Social Protection & Labor · Africa Eastern and Southern
Yearly data from 1990 to 2025, from the World Bank.
Africa Eastern and Southern's labor force, total was 299.26 million in 2025, the latest year in the World Bank's World Development Indicators. That is up 24.52% from 240.33 million in 2015 (2.22% a year on average, compounded).
| Value | Year | |
|---|---|---|
| Latest | 299.26 million | 2025 |
| Five years earlier | 268.43 million | 2020 |
| Ten years earlier | 240.33 million | 2015 |
| Highest | 299.26 million | 2025 |
| Lowest | 121.9 million | 1990 |
| Average since 2016 | 272.9 million | 2016–2025 |
| First recorded | 121.9 million | 1990 |
Over five years it is up 11.49% from 268.43 million in 2020 (2.2% a year on average, compounded). Since 1990 it is up 145.51% from 121.9 million in 1990 (2.6% a year on average, compounded).
In 2025, Africa Eastern and Southern's labor force, total rose 3% on 2024 (from 290.54 million to 299.26 million).
Across the 30 yearly changes before that (1995 to 2024), the average change was +2.5% and a typical year strayed about 0.8% from that (the standard deviation). This year's change was 0.6 standard deviations above that average, so it was an ordinary year: it sits within the range of normal year-to-year movement.
On record, the biggest yearly rise was 4.2% in 2013 and the biggest yearly fall was 0.2% in 2023. The numbers show how large and when, not why; for the cause, look at what happened in that country in those years.
From 2016 to 2025 the straight-line trend is upward, about 5.93 million a year. A straight line explains 98% of the movement over 10 observed years.
Worked out from the yearly values above. How the checks work: standard deviation, z-scores and straight-line trends.
Extending that straight line gives about 317.37 million for 2028. We show this only because the same method, fitted on earlier years, predicted 2023 to 2025 better than "no change" would have: its average miss was 3.94 million, against 5.22 million for assuming no change. Treat it as a continuation of the recent pattern, not a forecast of events: it cannot see a recession, a policy change or a revision to the data.
See how a linear trend forecast works and the guide on forecasting without fooling yourself.
See how every economy compares in the full ranking.
| Value | Year | |
|---|---|---|
| Africa Eastern and Southern | 299.26 million | 2025 |
| World | 3.74 billion | 2025 |
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.
Regional and income-group figures are computed by the World Bank as a sum.
| Year | Labor force, total |
|---|---|
| 2025 | 299,259,736 |
| 2024 | 290,536,403 |
| 2023 | 286,716,203 |
| 2022 | 287,406,365 |
| 2021 | 277,268,587 |
| 2020 | 268,425,249 |
| 2019 | 264,515,662 |
| 2018 | 257,765,403 |
| 2017 | 251,170,980 |
| 2016 | 245,924,910 |
| 2015 | 240,328,676 |
| 2014 | 234,282,265 |
| 2013 | 230,020,954 |
| 2012 | 220,782,640 |
| 2011 | 216,593,145 |
| 2010 | 209,603,737 |
| 2009 | 204,642,061 |
| 2008 | 199,885,621 |
| 2007 | 194,763,519 |
| 2006 | 189,833,993 |
| 2005 | 184,939,364 |
| 2004 | 179,796,039 |
| 2003 | 174,808,789 |
| 2002 | 169,867,381 |
| 2001 | 165,077,374 |
| 2000 | 160,532,909 |
| 1999 | 156,114,060 |
| 1998 | 151,806,301 |
| 1997 | 147,794,549 |
| 1996 | 144,315,891 |
| 1995 | 140,779,265 |
| 1994 | 136,840,328 |
| 1993 | 132,861,621 |
| 1992 | 129,172,880 |
| 1991 | 125,564,573 |
| 1990 | 121,895,325 |
Every indicator for Africa Eastern and Southern is on the Africa Eastern and Southern data page.
World Bank, World Development Indicators, indicator SL.TLF.TOTL.IN, licensed CC BY 4.0. Original source: International Labour Organization (ILO), type: estimates based on external database; United Nations (UN), publisher: UN Population Division; Staff estimates, World Bank (WB) Figures are fetched from the World Bank API and refreshed monthly; see the series on data.worldbank.org. The full definition and method are in the World Bank's metadata glossary. Comparisons use the same World Bank release.
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