Times of Better Bharat

India, measured — every morning · est. 2026

Labour-force participation

Share of working-age people in the labour force. It is the number that makes the unemployment rate readable: people who have stopped looking for work are not counted as unemployed, so a low participation rate hides joblessness the headline figure misses.

Latest
55.66
2025
Published by
World Bank / ILO
annual

Labour-force participation over time

50.0%52.0%54.0%56.0%58.0%60.0%62.0%199019962002200820142020202555.7%
1990–2025 · 36 observations · % of population 15+
View as table
PeriodLabour-force participation
202555.7%
202455.6%
202354.7%
202253.6%
202152.5%
202051.5%
201952.3%
201852.5%
201752.7%
201652.9%
201553.0%
201453.2%
201353.4%
201253.5%
201154.1%
201054.8%
200955.6%
200856.5%
200757.4%
200658.3%
200559.3%
200459.4%
200359.6%
200259.8%
200159.9%
200060.1%
199959.7%
199859.4%
199759.1%
199658.7%
199558.4%
199458.1%
199358.0%
199258.0%
199158.0%
199057.9%

Compared with

Vietnam
72.8%
Indonesia
68.0%
China
64.6%
Japan
63.4%
Brazil
63.1%
United States
61.7%
Germany
60.6%
Bangladesh
58.8%
India
55.7%
South Africa
55.6%
Pakistan
52.3%
Sri Lanka
48.5%
Nepal
39.2%
Latest available year for each country · % of population 15+

Source

World Bank / ILO — https://data.worldbank.org/indicator/SL.TLF.CACT.ZS