Laos vs Papua New Guinea: Labor force, total

Laos
3.65 million
in 2025
Papua New Guinea
3.75 million
in 2025
Laos rank
99th
Papua New Guinea rank
98th

Labor force, total over time

  • Laos
  • Papua New Guinea
1.0M2.0M3.0M4.0M199020072025

How they compare

Papua New Guinea currently reports 3.75 million against 3.65 million in Laos, a difference of 96,170.

The two have swapped places 1 time across 36 shared years of data; in 1990 it was Laos ahead.

Laos ranks 99th and Papua New Guinea ranks 98th of 186 countries.

Across the 4 decades both report, Laos averaged higher in 2 and Papua New Guinea in 2.

Head to head by decade

Decade Laos Papua New Guinea Difference Ahead
1990s 1.69 million 1.30 million 391,890 Laos
2000s 2.12 million 1.92 million 206,963 Laos
2010s 2.72 million 2.74 million 24,750 Papua New Guinea
2020s 3.44 million 3.52 million 79,048 Papua New Guinea

Averages of every year both report within each decade.

Frequently asked questions

Which has higher labor force, total, Laos or Papua New Guinea?
Papua New Guinea, at 3.75 million against 3.65 million in Laos as of 2025.
What is the difference in labor force, total between Laos and Papua New Guinea?
96,170, with Papua New Guinea ahead.
How many years of comparable data are there for Laos and Papua New Guinea?
36 years are reported by both, from 1990 to 2025.
How do Laos and Papua New Guinea rank globally for labor force, total?
Laos ranks 99th and Papua New Guinea ranks 98th of 186 countries.
Where does this data come from?
International Labour Organization (ILO), type: estimates based on external database, published as Labor force, total. Statizoid refreshes it automatically from the source and publishes the full history for both places.

Individual pages

About this data

Indicator
Labor force, total
Source
International Labour Organization (ILO), type: estimates based on external database
Licence
CC BY 4.0 (World Bank Open Data)
Coverage
234 places, 8,410 data points, 1990–2025
Last refreshed

Labor force comprises people ages 15 and older who supply labor for the production of goods and services during a specified period. It includes people who are currently employed and people who are unemployed but seeking work as well as first-time job-seekers. Not everyone who works is included, however. Unpaid workers, family workers, and students are often omitted, and some countries do not count members of the armed forces. Labor force size tends to vary during the year as seasonal workers enter and leave.