Economic Outlook No 117 — General government employment in Japan

Japan: Economic Outlook No 117 — General government employment was 4.22 million in 2026. ▲ Rising

Latest (2026)
4.22 million
Change on year
unchanged
World rank
5th
of 17 countries
All-time high
5.66 million
in 2004
All-time low
3.59 million
in 1963
Years of data
64
1963–2026

Economic Outlook No 117 — General government employment in Japan, 1963–2026

02.0M4.0M6.0M196319942026

Source: Organisation for Economic Co-operation and Development.

Analysis

Japan recorded 4.22 million for economic outlook no 117 — general government employment in 2026.

Compared with earlier readings it is down 15.2% over ten years.

Over the whole period, economic outlook no 117 — general government employment in Japan peaked at 5.66 million in 2004 and was at its lowest, 3.59 million, in 1963.

The long-run direction has been consistently rising across the 64 years of available data.

Economic Outlook No 117 — General government employment in Japan, year by year

Annual values for Economic Outlook No 117 — General government employment in Japan, 1963 to 2026.
Year Value Change
1963 3.59 million
1964 3.61 million +0.6%
1965 3.66 million +1.4%
1966 3.76 million +2.7%
1967 3.72 million -1.1%
1968 3.83 million +3.0%
1969 3.85 million +0.5%
1970 3.87 million +0.5%
1971 3.94 million +1.8%
1972 3.99 million +1.3%
1973 4.15 million +4.0%
1974 4.32 million +4.1%
1975 4.45 million +3.0%
1976 4.52 million +1.6%
1977 4.51 million -0.2%
1978 4.59 million +1.8%
1979 4.72 million +2.8%
1980 4.83 million +2.3%
1981 4.87 million +0.8%
1982 4.91 million +0.8%
1983 4.92 million +0.2%
1984 4.95 million +0.6%
1985 5.01 million +1.2%
1986 5.03 million +0.4%
1987 5.00 million -0.6%
1988 5.03 million +0.6%
1989 4.99 million -0.8%
1990 4.97 million -0.4%
1991 5.08 million +2.2%
1992 5.14 million +1.2%
1993 5.20 million +1.2%
1994 5.31 million +2.1%
1995 5.41 million +1.9%
1996 5.44 million +0.6%
1997 5.42 million -0.5%
1998 5.38 million -0.7%
1999 5.40 million +0.4%
2000 5.45 million +1.0%
2001 5.42 million -0.6%
2002 5.46 million +0.8%
2003 5.53 million +1.3%
2004 5.66 million +2.2%
2005 5.52 million -2.5%
2006 5.40 million -2.2%
2007 5.35 million -1.0%
2008 4.97 million -7.1%
2009 4.98 million +0.2%
2010 4.89 million -1.8%
2011 4.89 million +0.1%
2012 4.97 million +1.6%
2013 5.01 million +0.9%
2014 5.07 million +1.1%
2015 5.00 million -1.4%
2016 4.97 million -0.6%
2017 4.98 million +0.2%
2018 5.01 million +0.6%
2019 5.02 million +0.1%
2020 5.02 million +0.0%
2021 5.02 million +0.0%
2022 4.20 million -16.2%
2023 4.21 million +0.2%
2024 4.21 million +0.1%
2025 4.22 million +0.0%
2026 4.22 million +0.0%

Averages by decade

DecadeAverage LowestHighest Years
1960s 3.72 million 3.59 million 3.85 million 7
1970s 4.31 million 3.87 million 4.72 million 10
1980s 4.95 million 4.83 million 5.03 million 10
1990s 5.27 million 4.97 million 5.44 million 10
2000s 5.37 million 4.97 million 5.66 million 10
2010s 4.98 million 4.89 million 5.07 million 10
2020s 4.44 million 4.20 million 5.02 million 7

Countries ranked near Japan

  1. 2 Poland 2.55 million compare
  2. 2 France 6.42 million compare
  3. 3 United Kingdom of Great Britain and Northern Ireland 6.07 million compare
  4. 3 Netherlands 1.29 million compare
  5. 4 Canada 4.57 million compare
  6. 4 Lithuania 312,746 compare
  7. 5 Estonia 166,734 compare
  8. 6 Italy 3.63 million compare
  9. 7 Spain 3.39 million compare
  10. 8 Sweden 1.57 million compare

See the full ranking of 23 places →

More economy & growth data for Japan

All data for Japan →

Frequently asked questions

What is economic outlook no 117 — general government employment in Japan?
Economic outlook no 117 — general government employment in Japan was 4.22 million in 2026, according to Organisation for Economic Co-operation and Development.
What is the highest economic outlook no 117 — general government employment recorded in Japan?
The highest recorded value was 5.66 million in 2004.
What is the lowest economic outlook no 117 — general government employment recorded in Japan?
The lowest recorded value was 3.59 million in 1963.
How does Japan rank for economic outlook no 117 — general government employment?
Japan ranks 5th out of 17 countries with data for 2026.
Is economic outlook no 117 — general government employment rising or falling in Japan?
Over the last ten years it is down 15.2%. 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 117 — General government employment. Statizoid updates them automatically from the source API.

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Economic Outlook No 117 — General government employment in Japan. Statizoid, drawing on Organisation for Economic Co-operation and Development. Retrieved 05 September 2026, from https://economy.statizoid.com/stat/economic-outlook-no-117-general-government-employment/japan/

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About this data

Indicator
Economic Outlook No 117 — General government employment
Source
Organisation for Economic Co-operation and Development
Licence
OECD Terms and Conditions (attribution required)
Coverage
23 places, 1,195 data points, 1960–2026
Last refreshed

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 (2025), OECD Economic Outlook No 117 (Edition 2025/1) EO117 Database documentation EO117 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