Country rankings

Public Sector Size by Country

United States has the highest Public Sector Workforce (ILO) (21.6M), followed by Indonesia (12.5M) and Brazil (12.1M). Barbados has the lowest (20).

EconomicsPolitics & Government144 countries · 5 metricsUpdated Nov 17, 2024Original page
3 sources
122 of 235 countries
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Public Sector Workforce (ILO)

Darker means higher. Click a place to highlight it.

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Ranking

Highest first: the first 15 and last 5 of 122 countries.

Distribution Median and middle halfThe median is the middle value: half of places are above it, half below. The middle half is the range holding the central 50% of places.More in the glossary →

Each dot is one country; the lines mark the median and the middle half.

Median
602.8K
Middle half 240.1K – 1.7M
Average
1.7M
122 countries
Highest
21.6M
United States
Lowest
20
Barbados

Data

Click a column to sort, a row to highlight that place on the charts.

143 countries · # = rank by Public Sector Workforce (ILO)
#
1United States21.6M161M13.4%2,023
2Indonesia12.5M139.2M8.94%2,023
3Brazil12.1M99.3M12.2%2,023
4United Kingdom7.8M33M23.6%2,023
5Mauritius6.8M551.4K1,233.0%2,019
6Mexico6.8M58.9M11.6%2,023
7Germany6.5M——2,013
8France5.8M28.6M20.1%2,023
9Egypt5.6M28M20.0%2,022
10Japan5.2M66.3M7.88%2,021
11Turkey4.8M31.6M15.3%2,023
12Pakistan4.5M61.7M7.3%2,021
13Vietnam4.3M55M7.87%2,023
14Canada4.3M20.2M21.1%2,023
15Philippines4.2M45.8M9.11%2,022
16Poland4.1M17.1M24.2%2,023
17Thailand3.7M39.9M9.22%2,023
18Australia3.7M12.7M28.9%2,021
19Spain3.5M21.2M16.6%2,023
20Iran3.5M23.5M14.8%2,022
21Venezuela3.3M13.6M24.3%2,020
22Iraq3.2M8.7M37.4%2,021
23Bangladesh3.2M70.5M4.52%2,022
24South Africa3M16.7M17.7%2,023
25South Korea2.8M26.2M10.8%2,019
26Nigeria2.6M71.1M3.59%2,023
27Ethiopia2.4M37M6.56%2,021
28Argentina2.4M13.3M18.1%2,023
29DR Congo2.4M31.1M7.69%2,020
30Belarus1.8M4.5M39.3%2,015
31Malaysia1.7M12M14.3%2,022
32Peru1.6M17.6M8.89%2,023
33Sweden1.5M5.1M29.3%2,020
34Romania1.4M8.5M16.3%2,020
35Hungary1.4M4.5M30.5%2,018
36Netherlands1.2M9.3M13.4%2,020
37Israel1.2M4M31.4%2,021
38Sri Lanka1.2M8.1M15.1%2,022
39Chile1.2M9.1M13.0%2,023
40Tanzania1.2M25M4.62%2,020
41Sudan1.1M9.1M12.1%2,022
42Azerbaijan1.1M4.9M21.9%2,022
43Belgium1M4.8M21.1%2,019
44Angola948.3K11.1M8.54%2,021
45Colombia914.5K22.8M4.01%2,023
46Morocco898.7K10.7M8.36%2,022
47Norway873K2.7M32.2%2,020
48Denmark862K2.9M30.2%2,020
49Yemen813.6K4.2M19.4%2,014
50Greece795.8K3.6M22.2%2,020
51Switzerland764.7K4.8M15.8%2,023
52Mongolia757.8K1.3M57.5%2,023
53Slovakia728.2K2.6M28.0%2,022
54Ghana721.3K11.7M6.18%2,022
55Serbia719.2K2.9M24.9%2,020
56Bulgaria685.3K3.1M22.0%2,020
57Dominican Republic664K4.8M13.7%2,023
58United Arab Emirates661.8K8.6M7.73%2,023
59Afghanistan642.8K7.7M8.37%2,021
60Finland622K2.5M24.9%2,020
61Uganda607.1K17.9M3.38%2,021
62Jordan598.5K2.5M24.1%2,022
63Bolivia540K6.6M8.21%2,023
64Ecuador532.2K8.1M6.56%2,023
65Tajikistan500.4K2.3M22.1%2,016
66Croatia494.5K1.7M29.8%2,020
67Kyrgyzstan490.8K2.6M19.0%2,022
68Kuwait464.6K2M22.8%2,022
69Zambia453.1K6.8M6.7%2,023
70Liberia417K1M40.3%2,017
71Zimbabwe412.8K5.5M7.47%2,023
72Oman407.5K2.5M16.2%2,022
73Ireland400.9K1.8M22.0%2,018
74Ivory Coast398.4K11.6M3.44%2,022
75Madagascar386.3K11.9M3.25%2,022
76Lithuania377.3K1.4M27.8%2,020
77Laos367.5K3.5M10.5%2,022
78Guatemala367.1K6.6M5.54%2,023
79Austria359.1K4.5M8.01%2,023
80Paraguay340.4K3.2M10.5%2,023
81Panama329.8K1.9M17.0%2,023
82Bosnia and Herzegovina326.3K1.3M24.3%2,023
83Georgia296.9K1.7M17.6%2,020
84Costa Rica288.6K2.2M13.3%2,023
85Armenia272.6K1.2M23.1%2,021
86Hong Kong268.6K3.7M7.16%2,014
87Uruguay261.1K1.7M15.3%2,023
88El Salvador259.9K2.9M8.82%2,023
89Latvia258.6K893K29.0%2,020
90Moldova254.1K1.4M17.5%2,023
91Rwanda246.8K4.7M5.28%2,023
92Palestine237.9K1.1M20.9%2,022
93Qatar236.1K2.1M11.3%2,022
94Senegal234.8K5.4M4.38%2,022
95Singapore224.3K2.4M9.53%2,023
96Montenegro203.8K251.2K81.1%2,022
97Mali197.4K6.5M3.02%2,022
98Albania182.6K1.3M14.4%2,019
99North Macedonia174.2K684.1K25.5%2,023
100Niger166.1K9.3M1.79%2,022
101Estonia161.9K656.6K24.7%2,020
102Botswana150.9K869.8K17.3%2,023
103Chad147.3K4.3M3.43%2,018
104Trinidad and Tobago123.4K578K21.3%2,023
105Bhutan72.4K366K19.8%2,023
106Cyprus69.3K441K15.7%2,020
107Brunei67.1K217.3K30.9%2,023
108Gambia49.7K623.2K7.98%2,023
109Fiji47.3K327.1K14.5%2,016
110Cape Verde42.6K206.2K20.6%2,019
111Seychelles40.7K101.4K40.2%2,023
112Bahamas30.2K188.8K16.0%2,023
113Luxembourg27.3K232.7K11.7%2,018
114New Caledonia22.8K109.3K20.9%2,022
115Saint Lucia15.7K89.2K17.6%2,022
116Cameroon14.6K9.3M0.16%2,021
117Belize14.4K166.3K8.67%2,019
118Greenland10.3K25.6K40.2%2,015
119Micronesia8,28035.6K23.3%2,014
120San Marino3,59015.4K23.3%2,022
121Niue43077055.5%2,022
122Barbados2012020.9%2,021
—India———2,014
—China———2,012
—Russia———2,011
—Italy———2,013
—Ukraine———2,013
—Uzbekistan—13.2M—2,020
—Kazakhstan———2,012
—Guinea———2,018
—Haiti———2,012
—Cuba———2,010
—Czechia———2,015
—Portugal—4.9M—2,018
—Nicaragua———2,012
—New Zealand———2,011
—Slovenia—1M—2,020
—Bahrain———2,012
—Macau———2,014
—Malta—261.4K—2,020
—Bermuda———2,012
—American Samoa———2,012
—Liechtenstein———2,015

What correlates with Public Sector Workforce (ILO)?

Pearson r against 1,524 other country metrics sharing at least 74 countries. Correlation is not causation.

Higher together

Places that have a higher Public Sector Workforce (ILO) tend to score higher on these

  1. Social Media UsersSocial Media Users by Country
    r = +0.93 · very strong · n = 122
    Plot
  2. Number of Internet Users (Data Reportal)Internet Users by Country
    r = +0.93 · very strong · n = 122
    Plot
  3. Internet UsersCountries With Poor (or Limited) Internet Access
    r = +0.93 · very strong · n = 120
    Plot
  4. Internet Users (CIA)Internet Users by Country
    r = +0.93 · very strong · n = 122
    Plot
  5. Total COVID19 Excess DeathsExcess Covid Deaths by Country
    r = +0.93 · very strong · n = 79
    Plot
  6. Facebook UsersFacebook Users by Country
    r = +0.93 · very strong · n = 119
    Plot

Opposite directions

Places that have a higher Public Sector Workforce (ILO) tend to score lower on these

  1. Net International Investment PositionNet International Investment Position by Country
    r = −0.63 · strong · n = 83
    Plot
  2. Global FirePower IndexMilitary Strength Index by Country
    r = −0.54 · strong · n = 102
    Plot
  3. Year Admitted to CommitteeUNHCR Member Countries
    r = −0.46 · moderate · n = 74
    Plot
  4. % of Children Ever BreastfedBreastfeeding Rates by Country
    r = −0.41 · moderate · n = 79
    Plot
  5. Year of First Oscar SubmissionOscar Winners by Country
    r = −0.39 · moderate · n = 93
    Plot
  6. Joining YearInternational Maritime Organization
    r = −0.36 · moderate · n = 108
    Plot

Quick answers

Which country has the highest Public Sector Workforce (ILO)?
United States has the highest Public Sector Workforce (ILO), at 21.6M, followed by Indonesia (12.5M) and Brazil (12.1M).
Which country has the lowest Public Sector Workforce (ILO)?
Barbados has the lowest Public Sector Workforce (ILO), at 20.
What is the median Public Sector Workforce (ILO) across countries?
The median is 602.8K across the 122 countries with data.
Where does the Public Sector Size by Country data come from?
Rankodex compiles it from World Population Review and the primary sources it cites: Employment by sex and institutional sector - International Labor Organization; Government at a Glance - OECD; Wikipedia - List of countries by public sector size.

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