61.92 million.China781.08 millionIndia500.64 millionUnited States161.93 millionIndonesia127.3 millionBrazil100.59 millionNigeria85.77 millionRussian Federation75.41 millionPakistan69.23 millionJapan65.93 millionBangladesh61.92 million
Top 10: Labour force size (people). Bar chart of the top 10: 1. China 781.08 million; 2. India 500.64 million; 3. United States 161.93 million; 4. Indonesia 127.3 million; 5. Brazil 100.59 million; 6. Nigeria 85.77 million; 7. Russian Federation 75.41 million; 8. Pakistan 69.23 million; 9. Japan 65.93 million; 10. Bangladesh 61.92 million.
Labour force size over time, top 5China: 646.25 million in 1991 to 781.08 million in 2015; India: 315.88 million in 1991 to 500.64 million in 2015; United States: 128.74 million in 1991 to 161.93 million in 2015; Indonesia: 79.62 million in 1991 to 127.3 million in 2015; Brazil: 63.8 million in 1991 to 100.59 million in 2015.0195.27 million390.54 million585.81 million781.08 million199120032015ChinaIndiaUnited StatesIndonesiaBrazil
Labour force size over time, top 5 (people). China: 646.25 million in 1991 to 781.08 million in 2015; India: 315.88 million in 1991 to 500.64 million in 2015; United States: 128.74 million in 1991 to 161.93 million in 2015; Indonesia: 79.62 million in 1991 to 127.3 million in 2015; Brazil: 63.8 million in 1991 to 100.59 million in 2015.
Share of the total: Labour force sizeChina 23.3%; India 14.9%; United States 4.8%; Indonesia 3.8%; Brazil 3.0%; All others 50.1%23%15%50%

China 23.3%India 14.9%United States 4.8%Indonesia 3.8%Brazil 3.0%All others 50.1%

Share of the total: Labour force size, as a share of 187 countries. China 23.3%; India 14.9%; United States 4.8%; Indonesia 3.8%; Brazil 3.0%; All others 50.1%.

Full ranking

Countries Ranked by Labour force size in 2015, 2015
RankCountryLabour force size (people)
1China781,080,000
2India500,640,000
3United States161,930,000
4Indonesia127,300,000
5Brazil100,590,000
6Nigeria85,774,000
7Russian Federation75,409,000
8Pakistan69,229,000
9Japan65,931,000
10Bangladesh61,921,000
11Viet Nam54,629,000
12Mexico52,801,000
13Ethiopia46,290,000
14Philippines42,977,000
15Germany42,693,000
16Thailand40,015,000
17United Kingdom33,272,000
18Egypt, Arab Rep.30,852,000
19Türkiye30,551,000
20France30,261,000
21Congo, Dem. Rep.28,576,000
22Korea, Rep.27,531,000
23Iran, Islamic Rep.26,477,000
24Italy25,270,000
25Myanmar24,298,000
26Tanzania24,222,000
27Colombia23,770,000
28Spain23,133,000
29South Africa22,200,000
30Ukraine21,887,000
31Kenya20,290,000
32Canada19,706,000
33Argentina19,343,000
34Poland18,407,000
35Korea, Dem. People's Rep.16,833,000
36Peru16,759,000
37Malaysia15,103,000
38Uganda14,731,000
39Venezuela, RB13,538,000
40Saudi Arabia13,349,000
41Madagascar12,695,000
42Australia12,569,000
43Uzbekistan12,408,000
44Ghana12,201,000
45Algeria12,057,000
46Morocco11,817,000
47Angola11,740,000
48Mozambique11,397,000
49Sudan10,078,000
50Côte d'Ivoire9,764,200
51Iraq9,638,800
52Netherlands9,385,800
53Kazakhstan9,211,800
54Cameroon9,206,400
55Chile8,996,300
56Afghanistan8,575,300
57Romania8,563,800
58Sri Lanka8,475,400
59Cambodia8,465,600
60Burkina Faso8,048,000
61Ecuador7,577,700
62Nepal7,493,300
63Niger7,430,100
64Mali6,823,300
65Malawi6,242,800
66Guatemala6,154,200
67Yemen, Rep.5,811,200
68United Arab Emirates5,517,300
69Zimbabwe5,349,300
70Czechia5,305,100
71Zambia5,282,900
72Cuba5,217,700
73Portugal5,197,900
74Sweden5,177,500
75Belarus5,097,400
76Bolivia5,012,400
77Belgium4,994,500
78Switzerland4,810,500
79Greece4,737,900
80Benin4,727,600
81Hungary4,709,400
82Azerbaijan4,693,000
83South Sudan4,667,600
84Burundi4,650,400
85Chad4,641,500
86Dominican Republic4,581,600
87Haiti4,553,000
88Austria4,460,500
89Syrian Arab Republic4,353,800
90Rwanda4,154,000
91Tunisia4,077,600
92Israel3,941,700
93Hong Kong SAR, China3,899,900
94Honduras3,853,500
95Senegal3,825,800
96Guinea3,714,400
97Singapore3,360,400
98Bulgaria3,259,500
99Serbia3,113,200
100Paraguay2,922,100

Showing the top 100 of 187. Premium downloads the full list as CSV or JSON.

About the top 10

#3 United States

United States ranks #3 on this list with 161.93 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.

Full country profile Weather in New York (Purr Weather)

Profile facts: World Bank (CC BY 4.0) and Wikidata (CC0); weather links go to Purr Weather, another ChowChow Labs site.

Related rankings

Source and method

Labour force size for each country in 2015, 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.