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China — Labor participation
Labor Force Participation Rate for China, 1990–2025.
Latest value · 2025
64.55%
Labor Force Participation Rate · % of population ages 15+ · -18.5% since 1990
Labor participation for China was 64.55% in 2025, according to the latest World Bank data. The series covers 36 years, from 1990 to 2025. The highest recorded value was 79.17% in 1990. Across that span the compound annual growth rate works out to -0.58% per year.
China ranks 68 of 187 economies on this measure (1 = highest), putting it in the top 36%. The median for East Asia & Pacific is 64.35%, so China sits above it. It peaked in 1990 and has fallen 18% since. Over the last decade (2015–2025) the figure moved down 7%.
Key figures
Latest (2025)
64.55%
First (1990)
79.17%
Change
-18.5%
Highest
79.17%
in 1990
Lowest
64.55%
in 2025
Average
71.80%
Annual growth (CAGR)
-0.58%
Years of data
36
Recent years
| Year | % of population ages 15+ |
|---|---|
| 2025 | 64.55% |
| 2024 | 64.91% |
| 2023 | 65.83% |
| 2022 | 65.8% |
| 2021 | 67.11% |
| 2020 | 65.72% |
| 2019 | 67.38% |
| 2018 | 67.81% |
| 2017 | 68.35% |
| 2016 | 68.88% |
| 2015 | 69.3% |
| 2014 | 69.65% |
Reading this correctly. Proportion of the population aged 15 and above that is economically active: supplying labor for the production of goods and services. Figures are in % of population ages 15+. Comparing this series with a different measure of the same concept (for example a nominal figure against a purchasing-power-parity figure) will give misleading results.
Related data
Source. World Bank Open Data, indicator
SL.TLF.CACT.ZS — Labor Force Participation Rate. Data licensed under CC BY 4.0. Values are reproduced as published; this page computes the summary statistics (change, CAGR, extremes) from the underlying annual series. View the original dataset on data.worldbank.org.