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Countries Ranked by Labour force size in 2023

Labour force size for each country in 2023, ranked from highest to lowest. Source: The World Bank (CC BY 4.0).

Summary

In 2023, China ranks #1 with 774.61 million people. India is second with 589.49 million people, 31.4% behind. The top five are China, India, United States, Indonesia and Nigeria. Together the top 10 account for 60.2% of the total across the 184 countries listed. The median across all 184 is 4.18 million people; São Tomé and Principe is last at 33,407 people.

#1
China · 774.61 million people
Median
4.18 million people
Coverage
184 countries
Data year
2023
Last updated
2026-11-14
Top 10: Labour force sizeBar chart of the top 10: 1. China 774.61 million; 2. India 589.49 million; 3. United States 172.27 million; 4. Indonesia 143.32 million; 5. Nigeria 110.08 million; 6. Brazil 106.36 million; 7. Pakistan 81.61 million; 8. Bangladesh 74.79 million; 9. Russian Federation 73.71 million; 10. Japan 69.2 million.China774.61 millionIndia589.49 millionUnited States172.27 millionIndonesia143.32 millionNigeria110.08 millionBrazil106.36 millionPakistan81.61 millionBangladesh74.79 millionRussian Federation73.71 millionJapan69.2 million
Top 10: Labour force size (people). Bar chart of the top 10: 1. China 774.61 million; 2. India 589.49 million; 3. United States 172.27 million; 4. Indonesia 143.32 million; 5. Nigeria 110.08 million; 6. Brazil 106.36 million; 7. Pakistan 81.61 million; 8. Bangladesh 74.79 million; 9. Russian Federation 73.71 million; 10. Japan 69.2 million.
Labour force size over time, top 5China: 700.43 million in 1999 to 774.61 million in 2023; India: 397.35 million in 1999 to 589.49 million in 2023; United States: 145.08 million in 1999 to 172.27 million in 2023; Indonesia: 98.43 million in 1999 to 143.32 million in 2023; Nigeria: 57.82 million in 1999 to 110.08 million in 2023.0195.3 million390.6 million585.89 million781.19 million199920112023ChinaIndiaUnited StatesIndonesiaNigeria
Labour force size over time, top 5 (people). China: 700.43 million in 1999 to 774.61 million in 2023; India: 397.35 million in 1999 to 589.49 million in 2023; United States: 145.08 million in 1999 to 172.27 million in 2023; Indonesia: 98.43 million in 1999 to 143.32 million in 2023; Nigeria: 57.82 million in 1999 to 110.08 million in 2023.
Share of the total: Labour force sizeChina 21.3%; India 16.2%; United States 4.7%; Indonesia 3.9%; Nigeria 3.0%; All others 50.9%21%16%51%

China 21.3%India 16.2%United States 4.7%Indonesia 3.9%Nigeria 3.0%All others 50.9%

Share of the total: Labour force size, as a share of 184 countries. China 21.3%; India 16.2%; United States 4.7%; Indonesia 3.9%; Nigeria 3.0%; All others 50.9%.

Full ranking

Countries Ranked by Labour force size in 2023, 2023
RankCountryLabour force size (people)
1China774,610,000
2India589,490,000
3United States172,270,000
4Indonesia143,320,000
5Nigeria110,080,000
6Brazil106,360,000
7Pakistan81,613,000
8Bangladesh74,790,000
9Russian Federation73,714,000
10Japan69,197,000
11Mexico60,145,000
12Viet Nam56,382,000
13Ethiopia53,420,000
14Philippines50,379,000
15Germany43,771,000
16Thailand41,287,000
17Congo, Dem. Rep.36,727,000
18Türkiye35,555,000
19United Kingdom34,983,000
20Egypt, Arab Rep.34,568,000
21Tanzania31,962,000
22France31,827,000
23Korea, Rep.29,588,000
24Iran, Islamic Rep.29,027,000
25Colombia26,479,000
26Italy25,807,000
27South Africa25,707,000
28Spain24,153,000
29Kenya23,353,000
30Myanmar22,553,000
31Canada22,170,000
32Argentina22,070,000
33Uganda21,822,000
34Peru18,609,000
35Poland18,449,000
36Malaysia18,065,000
37Korea, Dem. People's Rep.17,586,000
38Saudi Arabia16,714,000
39Madagascar16,111,000
40Angola15,255,000
41Australia14,647,000
42Mozambique14,644,000
43Uzbekistan14,231,000
44Algeria13,290,000
45Ghana12,737,000
46Morocco12,336,000
47Côte d'Ivoire12,286,000
48Iraq11,804,000
49Niger11,038,000
50Cameroon10,832,000
51Venezuela, RB10,735,000
52Netherlands10,270,000
53Kazakhstan10,085,000
54Cambodia10,028,000
55Chile9,991,800
56Burkina Faso9,442,300
57Afghanistan8,846,500
58Ecuador8,695,800
59Mali8,552,900
60Nepal8,335,800
61Romania8,296,300
62Sri Lanka8,109,800
63Malawi7,802,300
64Yemen, Rep.7,664,500
65Zambia7,453,400
66Guatemala7,329,000
67United Arab Emirates6,873,400
68Bolivia6,704,200
69Zimbabwe6,499,500
70Benin6,260,200
71Chad6,143,300
72Syrian Arab Republic6,103,400
73Burundi5,893,700
74Senegal5,755,800
75Sweden5,661,400
76Czechia5,536,500
77Rwanda5,531,900
78Portugal5,395,400
79Belgium5,365,000
80Dominican Republic5,323,600
81Haiti5,135,200
82Switzerland5,095,800
83Azerbaijan5,073,700
84South Sudan5,070,300
85Hungary4,971,700
86Cuba4,949,800
87Belarus4,861,900
88Austria4,762,200
89Greece4,658,600
90Israel4,637,900
91Guinea4,470,100
92Tunisia4,220,600
93Honduras4,149,000
94Hong Kong SAR, China3,850,500
95Singapore3,622,400
96Papua New Guinea3,573,700
97Lao PDR3,512,500
98Paraguay3,448,600
99Somalia, Fed. Rep.3,319,400
100Serbia3,295,600

Showing the top 100 of 184. Premium downloads the full list as CSV or JSON.

About the top 10

#3 United States

United States ranks #3 on this list with 172.27 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 2023, 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.