The CIA World Factbook Edition 1997 Economy
Labor force In 36 editions of 36.
Labor force was published in 36 editions of the CIA World Factbook, from 1990 to 2025. The 1997 edition carries it in 236 entries, in its Economy section. Every entry is shown as that edition published it.
- entries in the 1997 edition
- 236
- the first edition with it
- 1990
- the latest edition with it
- 2025
Published as “Labor force” (1990 to 2025).
the entry has the field in that editionnot in that editionthe open editionEach entry below ends in its editions with Labor force, 1990 to 2025. Point at a year above to follow it down; choose one in a row to read that edition’s text there.
No entries match. Try a shorter word.
Entries with Labor force in each edition
Select a bar to open that edition.
World
1 entryAfrica
57 entriesAngola
- total:
- 2.783 million economically active
- by occupation:
- agriculture 85%, industry 15% (1985 est.)
Botswana
- total :
- 428,000 (1992)
- by occupation:
- 220,000 formal sector employees, including 14,300 who are employed in various mines in South Africa;
- most others are engaged in cattle raising and subsistence agriculture (1992 est.)
Burkina Faso
NA (most adults are employed in subsistence agriculture)
- by occupation:
- agriculture 80%, industry 15%, commerce, services, and government 5%
note: 20% of male labor force migrates annually to neighboring countries for seasonal employment (1984)
Congo, Democratic Republic of the now Democratic Republic of the Congo
- total:
- 14.51 million (1993 est.)
- by occupation :
Egypt
- total:
- 17.4 million (1996 est.)
- by occupation:
- agriculture 40%,
- services,
- including government 38%,
- industry 22% (1990 est.)
Swaziland now Eswatini
- total:
- 160,355 (1986 est.)
- by occupation:
- private sector about 65%, public sector 35%
The Gambia
- total:
- 400,000 (1986 est.)
- by occupation:
- agriculture 75.0%, industry, commerce, and services 18.9%, government 6.1%
Ghana
- total:
- 3.7 million
- by occupation:
- agriculture and fishing 54.7%, industry 18.7%, sales and clerical 15.2%, professional 3.7%, services, transportation, and communications 7.7%
Lesotho
- total :
- 689,000 economically active
- by occupation:
- 86% of resident population engaged in subsistence agriculture; roughly 35% of the active male wage earners work in South Africa
Liberia
- total:
- 510,000 including 220,000 in the monetary economy
- by occupation:
note : non-African foreigners hold about 95% of the top-level management and engineering jobs
Libya
- total:
- 1 million (includes about 280,000 resident foreigners)
- by occupation:
note : 7.1% of the population in the 15-64 age group is non-national (July 1997 est.)
Madagascar
- total:
- 4.9 million
- by occupation :
- agriculture 45,500, domestic service 29,750, industry 26,250, commerce 24,500, construction 19,250, service 15,750, transportation 10,500, other 3,500 (1985 est.)
note: 175,000 workers (3.6% of the total work force) earn money wages; 4,725,000 workers receive no monetary wage (of these, 91% are engaged in subsistence agriculture)
Mauritius
- total :
- 479,500 (1993 est.)
- by occupation:
- construction and industry 37%,
- services 24%,
- agriculture and fishing 15%,
- trade,
- restaurants,
- hotels 14%,
- transportation and communication 7%,
- finance 3%
Mozambique
NA
- by occupation:
- 80% engaged in agriculture
note: in 1993, 47% of the wage earners were employed in industry, 28% in transportation and communication; traditionally, a large number of Mozambicans work abroad
Nigeria
- total:
- 42.844 million
- by occupation:
- agriculture 54%, industry, commerce, and services 19%, government 15%
Saint Helena now Saint Helena, Ascension, and Tristan da Cunha
- total:
- 2,416 (1991 est.)
- by occupation:
- professional, technical, and related workers 8.7%, managerial, administrative, and clerical 12.8%, sales people 8.1%, farmer, fishermen, etc. 5.4%, craftspersons, production process workers 14.7%, others 50.3% (1987)
note : a large proportion of the work force has left to seek employment overseas
Sao Tome and Principe
most of population mainly engaged in subsistence agriculture and fishing; there are shortages of skilled workers
Senegal
- total:
- 2.509 million (77% are engaged in subsistence farming; 175,000 wage earners)
- by occupation:
- private sector 40%, government and parapublic 60%
Seychelles
- total:
- 26,000 (1996)
- by occupation:
- industry and commerce 31%, services 21%, government 20%, agriculture, forestry, and fishing 12%, other 16% (1985)
Sierra Leone
- total:
- 1.369 million (1981 est.)
- by occupation:
note: only about 65,000 wage earners (1985)
Somalia
- total:
- 3.7 million (very few are skilled laborers)(1993 est.)
- by occupation:
- agriculture (mostly pastoral nomadism) 71%, industry and services 29%
Sudan
- total:
- 11 million (1996 est.)
- by occupation:
note: labor shortages for almost all categories of skilled employment (1983 est.)
Zambia
- total:
- 3.4 million
- by occupation:
- agriculture 85%, mining, manufacturing, and construction 6%, transport and services 9%
Arctic Region
3 entriesAsia
22 entriesBangladesh
- total:
- 50.1 million
- by occupation:
note: extensive export of labor to Saudi Arabia, UAE, and Oman (1991)
India
- total:
- 370 million (1995 est.)
- by occupation:
- agriculture 65% or more, services 4%, manufacturing and construction 3%, communications and transport 3%
Japan
- total:
- 67.23 million (March 1997)
- by occupation:
- trade and services 50%, manufacturing, mining, and construction 33%, utilities and communication 7%, agriculture, forestry, and fishing 6%, government 3% (1994)
Korea, North now North Korea
- total:
- 9.615 million
- by occupation:
- agricultural 36%, nonagricultural 64%
Korea, South now South Korea
- total:
- 20 million
- by occupation:
- services and other 52%,
- mining and manufacturing 27%,
- agriculture,
- fishing,
- forestry 21% (1991)
Maldives
- total:
- 56,435 (1990 est.)
- by occupation:
- fishing industry and agriculture 25%, services 21%, manufacturing and construction 21%, trade, restaurants, and hotels 16%, transportation and communication 10%, other 7%
Pakistan
- total:
- 36.7 million (1997)
- by occupation:
note : extensive export of labor, mostly to the Middle East, and use of child labor
Tajikistan
- total:
- 1.9 million (1996)
- by occupation:
- agriculture and forestry 52%, manufacturing, mining, and construction 17%, services 31% (1995)
Central America and the Caribbean
31 entriesBarbados
- total:
- 126,000 (1993)
- by occupation:
- services and government 41%, commerce 15%, manufacturing and construction 18%, transportation, storage, communications, and financial institutions 8%, agriculture 6%, utilities 2% (1992 est.)
Belize
- total :
- 51,500
- by occupation:
note: shortage of skilled labor and all types of technical personnel (1985)
Cuba
- total :
- 4.71 million economically active population (1989); 3,527,000 employed in state civilian sector (1989)
- by occupation:
Haiti
- total:
- 2.3 million
- by occupation:
note : shortage of skilled labor, unskilled labor abundant (1982)
Montserrat
- total:
- 4,521 (1992)
- by occupation :
- community, social, and personal services 40.5%, construction 13.5%, trade, restaurants, and hotels 12.3%, manufacturing 10.5%, agriculture, forestry, and fishing 8.8%, other 14.4% (1983 est.)
Panama
- total :
- 1.015 million (1996 est.)
- by occupation:
- government and community services 31.8%, agriculture, hunting, and fishing 26.8%, commerce, restaurants, and hotels 16.4%, manufacturing and mining 9.4%, construction 3.2%, transportation and communications 6.2%, finance, insurance, and real estate 4.3%
note: shortage of skilled labor, but an oversupply of unskilled labor
Trinidad and Tobago
- total:
- 404,500
- by occupation:
- construction and utilities 13%, manufacturing, mining, and quarrying 14%, agriculture 11%, services 62% (1993 est.)
Turks and Caicos Islands
- total:
- 4,848 (1990 est.)
- by occupation:
- majority engaged in fishing and tourist industries; some subsistence agriculture
Virgin Islands
- total:
- 47,443 (1990 est.)
- by occupation:
- agriculture,
- industry,
- services,
- other (1990 est.)
Europe
46 entriesAlbania
- total:
- 1.692 million (1994 est.) (including 352,000 emigrant workers and 261,000 domestically unemployed)
- by occupation :
- agriculture (nearly all private) 49.5%, private sector 22.2%, state (nonfarm) sector 28.3% (including state-owned industry 7.8%);
- note - includes only those domestically employed
Austria
- total:
- 3.648 million (1996)
- by occupation:
note : an estimated 200,000 Austrians are employed in other European countries; foreign laborers in Austria number 177,840, about 5% of labor force (1988)
Denmark
- total:
- 2,895,950
- by occupation:
- private services 40%, government services 30%, manufacturing and mining 19%, construction 6%, agriculture, forestry, and fishing 5% (1995)
Faroe Islands
- total:
- 20,345 (1995 est.)
- by occupation:
- largely engaged in fishing, manufacturing, transportation, and commerce
Finland
- total:
- 2.533 million
- by occupation:
- public services 30.4%, industry 20.9%, commerce 15.0%, finance, insurance, and business services 10.2%, agriculture and forestry 8.6%, transport and communications 7.7%, construction 7.2%
Gibraltar
- total:
- 14,800 (including non-Gibraltar laborers)
- by occupation :
- services 60%,
- industry 40%,
- agriculture NEGL
Holy See (Vatican City)
NA
- by occupation:
- dignitaries, priests, nuns, guards, and 3,000 lay workers who live outside the Vatican
Hungary
- total:
- 6.2 million (1996)
- by occupation:
- services 58.7%, industry 34.7%, agriculture 6.6 (1996 est.)
Ireland
- total:
- 1.474 million (1996 est.)
- by occupation:
- services 62.3%, manufacturing and construction 26.0%, agriculture, forestry, and fishing 10.6%, utilities 1.1% (1996 est.)
Liechtenstein
- total:
- 22,187 of which 13,576 are foreigners; 7,781 commute from Austria and Switzerland to work each day
- by occupation :
- industry, trade, and building 45%, services 53%, agriculture, fishing, forestry, and horticulture 2% (1995 est.)
Luxembourg
- total:
- 213,100 (one-third of labor force is foreign workers, mostly from Portugal, Italy, France, Belgium, and Germany)
- by occupation :
- trade,
- restaurants,
- hotels 20%,
- mining,
- quarrying,
- manufacturing 16%,
- other market services 18%,
- community,
- social,
- personal services 14%,
- construction 11%,
- finance,
- insurance,
- real estate,
- business services 9%,
- transport,
- storage,
- communications 8%,
- agriculture,
- hunting,
- forestry,
- fishing 1%,
- electricity,
- gas,
- water 1% (1995 est.)
Macedonia, now North Macedonia
- total:
- 591,773 (June 1994)
- by occupation:
- manufacturing and mining 40% (1992)
Norway
- total:
- 2.13 million
- by occupation:
- services 71%, industry 23%, agriculture, forestry, and fishing 6% (1993)
Poland
- total:
- 17.662 million (1996 est.)
- by occupation:
- industry and construction 32.0%, agriculture 27.6%, trade, transport, and communications 14.7%, government and other 25.7% (1992)
Portugal
- total:
- 4.53 million (1996 est.)
- by occupation :
- services 54.5%,
- manufacturing 24.4%,
- agriculture,
- forestry,
- fisheries 11.2%,
- construction 8.3%,
- utilities 1.0%,
- mining 0.5% (1992)
Spain
- total:
- 12.475 million
- by occupation:
- services 62%, manufacturing, mining, and construction 29%, agriculture 9% (1996)
Sweden
- total:
- 4.552 million (84% unionized, 1992)
- by occupation:
- community, social and personal services 38.3%, mining and manufacturing 21.2%, commerce, hotels, and restaurants 14.1%, banking, insurance 9.0%, communications 7.2%, construction 7.0%, agriculture, fishing, and forestry 3.2% (1991)
Ukraine
- total:
- 23 million (January 1996)
- by occupation:
- industry and construction 33%, agriculture and forestry 21%, health, education, and culture 16%, trade and distribution 7%, transport and communication 7%, other 16% (1992)
Middle East
17 entriesBahrain
- total:
- 140,000
- by occupation:
note: 44.39% of the population in the 15-64 age group is non-national (July 1997 est.)
Gaza Strip
NA
- by occupation:
- construction 33.4%, agriculture 20.0%, commerce, restaurants, and hotels 14.9%, industry 10.0%, other services 21.7% (1991)
note: excluding Israeli settlers
Iran
- total:
- 15.4 million
- by occupation:
- agriculture 33%, manufacturing 21% (1988 est.)
note: shortage of skilled labor; 1.38% of the population in the 15-64 age group is non-national (July 1997 est.)
Iraq
- total:
- 4.4 million (1989)
- by occupation:
note : severe labor shortage; expatriate labor force was about 1,600,000 (July 1990); since then, it has declined substantially
Israel
- total:
- 2.2 million (1996)
- by occupation :
- public services 29.3%, manufacturing 22.1%, construction 6.5%, commerce 13.9%, finance and business 10.4%, personal and other services 7.4%, transport, storage, and communications 6.3%, agriculture, forestry, and fishing 3.5%, other 0.6% (1992)
Jordan
- total :
- 600,000 (1992)
- by occupation:
- industry 11.4%, commerce, restaurants, and hotels 10.5%, construction 10.0%, transport and communications 8.7%, agriculture 7.4%, other services 52.0% (1992)
Kuwait
- total:
- 1 million (1994 est.)
- by occupation:
note: 72.07% of the population in the 15-64 age group is non-national (July 1997 est.)
Qatar
- total:
- 233,000 (1993 est.)
note: 83.49% of the population in the 15-64 age group is non-national (July 1997 est.)
Saudi Arabia
6 million-7 million
- by occupation:
- government 40%, industry, construction, and oil 25%, services 30%, agriculture 5%
note: 35.87% of the population in the 15-64 age group is non-national (July 1997 est.)
Turkey now Turkiye
- total:
- 21.3 million
- by occupation:
note: about 1.5 million Turks work abroad (1994)
United Arab Emirates
- total:
- 794,400 (1993 est.)
- by occupation:
note: 75.73% of the population in the 15-64 age group is non-national (July 1997 est.)
West Bank
NA
- by occupation:
- construction 28.2%, agriculture 21.8%, industry 14.5%, commerce, restaurants, and hotels 12.6%, other services 22.9% (1991)
note: excluding Israeli settlers
Yemen
- no reliable estimates exist, most people are employed in agriculture and herding or as expatriate laborers;
- services, construction, industry, and commerce account for less than one-half of the labor force
North America
5 entriesMexico
- total:
- 36.3 million (November 1996)
- by occupation:
- services 31.7%, agriculture, forestry, hunting, and fishing 28%, commerce 14.6%, manufacturing 11.1%, construction 8.4%, transportation 4.7%, mining and quarrying 1.5%
United States
- total:
- 133.943 million (includes unemployed) (1996)
- by occupation:
- managerial and professional 28.8%, technical, sales and administrative support 29.7%, services 13.6%, manufacturing, mining, transportation, and crafts 25.1%, farming, forestry, and fishing 2.8%
Oceania
25 entriesGuam
- total :
- 46,930 (1990)
- by occupation:
- federal and territorial government 40%, private 60% (trade 18%, services 15.6%, construction 13.8%, other 12.6%) (1990)
Micronesia, Federated States of now Federated States of Micronesia
NA
- by occupation:
- two-thirds are government employees
Nauru
- by occupation :
- employed in mining phosphates, public administration, education, and transportation
Niue
- total:
- 1,000 (1981 est.)
- by occupation:
- most work on family plantations; paid work exists only in government service, small industry, and the Niue Development Board
Northern Mariana Islands
- total:
- 7,476 total indigenous labor force;
- 2,699 unemployed;
- 22,560 foreign workers (1995)
- by occupation:
- NA
Pitcairn Islands
- total:
- 14 able-bodied men (1993)
- by occupation:
- no business community in the usual sense;
- some public works;
- subsistence farming and fishing
Solomon Islands
- total:
- 26,842
- by occupation:
- services 41.5%, agriculture, forestry, and fishing 23.7%, commerce, transport, and finance 21.7%, construction, manufacturing, and mining 13.1% (1992 est.)
Tuvalu
NA
- by occupation :
- NA
note: people make a living mainly through exploitation of the sea, reefs, and atolls and from wages sent home by those working abroad (mostly workers in the phosphate industry and sailors)
South America
14 entriesBolivia
- total:
- 2.3 million
- by occupation:
- agriculture NA%,
- services and utilities NA%,
- manufacturing,
- mining and construction NA%
Chile
- total:
- 5.5 million (1996 est.)
- by occupation:
- services 38.3% (includes government 12%), industry and commerce 33.8%, agriculture, forestry, and fishing 19.2%, mining 2.3%, construction 6.4% (1990)
Falkland Islands (Islas Malvinas)
- total:
- 1,100 (est.)
- by occupation:
- agriculture 95% (mostly sheepherding)
French Guiana
- total:
- 46,300 (1993)
- by occupation:
- services, government, and commerce 60.6%, industry 21.2%, agriculture 18.2% (1980)
Peru
- total:
- 7.6 million (1996 est.)
- by occupation:
- agriculture,
- mining and quarrying,
- manufacturing,
- construction,
- transport,
- services
Uruguay
- total:
- 1.436 million (1996 est.)
- by occupation:
- government 25%, manufacturing 19%, agriculture 11%, commerce 12%, utilities, construction, transport, and communications 12%, other services 21% (1988 est.)
Southeast Asia
15 entriesBrunei
- total:
- 119,000 (1993 est.); note - includes members of the Army
- by occupation:
- government 48%, production of oil, natural gas, services, and construction 42%, agriculture, forestry, and fishing 4%, other 6% (1986 est.)
note : 33% of labor force is foreign (1988)
Cocos (Keeling) Islands
NA
note: the Cocos Islands Cooperative Society Ltd. employs construction workers, stevedores, and lighterage worker operations; tourism employs others
Hong Kong
- total:
- 3.251 million (1996)
- by occupation:
- wholesale and retail trade, restaurants, and hotels 34.4%, services 19.8%, manufacturing 14.2%, financing, insurance, and real estate 12.4%, transport and communications 5.1%, construction 2.1%, other 12% (1994)
Malaysia
- total:
- 8.398 million (1996 est.)
- by occupation:
- manufacturing 25%, agriculture, forestry, and fisheries 21%, local trade and tourism 17%, services 12%, government 11%, construction 8% (1996)
Singapore
- total:
- 1.801 million (1996 est.)
- by occupation :
- financial, business, and other services 33.5%, manufacturing 25.6%, commerce 22.9%, construction 6.6%, other 11.4% (1994)
Cite this page
Central Intelligence Agency. The World Factbook 1997, “Labor force”, all entries. Archived by The Factbook, thefactbook.org/fields/labor-force/1997.