Employment

The World's Biggest Employers

No company in the world has more employees than Walmart. The latest information from the U.S. retail giant put the figure at a massive 2.30 million. Not even the behemoth that is Amazon comes close, despite being in second place with a 1.61 million-strong workforce. As this infographic shows though, there's one sector that apparently needs even more manpower than retail, and that's defense.

At the top of the ranking for the world's largest employers is India's Ministry of Defence. Combining active service personnel, reservists and civilian staff, the total headcount comes to 2.99 million - a touch ahead of the United States equivalent, the Department of Defense. In China, the People's Liberation Army (which doesn't include civilian positions) employs around 2.55 million people. The Chinese equivalent of the U.S. Department of Defense, the Central Military Commission may have as many as 6.80 million people in its employment, though that figure was not deemed sufficiently reliable to be included in this list.

Description

This chart shows the employers with the largest workforces worldwide in 2022.

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U.S. government - outlays of the Department of Defense 2000-2029
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Contracts awarded by the U.S. Department of Defense to KBR 2023, by branch and agency
U.S. total Department of Defense Reserve personnel 1995-2022
U.S. Active duty Department of Defense personnel numbers 1995-2022
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U.S. DOD obligations for construction, architecture, and engineering 2023, by segment
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U.S. largest DoD contractors FY 2022, by contract value

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