Labor force — all countries

Labor force — High-income countries

Labor force in high-income countries in 2025 — 715,851,473 people. Since 1990, the indicator has risen by 28.9%.

2025 716M people +0.28% vs 2024
World rank
Period maximum 716M people2025
Period minimum 555M people1990

Trend over time

1990–2025 · people

Labor force — High-income countries, 1990–2025550M600M650M700M750M19901994199820022006201020142018202220251990: 555,401,845 people1991: 560,700,938 people1992: 563,907,912 people1993: 565,035,352 people1994: 568,025,991 people1995: 571,915,120 people1996: 576,680,466 people1997: 581,156,065 people1998: 584,344,088 people1999: 593,422,168 people2000: 598,410,978 people2001: 600,392,386 people2002: 605,516,532 people2003: 609,761,400 people2004: 615,314,419 people2005: 622,418,119 people2006: 629,925,448 people2007: 636,630,248 people2008: 643,634,207 people2009: 645,397,279 people2010: 648,138,795 people2011: 651,030,276 people2012: 656,712,596 people2013: 660,858,014 people2014: 665,205,817 people2015: 669,995,104 people2016: 676,501,864 people2017: 680,905,178 people2018: 685,591,636 people2019: 690,115,084 people2020: 683,666,087 people2021: 687,456,550 people2022: 697,165,076 people2023: 707,726,022 people2024: 713,833,864 people2025: 715,851,473 people
Change over the period: +160M (+28.89%) Average annual rate: 0.73 %

Comparison, 2025

How the value compares with the world and the groups this territory belongs to: High-income countries

High-income countries 716M people
World 3.74B people
Labor force — High-income countries, by year High-income countries All countries CSV XLSX
Year people Change Change, %
2025 716M +2.02M +0.28%
2024 714M +6.11M +0.86%
2023 708M +10.56M +1.51%
2022 697M +9.71M +1.41%
2021 687M +3.79M +0.55%
2020 684M −6.45M −0.93%
2019 690M +4.52M +0.66%
2018 686M +4.69M +0.69%
2017 681M +4.4M +0.65%
2016 677M +6.51M +0.97%
2015 670M +4.79M +0.72%
2014 665M +4.35M +0.66%
2013 661M +4.15M +0.63%
2012 657M +5.68M +0.87%
2011 651M +2.89M +0.45%
2010 648M +2.74M +0.42%
2009 645M +1.76M +0.27%
2008 644M +7M +1.1%
2007 637M +6.7M +1.06%
2006 630M +7.51M +1.21%
2005 622M +7.1M +1.15%
2004 615M +5.55M +0.91%
2003 610M +4.24M +0.7%
2002 606M +5.12M +0.85%
2001 600M +1.98M +0.33%
2000 598M +4.99M +0.84%
1999 593M +9.08M +1.55%
1998 584M +3.19M +0.55%
1997 581M +4.48M +0.78%
1996 577M +4.77M +0.83%
1995 572M +3.89M +0.68%
1994 568M +2.99M +0.53%
1993 565M +1.13M +0.2%
1992 564M +3.21M +0.57%
1991 561M +5.3M +0.95%
1990 555M

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.