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Labor force — all countries

Labor force — Malaysia

Labor force in Malaysia in 2025 — 18,719,406 people. Ranked 35 in the world out of 182. Since 1990, the indicator has risen by 197.1%.

2025 18.72M people +1.82% vs 2024
World rank 35of 182
Period maximum 18.72M people2025
Period minimum 6.3M people1990

Trend over time

1990–2025 · people

Labor force — Malaysia, 1990–202505M10M15M20M19901994199820022006201020142018202220251990: 6,301,032 people1991: 6,517,412 people1992: 6,771,591 people1993: 7,025,550 people1994: 7,282,444 people1995: 7,547,014 people1996: 7,819,897 people1997: 8,100,507 people1998: 8,390,877 people1999: 8,693,122 people2000: 9,003,136 people2001: 9,319,049 people2002: 9,642,825 people2003: 9,976,922 people2004: 10,324,666 people2005: 10,688,442 people2006: 11,067,941 people2007: 11,462,139 people2008: 11,872,645 people2009: 12,298,453 people2010: 12,720,268 people2011: 13,112,179 people2012: 13,636,640 people2013: 14,173,536 people2014: 14,721,580 people2015: 15,103,051 people2016: 15,415,068 people2017: 15,779,343 people2018: 16,212,579 people2019: 16,636,582 people2020: 16,871,915 people2021: 17,233,270 people2022: 17,730,042 people2023: 18,064,842 people2024: 18,384,977 people2025: 18,719,406 people
Change over the period: +12.42M (+197.08%) Average annual rate: 3.16 %

Comparison, 2025

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

Malaysia 18.72M people
World 3.74B people
East Asia & Pacific 1.28B people
South-Eastern Asia computed 358M people
Upper-middle-income countries computed 1.38B people
Labor force — Malaysia, by year Malaysia All countries CSV XLSX
Year people Change Change, %
2025 18.72M +334,429 +1.82%
2024 18.38M +320,135 +1.77%
2023 18.06M +334,800 +1.89%
2022 17.73M +496,772 +2.88%
2021 17.23M +361,355 +2.14%
2020 16.87M +235,333 +1.41%
2019 16.64M +424,003 +2.62%
2018 16.21M +433,236 +2.75%
2017 15.78M +364,275 +2.36%
2016 15.42M +312,017 +2.07%
2015 15.1M +381,471 +2.59%
2014 14.72M +548,044 +3.87%
2013 14.17M +536,896 +3.94%
2012 13.64M +524,461 +4%
2011 13.11M +391,911 +3.08%
2010 12.72M +421,815 +3.43%
2009 12.3M +425,808 +3.59%
2008 11.87M +410,506 +3.58%
2007 11.46M +394,198 +3.56%
2006 11.07M +379,499 +3.55%
2005 10.69M +363,776 +3.52%
2004 10.32M +347,744 +3.49%
2003 9.98M +334,097 +3.46%
2002 9.64M +323,776 +3.47%
2001 9.32M +315,913 +3.51%
2000 9M +310,014 +3.57%
1999 8.69M +302,245 +3.6%
1998 8.39M +290,370 +3.58%
1997 8.1M +280,610 +3.59%
1996 7.82M +272,883 +3.62%
1995 7.55M +264,570 +3.63%
1994 7.28M +256,894 +3.66%
1993 7.03M +253,959 +3.75%
1992 6.77M +254,179 +3.9%
1991 6.52M +216,380 +3.43%
1990 6.3M — —

South-Eastern Asia, 2025

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

ID Indonesia 147M VN Vietnam 57.04M PH Philippines 52.2M TH Thailand 40.87M MM Myanmar 22.94M MY Malaysia 18.72M KH Cambodia 10.37M SG Singapore 3.76M LA Laos 3.65M TL Timor-Leste 635,489 BN Brunei Darussalam 237,763
Full table for all countries

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.

Other indicators for Malaysia

Labor Labor productivity

How much output one employed person creates in a year — in constant PPP dollars.

Malaysia by year Labor Female share of the labor force

What part of the labor force of a country is made up of women.

Malaysia by year Labor Labor force participation rate

What share of the population aged 15 and over works or looks for work.

Malaysia by year Labor Employment-to-population ratio

The share of the population aged 15 and over that actually works.

Malaysia by year
All indicators for Malaysia