Labor force — all countries

Labor force — China

Labor force in China in 2025 — 768,071,923 people. Ranked 1 in the world out of 182. Since 1990, the indicator has risen by 20%.

2025 768M people −0.01% vs 2024
World rank 1of 182
Period maximum 781M people2021
Period minimum 640M people1990

Trend over time

1990–2025 · people

Labor force — China, 1990–2025600M650M700M750M800M19901994199820022006201020142018202220251990: 639,912,098 people1991: 646,245,556 people1992: 652,547,071 people1993: 658,329,022 people1994: 664,565,882 people1995: 671,238,114 people1996: 678,359,927 people1997: 686,473,251 people1998: 694,011,207 people1999: 700,431,310 people2000: 706,837,950 people2001: 715,928,584 people2002: 725,938,760 people2003: 735,682,023 people2004: 744,936,890 people2005: 754,465,388 people2006: 761,959,276 people2007: 766,486,940 people2008: 769,779,554 people2009: 772,141,043 people2010: 773,873,234 people2011: 778,275,581 people2012: 779,022,561 people2013: 779,251,311 people2014: 780,370,287 people2015: 781,077,009 people2016: 780,932,880 people2017: 779,166,682 people2018: 776,868,988 people2019: 775,928,449 people2020: 760,877,838 people2021: 781,187,865 people2022: 770,113,477 people2023: 774,607,590 people2024: 768,163,717 people2025: 768,071,923 people
Change over the period: +128M (+20.03%) Average annual rate: 0.52 %

Comparison, 2025

How the value compares with the world and the groups this territory belongs to: China

China 768M people
World 3.74B people
East Asia & Pacific 1.28B people
Eastern Asia computed 891M people
Upper-middle-income countries computed 1.38B people
Labor force — China, by year China All countries CSV XLSX
Year people Change Change, %
2025 768M −91,794 −0.01%
2024 768M −6.44M −0.83%
2023 775M +4.49M +0.58%
2022 770M −11.07M −1.42%
2021 781M +20.31M +2.67%
2020 761M −15.05M −1.94%
2019 776M −940,539 −0.12%
2018 777M −2.3M −0.29%
2017 779M −1.77M −0.23%
2016 781M −144,129 −0.02%
2015 781M +706,722 +0.09%
2014 780M +1.12M +0.14%
2013 779M +228,750 +0.03%
2012 779M +746,980 +0.1%
2011 778M +4.4M +0.57%
2010 774M +1.73M +0.22%
2009 772M +2.36M +0.31%
2008 770M +3.29M +0.43%
2007 766M +4.53M +0.59%
2006 762M +7.49M +0.99%
2005 754M +9.53M +1.28%
2004 745M +9.25M +1.26%
2003 736M +9.74M +1.34%
2002 726M +10.01M +1.4%
2001 716M +9.09M +1.29%
2000 707M +6.41M +0.91%
1999 700M +6.42M +0.93%
1998 694M +7.54M +1.1%
1997 686M +8.11M +1.2%
1996 678M +7.12M +1.06%
1995 671M +6.67M +1%
1994 665M +6.24M +0.95%
1993 658M +5.78M +0.89%
1992 653M +6.3M +0.98%
1991 646M +6.33M +0.99%
1990 640M

Eastern Asia, 2025

The same indicator for neighboring countries — with links to their pages

About the indicator

The economically active population — everyone aged 15 and over who either works or actively looks for work. It covers the employed, the unemployed and first-time job seekers; it leaves out students, homemakers and other people who do not offer their labor on the market. The size of the labor force is the basic constraint on the growth potential of an economy.

Source: ILOSTAT (ILO), license CC BY 4.0.