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Labor force — all countries

Labor force — Nigeria

Labor force in Nigeria in 2025 — 116,581,818 people. Ranked 5 in the world out of 182. Since 1990, the indicator has risen by 168.5%.

2025 117M people +2.88% vs 2024
World rank 5of 182
Period maximum 117M people2025
Period minimum 43.43M people1990

Trend over time

1990–2025 · people

Labor force — Nigeria, 1990–202540M60M80M100M120M19901994199820022006201020142018202220251990: 43,425,556 people1991: 45,040,095 people1992: 46,738,488 people1993: 48,405,331 people1994: 50,215,133 people1995: 51,813,787 people1996: 53,211,071 people1997: 54,708,361 people1998: 56,231,989 people1999: 57,821,632 people2000: 59,281,872 people2001: 60,772,025 people2002: 62,235,800 people2003: 63,693,782 people2004: 65,217,367 people2005: 66,741,004 people2006: 68,316,893 people2007: 69,975,807 people2008: 71,669,029 people2009: 73,499,013 people2010: 75,284,751 people2011: 77,225,150 people2012: 79,317,244 people2013: 81,303,065 people2014: 83,458,627 people2015: 85,773,802 people2016: 88,256,929 people2017: 90,905,566 people2018: 93,615,892 people2019: 96,335,866 people2020: 97,041,268 people2021: 100,887,576 people2022: 105,269,418 people2023: 110,075,281 people2024: 113,320,742 people2025: 116,581,818 people
Change over the period: +73.16M (+168.46%) Average annual rate: 2.86 %

Comparison, 2025

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

Nigeria 117M people
World 3.74B people
Sub-Saharan Africa 527M people
Western Africa computed 203M people
Lower-middle-income countries computed 1.34B people
Labor force — Nigeria, by year Nigeria All countries CSV XLSX
Year people Change Change, %
2025 117M +3.26M +2.88%
2024 113M +3.25M +2.95%
2023 110M +4.81M +4.57%
2022 105M +4.38M +4.34%
2021 101M +3.85M +3.96%
2020 97.04M +705,402 +0.73%
2019 96.34M +2.72M +2.91%
2018 93.62M +2.71M +2.98%
2017 90.91M +2.65M +3%
2016 88.26M +2.48M +2.89%
2015 85.77M +2.32M +2.77%
2014 83.46M +2.16M +2.65%
2013 81.3M +1.99M +2.5%
2012 79.32M +2.09M +2.71%
2011 77.23M +1.94M +2.58%
2010 75.28M +1.79M +2.43%
2009 73.5M +1.83M +2.55%
2008 71.67M +1.69M +2.42%
2007 69.98M +1.66M +2.43%
2006 68.32M +1.58M +2.36%
2005 66.74M +1.52M +2.34%
2004 65.22M +1.52M +2.39%
2003 63.69M +1.46M +2.34%
2002 62.24M +1.46M +2.41%
2001 60.77M +1.49M +2.51%
2000 59.28M +1.46M +2.53%
1999 57.82M +1.59M +2.83%
1998 56.23M +1.52M +2.79%
1997 54.71M +1.5M +2.81%
1996 53.21M +1.4M +2.7%
1995 51.81M +1.6M +3.18%
1994 50.22M +1.81M +3.74%
1993 48.41M +1.67M +3.57%
1992 46.74M +1.7M +3.77%
1991 45.04M +1.61M +3.72%
1990 43.43M — —

Western Africa, 2025

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

NG Nigeria 117M GH Ghana 13.25M CI Côte d'Ivoire 13.07M NE Niger 11.97M BF Burkina Faso 9.91M ML Mali 9.16M BJ Benin 6.64M SN Senegal 6.13M GN Guinea 4.72M TG Togo 2.96M SL Sierra Leone 2.93M LR Liberia 2.67M MR Mauritania 1.25M GW Guinea-Bissau 899,220 GM Gambia 807,275 CV Cabo Verde 226,448
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 Nigeria

Labor Labor productivity

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

Nigeria by year Labor Female share of the labor force

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

Nigeria by year Labor Labor force participation rate

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

Nigeria by year Labor Employment-to-population ratio

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

Nigeria by year
All indicators for Nigeria