Economic Outlook No 115 — Potential employment of total economy in France

France: Economic Outlook No 115 — Potential employment of total economy was 30.36 million in 2025. ▲ Rising

Latest (2025)
30.36 million
Change on year
up 0.6%
World rank
6th
of 29 countries
All-time high
30.36 million
in 2025
All-time low
22.80 million
in 1985
Years of data
41
1985–2025

Economic Outlook No 115 — Potential employment of total economy in France, 1985–2025

010.0M20.0M30.0M1985200520251985: 22.8M1986: 22.8M1987: 22.9M1988: 23.0M1989: 23.1M1990: 23.2M1991: 23.4M1992: 23.5M1993: 23.7M1994: 23.8M1995: 24.0M1996: 24.2M1997: 24.4M1998: 24.6M1999: 24.9M2000: 25.2M2001: 25.5M2002: 25.8M2003: 26.0M2004: 26.2M2005: 26.4M2006: 26.6M2007: 26.8M2008: 26.9M2009: 27.0M2010: 27.1M2011: 27.2M2012: 27.2M2013: 27.3M2014: 27.3M2015: 27.4M2016: 27.6M2017: 27.8M2018: 28.0M2019: 28.4M2020: 28.8M2021: 29.2M2022: 29.6M2023: 29.9M2024: 30.2M2025: 30.4M

Source: Organisation for Economic Co-operation and Development.

Analysis

The most recent figure for economic outlook no 115 — potential employment of total economy in France is 30.36 million, measured in 2025. That is the highest value across all 41 years on record.

That represents a change of up 0.6% on the previous year and up 10.8% over ten years.

Over the whole period, economic outlook no 115 — potential employment of total economy in France peaked at 30.36 million in 2025 and was at its lowest, 22.80 million, in 1985.

France ranks 6th of 29 countries on this measure, in the top quarter.

The long-run direction has been consistently rising across the 41 years of available data.

Economic Outlook No 115 — Potential employment of total economy in France, year by year

Annual values for Economic Outlook No 115 — Potential employment of total economy in France, 1985 to 2025.
Year Value Change
1985 22.80 million
1986 22.84 million +0.2%
1987 22.91 million +0.3%
1988 23.00 million +0.4%
1989 23.10 million +0.5%
1990 23.22 million +0.5%
1991 23.36 million +0.6%
1992 23.51 million +0.7%
1993 23.68 million +0.7%
1994 23.85 million +0.7%
1995 24.01 million +0.7%
1996 24.17 million +0.7%
1997 24.35 million +0.8%
1998 24.59 million +1.0%
1999 24.87 million +1.2%
2000 25.18 million +1.3%
2001 25.49 million +1.2%
2002 25.76 million +1.1%
2003 26.00 million +0.9%
2004 26.22 million +0.8%
2005 26.42 million +0.8%
2006 26.60 million +0.7%
2007 26.76 million +0.6%
2008 26.89 million +0.5%
2009 27.00 million +0.4%
2010 27.09 million +0.3%
2011 27.16 million +0.3%
2012 27.21 million +0.2%
2013 27.26 million +0.2%
2014 27.32 million +0.2%
2015 27.41 million +0.3%
2016 27.55 million +0.5%
2017 27.77 million +0.8%
2018 28.04 million +1.0%
2019 28.38 million +1.2%
2020 28.78 million +1.4%
2021 29.20 million +1.5%
2022 29.60 million +1.4%
2023 29.94 million +1.2%
2024 30.17 million +0.8%
2025 30.36 million +0.6%

France compared with similar countries

  • France's 30.36 million is above the median for high income countries, which is 5.23 million, 5.8× the median. (28 countries reporting)
  • France's 30.36 million is above the median for Europe & Central Asia, which is 5.08 million, 6.0× the median. (21 countries reporting)

Averages by decade

DecadeAverage LowestHighest Years
1980s 22.93 million 22.80 million 23.10 million 5
1990s 23.96 million 23.22 million 24.87 million 10
2000s 26.23 million 25.18 million 27.00 million 10
2010s 27.52 million 27.09 million 28.38 million 10
2020s 29.67 million 28.78 million 30.36 million 6

Countries ranked near France

  1. 3 Croatia 1.78 million compare
  2. 3 Mexico 60.40 million compare
  3. 3 Poland 16.87 million compare
  4. 4 Germany 46.19 million compare
  5. 4 Netherlands 10.57 million compare
  6. 5 United Kingdom of Great Britain and Northern Ireland 33.74 million compare
  7. 5 Lithuania 1.49 million compare
  8. 6 Slovenia 1.08 million compare
  9. 7 Estonia 691,551 compare
  10. 7 Italy 25.77 million compare
  11. 8 Spain 21.20 million compare
  12. 9 Canada 20.67 million compare

See the full ranking of 39 places →

More economy & growth data for France

All data for France →

Frequently asked questions

What is economic outlook no 115 — potential employment of total economy in France?
Economic outlook no 115 — potential employment of total economy in France was 30.36 million in 2025, according to Organisation for Economic Co-operation and Development.
What is the highest economic outlook no 115 — potential employment of total economy recorded in France?
The highest recorded value was 30.36 million in 2025.
What is the lowest economic outlook no 115 — potential employment of total economy recorded in France?
The lowest recorded value was 22.80 million in 1985.
How does France rank for economic outlook no 115 — potential employment of total economy?
France ranks 6th out of 29 countries with data for 2025.
Is economic outlook no 115 — potential employment of total economy rising or falling in France?
Over the last ten years it is up 10.8%. The long-run trend across the full record is rising.
Where does this France data come from?
The figures come from Organisation for Economic Co-operation and Development, published as part of Economic Outlook No 115 — Potential employment of total economy. Statizoid updates them automatically from the source API.

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Economic Outlook No 115 — Potential employment of total economy in France. Statizoid, drawing on Organisation for Economic Co-operation and Development. Retrieved 15 September 2026, from https://economy.statizoid.com/stat/economic-outlook-no-115-potential-employment-of-total-economy/france/

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About this data

Indicator
Economic Outlook No 115 — Potential employment of total economy
Source
Organisation for Economic Co-operation and Development
Licence
OECD Terms and Conditions (attribution required)
Coverage
39 places, 1,441 data points, 1964–2025
Last refreshed

May 2024 - The OECD Economic Outlook presents the OECD’s analysis of the major global economic trends and prospects for the next two years. The Outlook puts forward a consistent set of projections for output, employment, government spending, prices and current balances based on a review of each member country and of the induced effect on each of them on international developments. OECD (2024), OECD Economic Outlook No 115 (Edition 2024/1) EO115 Database documentation EO115 Last historical points gdp inflation cpi population unemployment real gdp gdp per capita employment OECD Economic Outlook website: https://www.oecd.org/economic-outlook/ Contact: eco.outlook@oecd.org Keywords: Outlook, forecasts, forecast, GDP