Top 10 countries with the largest labour forces in 2024–25: China leads; where are India and the US ranked?

Top 10 countries with the largest labour force in 2024-25 list: China and India lead the world in total labour force size, with several other Asian nations — including Indonesia, Pakistan, and Bangladesh — also featuring among the countries with the largest workforces.

Top 10 countries with the largest labour force in 2024–25: Where does India rank globally? (Representational Image)

Top 10 countries with the largest labour force in 2024–25: In today’s fast-evolving world of work, countries are expanding their labour forces, which together comprise around 3.7 billion people globally, according to World Bank data.

Asia is home to the largest share of the world’s workers, with about 1.28 billion people employed across the continent.

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In contrast, high-income regions such as North America (197 million) and the European Union (221 million) have smaller but highly productive labour forces.

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China leads the global rankings with approximately 774 million people employed in 2024.

Close behind is India, with an estimated 608 million workers — together, the two Asian giants account for more than 40 per cent of the world’s total labour force.

Among other Asian economies, Indonesia, Pakistan, Bangladesh, and Japan also feature in the top ten.

The United States stands out at No. 3, with a labour force of about 174 million people.

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Africa’s workforce is growing steadily as well, with Nigeria ranking sixth, boasting an estimated 113 million workers.

Top 10 countries with the largest labour forces in 2024-25:

Rank	Country	Total Labour Force (Thousands)
1	China	773,879.68
2	India	607,691.50
3	United States	174,173.59
4	Indonesia	143,143.94
5	Nigeria	113,349.56
6	Brazil	106,790.40
7	Pakistan	83,643.82
8	Bangladesh	77,355.17
9	Russia	72,516.54
10	Japan	69,382.09

Source: Labour Force, Total by World Bank | International Labour Organisation (ILO), type: estimates based on external database; United Nations (UN), publisher: UN Population Division; Staff estimates, World Bank (WB)

Labour Force Definition: The labour force is composed of people aged 15 and up who work to produce products and services over a given time period. It includes present employees, jobless people looking for work, and first-time job seekers.

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Cherry Gupta

Cherry Gupta is an Assistant Manager – Content at The Indian Express. She leads the Top 10 section, curating list-based features on key national and international developments, and manages daily news content. She also produces SEO-driven articles and collaborates with the Lifestyle team to conduct interviews with notable artists and write workplace culture features. ... Read More