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

Japan: Economic Outlook No 115 — Potential employment of total economy was 66.97 million in 2025. ▲ Rising

Latest (2025)
66.97 million
Change on year
down 0.2%
World rank
2nd
of 29 countries
All-time high
67.14 million
in 2023
All-time low
58.23 million
in 1985
Years of data
41
1985–2025

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

020.0M40.0M60.0M1985200520251985: 58.2M1986: 58.8M1987: 59.5M1988: 60.3M1989: 61.1M1990: 62.0M1991: 62.9M1992: 63.6M1993: 64.2M1994: 64.6M1995: 64.8M1996: 64.9M1997: 64.9M1998: 64.8M1999: 64.6M2000: 64.3M2001: 64.0M2002: 63.8M2003: 63.6M2004: 63.6M2005: 63.7M2006: 63.8M2007: 63.9M2008: 63.8M2009: 63.7M2010: 63.5M2011: 63.4M2012: 63.3M2013: 63.5M2014: 63.8M2015: 64.1M2016: 64.5M2017: 64.9M2018: 65.3M2019: 65.7M2020: 66.1M2021: 66.6M2022: 67.0M2023: 67.1M2024: 67.1M2025: 67.0M

Source: Organisation for Economic Co-operation and Development.

Analysis

Japan recorded 66.97 million for economic outlook no 115 — potential employment of total economy in 2025.

Compared with earlier readings it is down 0.2% on the previous year and up 4.4% over ten years.

Over the whole period, economic outlook no 115 — potential employment of total economy in Japan peaked at 67.14 million in 2023 and was at its lowest, 58.23 million, in 1985.

Japan ranks 2nd of 29 countries on this measure, in the top 10%.

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 Japan, year by year

Annual values for Economic Outlook No 115 — Potential employment of total economy in Japan, 1985 to 2025.
Year Value Change
1985 58.23 million
1986 58.83 million +1.0%
1987 59.50 million +1.1%
1988 60.26 million +1.3%
1989 61.12 million +1.4%
1990 62.03 million +1.5%
1991 62.90 million +1.4%
1992 63.65 million +1.2%
1993 64.20 million +0.9%
1994 64.56 million +0.6%
1995 64.78 million +0.3%
1996 64.88 million +0.2%
1997 64.88 million +0.0%
1998 64.77 million -0.2%
1999 64.56 million -0.3%
2000 64.29 million -0.4%
2001 64.02 million -0.4%
2002 63.78 million -0.4%
2003 63.64 million -0.2%
2004 63.62 million -0.0%
2005 63.68 million +0.1%
2006 63.78 million +0.2%
2007 63.86 million +0.1%
2008 63.84 million -0.0%
2009 63.72 million -0.2%
2010 63.55 million -0.3%
2011 63.38 million -0.3%
2012 63.32 million -0.1%
2013 63.47 million +0.2%
2014 63.78 million +0.5%
2015 64.15 million +0.6%
2016 64.52 million +0.6%
2017 64.89 million +0.6%
2018 65.28 million +0.6%
2019 65.68 million +0.6%
2020 66.14 million +0.7%
2021 66.64 million +0.8%
2022 67.00 million +0.5%
2023 67.14 million +0.2%
2024 67.10 million -0.1%
2025 66.97 million -0.2%

Japan compared with similar countries

  • Japan's 66.97 million is above the median for high income countries, which is 5.23 million, 12.8× the median. (28 countries reporting)

Averages by decade

DecadeAverage LowestHighest Years
1980s 59.59 million 58.23 million 61.12 million 5
1990s 64.12 million 62.03 million 64.88 million 10
2000s 63.82 million 63.62 million 64.29 million 10
2010s 64.20 million 63.32 million 65.68 million 10
2020s 66.83 million 66.14 million 67.14 million 6

Countries ranked near Japan

  1. 1 United States of America 166.71 million compare
  2. 2 Türkiye 32.78 million compare
  3. 3 Croatia 1.78 million compare
  4. 3 Mexico 60.40 million compare
  5. 3 Poland 16.87 million compare
  6. 4 Germany 46.19 million compare
  7. 4 Netherlands 10.57 million compare
  8. 5 United Kingdom of Great Britain and Northern Ireland 33.74 million compare
  9. 5 Lithuania 1.49 million compare

See the full ranking of 39 places →

More economy & growth data for Japan

All data for Japan →

Frequently asked questions

What is economic outlook no 115 — potential employment of total economy in Japan?
Economic outlook no 115 — potential employment of total economy in Japan was 66.97 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 Japan?
The highest recorded value was 67.14 million in 2023.
What is the lowest economic outlook no 115 — potential employment of total economy recorded in Japan?
The lowest recorded value was 58.23 million in 1985.
How does Japan rank for economic outlook no 115 — potential employment of total economy?
Japan ranks 2nd out of 29 countries with data for 2025.
Is economic outlook no 115 — potential employment of total economy rising or falling in Japan?
Over the last ten years it is up 4.4%. The long-run trend across the full record is rising.
Where does this Japan 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 Japan. 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/japan/

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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