Labor force — all countries

Labor force — Western Asia

Labor force in Western Asia in 2025 — 116,599,578 people. Since 1990, the indicator has risen by 138.7%.

2025 117M people +2.62% vs 2024
World rank
Period maximum 117M people2025
Period minimum 48.84M people1990

Trend over time

1990–2025 · people

Labor force — Western Asia, 1990–202540M60M80M100M120M19901994199820022006201020142018202220251990: 48,840,483 people1991: 50,351,635 people1992: 51,701,363 people1993: 52,000,282 people1994: 54,634,875 people1995: 55,878,625 people1996: 57,136,481 people1997: 58,088,687 people1998: 59,712,015 people1999: 61,376,806 people2000: 61,943,563 people2001: 63,286,661 people2002: 64,646,295 people2003: 65,660,529 people2004: 66,301,233 people2005: 68,176,471 people2006: 70,118,586 people2007: 72,196,728 people2008: 74,996,400 people2009: 77,952,566 people2010: 80,417,281 people2011: 83,764,828 people2012: 86,130,883 people2013: 89,434,097 people2014: 91,938,779 people2015: 94,669,731 people2016: 97,998,361 people2017: 99,671,966 people2018: 100,979,292 people2019: 102,566,991 people2020: 101,898,112 people2021: 103,727,234 people2022: 109,274,733 people2023: 111,874,068 people2024: 113,627,737 people2025: 116,599,578 people
Change over the period: +67.76M (+138.74%) Average annual rate: 2.52 %

Comparison, 2025

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

Western Asia 117M people
World 3.74B people
Labor force — Western Asia, by year Western Asia All countries CSV XLSX
Year people Change Change, %
2025 117M +2.97M +2.62%
2024 114M +1.75M +1.57%
2023 112M +2.6M +2.38%
2022 109M +5.55M +5.35%
2021 104M +1.83M +1.8%
2020 102M −668,879 −0.65%
2019 103M +1.59M +1.57%
2018 101M +1.31M +1.31%
2017 99.67M +1.67M +1.71%
2016 98M +3.33M +3.52%
2015 94.67M +2.73M +2.97%
2014 91.94M +2.5M +2.8%
2013 89.43M +3.3M +3.84%
2012 86.13M +2.37M +2.82%
2011 83.76M +3.35M +4.16%
2010 80.42M +2.46M +3.16%
2009 77.95M +2.96M +3.94%
2008 75M +2.8M +3.88%
2007 72.2M +2.08M +2.96%
2006 70.12M +1.94M +2.85%
2005 68.18M +1.88M +2.83%
2004 66.3M +640,704 +0.98%
2003 65.66M +1.01M +1.57%
2002 64.65M +1.36M +2.15%
2001 63.29M +1.34M +2.17%
2000 61.94M +566,757 +0.92%
1999 61.38M +1.66M +2.79%
1998 59.71M +1.62M +2.79%
1997 58.09M +952,206 +1.67%
1996 57.14M +1.26M +2.25%
1995 55.88M +1.24M +2.28%
1994 54.63M +2.63M +5.07%
1993 52M +298,919 +0.58%
1992 51.7M +1.35M +2.68%
1991 50.35M +1.51M +3.09%
1990 48.84M

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.