Annual Labor Force of African Countries in 2017

Updated on May 16, 2026.

According to data from the World Bank, in 2017, among all African countries, Nigeria had the highest labor force (90,905,566), followed by Ethiopia (47,739,835), and then Egypt (30,714,881). On the other hand, Sao Tome and Principe had the lowest labor force (28,984).

Use the chart and table below to see the annual labor force for each country in 2017.

You can also see links below for the trend of the labor force for each African country.

The World Bank defines Labor Force as "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".

Related Topics: World Bank Topic List
Data Source: World Bank.
Annual Labor Force of African Countries in 2017
Annual Labor Force of African Countries in 2017
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Country Labor Force
Algeria 12361094
Angola 12515803
Benin 5081385
Botswana 939892
Burkina Faso 8529005
Burundi 4797040
Cape Verde 217299
Cameroon 9535157
Republic of Congo 2112071
Ivory Coast 10180365
Democratic Republic of the Congo 30551551
Djibouti 228680
Central African Republic 1794130
Chad 4877629
Egypt 30714881
Equatorial Guinea 591358
Eritrea 1445587
Eswatini 376955
Ethiopia 47739835
Gabon 697657
Gambia 637032
Ghana 12411296
Guinea 3841450
Guinea-Bissau 689816
Kenya 20983194
Lesotho 825264
Liberia 2158010
Libya 2306606
Madagascar 13481355
Malawi 6338147
Mali 7140459
Mauritania 965695
Mauritius 621819
Morocco 11672302
Mozambique 12130020
Zambia 5669282
Zimbabwe 5543892
Tanzania 26154191
Uganda 15308568
Tunisia 4149640
Togo 2749806
Sudan 10406873
Somalia 2674985
South Africa 22888401
South Sudan 4187095
Sierra Leone 2379454
Senegal 4146271
Rwanda 4388612
Niger 7997473
Nigeria 90905566
Namibia 947334
Comoros 226302
Sao Tome and Principe 28984

Trend of Labor Force of African Countries

Use the links below to see the trend of Labor Force for the following African countries.