Labor force, total in Low & middle income
Low & middle income: Labor force, total was 3.00 billion in 2025. ▲ Rising
Labor force, total in Low & middle income, 1990–2025
Source: International Labour Organization (ILO), type: estimates based on external database.
Analysis
Low & middle income recorded 3.00 billion for labor force, total in 2025. That is the highest value across all 36 years on record.
That represents a change of up 1.3% on the previous year and up 12.2% over ten years.
Over the whole period, labor force, total in Low & middle income peaked at 3.00 billion in 2025 and was at its lowest, 1.75 billion, in 1990.
Low & middle income ranks 3rd of 48 groups on this measure, in the top 10%.
The long-run direction has been consistently rising across the 36 years of available data.
Averages by decade
| Decade | Average | Lowest | Highest | Years |
|---|---|---|---|---|
| 1990s | 1.92 billion | 1.75 billion | 2.11 billion | 10 |
| 2000s | 2.33 billion | 2.15 billion | 2.49 billion | 10 |
| 2010s | 2.66 billion | 2.52 billion | 2.80 billion | 10 |
| 2020s | 2.90 billion | 2.77 billion | 3.00 billion | 6 |
Countries ranked near Low & middle income
More education data for Low & middle income
- Population ages 15-64 65.3% (2025)
- Population ages 0-14 26.3% (2025)
- School enrollment, primary 102.3% (2024)
- Primary education, teachers 27.98 million (2024)
- School enrollment, primary, female 101.6% (2024)
- School enrollment, primary, male 103.0% (2024)
- Labor force, female 39.0% (2025)
- School enrollment, primary (gross), gender parity index 0.9807 GPI (2020)
- School enrollment, secondary 73.9% (2024)
- Probability of dying among youth ages 20-24 years 6.43 per 1,000 (2024)
Frequently asked questions
- What is labor force, total in Low & middle income?
- Labor force, total in Low & middle income was 3.00 billion in 2025, according to International Labour Organization (ILO), type: estimates based on external database.
- What is the highest labor force, total recorded in Low & middle income?
- The highest recorded value was 3.00 billion in 2025.
- What is the lowest labor force, total recorded in Low & middle income?
- The lowest recorded value was 1.75 billion in 1990.
- How does Low & middle income rank for labor force, total?
- Low & middle income ranks 3rd out of 48 groups with data for 2025.
- Is labor force, total rising or falling in Low & middle income?
- Over the last ten years it is up 12.2%. The long-run trend across the full record is rising.
- Where does this Low & middle income data come from?
- The figures come from International Labour Organization (ILO), type: estimates based on external database, published as part of Labor force, total. Statizoid updates them automatically from the source API.
Download this data
CSV · JSON — 36 observations, free to reuse under CC BY 4.0 (World Bank Open Data).
About this data
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.