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Countries Ranked by Labour force size in 2020

Labour force size for each country in 2020, ranked from highest to lowest. Source: The World Bank (CC BY 4.0).

Summary

In 2020, China ranks #1 with 760.88 million people. India is second with 532.53 million people, 42.9% behind. The top five are China, India, United States, Indonesia and Brazil. Together the top 10 account for 60.2% of the total across the 187 countries listed. The median across all 187 is 4.08 million people; São Tomé and Principe is last at 30,200 people.

#1
China · 760.88 million people
Median
4.08 million people
Coverage
187 countries
Data year
2020
Last updated
2026-11-14
Top 10: Labour force sizeBar chart of the top 10: 1. China 760.88 million; 2. India 532.53 million; 3. United States 166.57 million; 4. Indonesia 137.38 million; 5. Brazil 100 million; 6. Nigeria 97.04 million; 7. Pakistan 75.33 million; 8. Russian Federation 73.41 million; 9. Bangladesh 70.32 million; 10. Japan 68.66 million.China760.88 millionIndia532.53 millionUnited States166.57 millionIndonesia137.38 millionBrazil100 millionNigeria97.04 millionPakistan75.33 millionRussian Federation73.41 millionBangladesh70.32 millionJapan68.66 million
Top 10: Labour force size (people). Bar chart of the top 10: 1. China 760.88 million; 2. India 532.53 million; 3. United States 166.57 million; 4. Indonesia 137.38 million; 5. Brazil 100 million; 6. Nigeria 97.04 million; 7. Pakistan 75.33 million; 8. Russian Federation 73.41 million; 9. Bangladesh 70.32 million; 10. Japan 68.66 million.
Labour force size over time, top 5China: 678.36 million in 1996 to 760.88 million in 2020; India: 362.33 million in 1996 to 532.53 million in 2020; United States: 138.78 million in 1996 to 166.57 million in 2020; Indonesia: 91.43 million in 1996 to 137.38 million in 2020; Brazil: 71.16 million in 1996 to 100 million in 2020.0195.27 million390.54 million585.81 million781.08 million199620082020ChinaIndiaUnited StatesIndonesiaBrazil
Labour force size over time, top 5 (people). China: 678.36 million in 1996 to 760.88 million in 2020; India: 362.33 million in 1996 to 532.53 million in 2020; United States: 138.78 million in 1996 to 166.57 million in 2020; Indonesia: 91.43 million in 1996 to 137.38 million in 2020; Brazil: 71.16 million in 1996 to 100 million in 2020.
Share of the total: Labour force sizeChina 22.0%; India 15.4%; United States 4.8%; Indonesia 4.0%; Brazil 2.9%; All others 51.0%22%15%51%

China 22.0%India 15.4%United States 4.8%Indonesia 4.0%Brazil 2.9%All others 51.0%

Share of the total: Labour force size, as a share of 187 countries. China 22.0%; India 15.4%; United States 4.8%; Indonesia 4.0%; Brazil 2.9%; All others 51.0%.

Full ranking

Countries Ranked by Labour force size in 2020, 2020
RankCountryLabour force size (people)
1China760,880,000
2India532,530,000
3United States166,570,000
4Indonesia137,380,000
5Brazil100,000,000
6Nigeria97,041,000
7Pakistan75,333,000
8Russian Federation73,410,000
9Bangladesh70,315,000
10Japan68,656,000
11Viet Nam55,150,000
12Mexico52,956,000
13Ethiopia49,139,000
14Germany43,373,000
15Philippines42,533,000
16Thailand40,252,000
17United Kingdom34,258,000
18Congo, Dem. Rep.32,852,000
19Türkiye31,770,000
20France30,290,000
21Egypt, Arab Rep.30,264,000
22Tanzania28,601,000
23Korea, Rep.28,370,000
24Iran, Islamic Rep.27,656,000
25Colombia25,151,000
26Italy24,984,000
27Myanmar23,871,000
28Spain22,918,000
29South Africa22,348,000
30Kenya21,267,000
31Ukraine20,851,000
32Canada20,505,000
33Argentina19,318,000
34Uganda18,997,000
35Poland18,198,000
36Korea, Dem. People's Rep.17,051,000
37Malaysia16,872,000
38Peru16,861,000
39Saudi Arabia14,673,000
40Madagascar14,600,000
41Australia13,584,000
42Angola13,485,000
43Mozambique13,187,000
44Uzbekistan13,102,000
45Ghana12,334,000
46Morocco11,895,000
47Algeria11,587,000
48Côte d'Ivoire10,849,000
49Sudan10,720,000
50Iraq10,441,000
51Cameroon9,926,700
52Venezuela, RB9,889,900
53Netherlands9,793,400
54Kazakhstan9,543,600
55Cambodia9,480,000
56Niger9,140,900
57Afghanistan9,060,500
58Burkina Faso9,036,200
59Chile8,906,800
60Sri Lanka8,485,000
61Romania8,404,900
62Nepal7,977,700
63Ecuador7,753,300
64Malawi7,585,000
65Mali7,540,100
66Yemen, Rep.6,884,800
67Guatemala6,751,400
68Zambia6,574,300
69United Arab Emirates6,178,300
70Bolivia5,890,100
71Zimbabwe5,805,000
72Benin5,605,000
73Sweden5,463,900
74Czechia5,343,000
75Chad5,321,500
76Burundi5,256,700
77Azerbaijan5,197,900
78Portugal5,138,900
79Belgium5,124,700
80Senegal5,080,700
81Switzerland4,988,600
82Belarus4,982,200
83Rwanda4,981,300
84Syrian Arab Republic4,944,500
85Cuba4,943,300
86Haiti4,940,900
87Hungary4,829,200
88Dominican Republic4,805,600
89Austria4,607,800
90Greece4,596,300
91South Sudan4,510,900
92Israel4,204,900
93Honduras4,083,200
94Tunisia4,082,100
95Guinea4,051,800
96Hong Kong SAR, China3,914,400
97Singapore3,431,200
98Paraguay3,281,300
99Papua New Guinea3,269,200
100Lao PDR3,161,000

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 166.57 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 2020, 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.