Portugal's labor force, total was 5.49 million in 2025, the latest year in the World Bank's World Development Indicators. That is up 5.53% from 5.2 million in 2015 (0.54% a year on average, compounded).
Key figures
| Value | Year | |
|---|---|---|
| Latest | 5.49 million | 2025 |
| Five years earlier | 5.14 million | 2020 |
| Ten years earlier | 5.2 million | 2015 |
| Highest | 5.53 million | 2008 |
| Lowest | 4.74 million | 1990 |
| Average since 2016 | 5.27 million | 2016–2025 |
| First recorded | 4.74 million |
What the numbers say
In 2025, Portugal's labor force, total rose 0.6% on 2024 (from 5.45 million to 5.49 million).
Across the 30 yearly changes before that (1995 to 2024), the average change was +0.4% and a typical year strayed about 1.3% from that (the standard deviation). This year's change was 0.2 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 3.3% in 1998 and the biggest yearly fall was 2.6% in 1992. 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 31,063 a year. A straight line explains 54% 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.
How it compares
In 2025, Portugal had the 80th highest value of the 182 economies reporting that year. Higher is not always better: for some indicators the lowest value is the one to aim for. See the full ranking.
| Value | Year | |
|---|---|---|
| Portugal | 5.49 million | 2025 |
| World | 3.74 billion | 2025 |
| Europe & Central Asia | 429.15 million | 2025 |
| High income | 733.62 million | 2025 |
Closest to Portugal in the 2025 ranking
- Sweden — 76th of 182: 5.7 million
- Czechia — 77th of 182: 5.58 million
- Dominican Republic — 78th of 182: 5.51 million
- Belgium — 80th of 182: 5.46 million
- Haiti — 81st of 182: 5.27 million
- Switzerland — 82nd of 182: 5.17 million
What this measures
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.
All 36 values
| Year | Labor force, total |
|---|---|
| 2025 | 5,485,246 |
| 2024 | 5,450,166 |
| 2023 | 5,395,411 |
| 2022 | 5,245,513 |
| 2021 | 5,114,630 |
| 2020 | 5,138,884 |
| 2019 | 5,245,523 |
| 2018 | 5,230,976 |
| 2017 | 5,221,693 |
| 2016 | 5,182,106 |
| 2015 |
Labor force, total in nearby economies
- Albania — 1.26 million (2025)
- Armenia — 1.49 million (2025)
- Austria — 4.75 million (2025)
- Azerbaijan — 5.11 million (2025)
- Belarus — 4.8 million (2025)
- Belgium — 5.46 million (2025)
- Bosnia and Herzegovina — 1.34 million (2025)
- Bulgaria — 3.09 million (2025)
- Channel Islands — 81,617 (2025)
- Croatia — 1.74 million (2025)
- Cyprus — 770,268 (2025)
- Czechia — 5.58 million (2025)
More social protection & labor data for Portugal
- Net migration — 16,472 (2025)
- Unemployment, female (% of female labor force) (national estimate) — 6.5% (2025)
- Unemployment, male (% of male labor force) (national estimate) — 5.52% (2025)
- Unemployment, total (% of total labor force) (national estimate) — 6.01% (2025)
- Refugees under the mandate of the UNHCR by country or territory of asylum — 70,349 (2025)
- Labor force participation rate for ages 15-24, female (%) (national estimate) — 32.29% (2025)
- Labor force participation rate for ages 15-24, male (%) (national estimate) — 36.96% (2025)
- Labor force participation rate for ages 15-24, total (%) (national estimate)
Reading data like this
Questions people ask
- What is Portugal's labor force, total?
- 5.49 million in 2025, according to the World Bank (World Development Indicators).
- How has it changed since 1990?
- It is up 15.72% from 4.74 million in 1990 (0.42% a year on average, compounded). The highest value was 5.53 million in 2008 and the lowest 4.74 million in 1990.
- How does Portugal rank?
- 80th highest of 182 economies with data for 2025.
- Is the latest change in labor force, total unusual for Portugal?
- In 2025, Portugal's labor force, total rose 0.6% on 2024 (from 5.45 million to 5.49 million). Across the 30 yearly changes before that (1995 to 2024), the average change was +0.4% and a typical year strayed about 1.3% from that (the standard deviation). This year's change was 0.2 standard deviations above that average, so it was an ordinary year: it sits within the range of normal year-to-year movement.
Source
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.
Want to ask your own questions of data like this? Try AnalyzeIt: upload a file or ask about public data in plain words, and every figure comes with its working.
Legal entity
Devansh Yadav
Moradabad, Uttar Pradesh
Governing law: Courts at Moradabad, Uttar Pradesh
Phone: +91 8433475698
Legal: legal@analyzeit.in