Labor force, total in Middle income

Middle income: Labor force, total was 2.74 billion in 2025. ▲ Rising

Latest (2025)
2.74 billion
Change on year
up 1.1%
Rank
4th
of 48 groups
All-time high
2.74 billion
in 2025
All-time low
1.64 billion
in 1990
Years of data
36
1990–2025

Labor force, total in Middle income, 1990–2025

01.0B2.0B3.0B1990200720251990: 1.6B1991: 1.7B1992: 1.7B1993: 1.7B1994: 1.8B1995: 1.8B1996: 1.8B1997: 1.9B1998: 1.9B1999: 2.0B2000: 2.0B2001: 2.0B2002: 2.1B2003: 2.1B2004: 2.2B2005: 2.2B2006: 2.2B2007: 2.2B2008: 2.3B2009: 2.3B2010: 2.3B2011: 2.4B2012: 2.4B2013: 2.4B2014: 2.4B2015: 2.5B2016: 2.5B2017: 2.5B2018: 2.5B2019: 2.6B2020: 2.5B2021: 2.6B2022: 2.6B2023: 2.7B2024: 2.7B2025: 2.7B

Source: International Labour Organization (ILO), type: estimates based on external database.

Analysis

Middle income recorded 2.74 billion for labor force, total in 2025. That is the highest value across all 36 years on record.

Compared with earlier readings it is up 1.1% on the previous year and up 11.3% over ten years.

Over the whole period, labor force, total in Middle income peaked at 2.74 billion in 2025 and was at its lowest, 1.64 billion, in 1990.

Middle income ranks 4th 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

DecadeAverage LowestHighest Years
1990s 1.80 billion 1.64 billion 1.96 billion 10
2000s 2.16 billion 2.00 billion 2.30 billion 10
2010s 2.44 billion 2.32 billion 2.56 billion 10
2020s 2.65 billion 2.53 billion 2.74 billion 6

Countries ranked near Middle income

  1. 1 China 768.07 million compare
  2. 2 India 617.62 million compare
  3. 3 United States 174.83 million compare
  4. 4 Indonesia 147.10 million compare
  5. 5 Nigeria 116.58 million compare
  6. 6 Brazil 108.32 million compare
  7. 7 Pakistan 85.16 million compare

See the full ranking of 234 places →

More education data for Middle income

All data for Middle income →

Frequently asked questions

What is labor force, total in Middle income?
Labor force, total in Middle income was 2.74 billion in 2025, according to International Labour Organization (ILO), type: estimates based on external database.
What is the highest labor force, total recorded in Middle income?
The highest recorded value was 2.74 billion in 2025.
What is the lowest labor force, total recorded in Middle income?
The lowest recorded value was 1.64 billion in 1990.
How does Middle income rank for labor force, total?
Middle income ranks 4th out of 48 groups with data for 2025.
Is labor force, total rising or falling in Middle income?
Over the last ten years it is up 11.3%. The long-run trend across the full record is rising.
Where does this 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.

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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.