People-packed powerhouses, the leading employers by country are a formidable force, with some boasting jaw-dropping staff numbers that run into the millions.
From the bustling assembly lines of global brands like Samsung to the steady pulse of government institutions, these private and public sector titans help shape our world, driving job creation, economic growth and social development in the process.
Excluding military and defence bodies, click or scroll on to discover which organisation has the highest employee headcount in 21 countries around the globe, and find out who the biggest employer in your home nation is.
All dollar amounts in US dollars.
Emirates Group has 114,000 staff across more than 80 countries. However, the aviation colossus, which includes Emirates Airline and aircraft services firm dnata, hasn't divulged how many of its employees are based in its Dubai HQ.
Still, there are at least 22,000 members of cabin crew who work out of the Emirate. Add in the HQ staff and airport ground workers and the total is likely to be considerably higher.
Colombia is among the OECD countries with the smallest percentage of public sector employees, so it's a private sector firm that takes the crown for the largest number of personnel.
In Colombia's case, the victor is food retailer Grupo Éxito. In keeping with its name, which translates to 'Success Group', the company has grown fast and now has hundreds of locations around the country, ranging from hypermarkets and supermarkets to convenience stores. Its workforce is between 35,000 and 37,000, according to the latest data.
Health New Zealand – Te Whatu Ora became the nation's biggest employer when it was launched in 2022 to replace the country's 20 district health boards.
New Zealand's primary public healthcare system now has a workforce of around 80,000 people, spanning nurses and doctors, admin and managerial staff.
Migros Group is Switzerland's largest retailer and biggest employer, with approximately 82,000 staff in the country at the last count.
Migros Group is a cooperative with 2.3 million members, around a quarter of the Swiss population, so it's effectively owned by its staff and customers. The organisation's arch-rival, Coop, which operates on similar lines, has more members at 2.6 million, though fewer staff, with around 60,000 employees in Switzerland.
Large retailers, especially supermarket chains, tend to have monster workforces. As is the case in many countries, the biggest employer in Spain is its leader in that sector: Mercadona.
Based on data from the company's website, the supermarket chain has a headcount of 107,500 staff in Spain. Meanwhile, Inditex, the parent company of brands such as Zara and Bershka, employs more than 160,000 people globally, with around a third of the workforce located in Spain
Ahold Delhaize is the biggest employer in the Netherlands, with over a quarter of its 384,000 global workforce based in the country.
The retail multinational's brands include Bol.com, the Netherlands' top online retailer, and Albert Heijn, its leading supermarket chain. Ahold Delhaize is also the parent of the nation's go-to liquor store chain Gall & Gall, as well as Etos, the largest Dutch health and wellness platform.
Poste Italiane, Italy's state-controlled postal service provider, has more employees than any other organisation in the country, with around 120,000 staff.
The private sector leader is Italy's largest bank, Intesa Sanpaolo, which boasts a headcount of around 94,000 workers.
South Korea's family-run conglomerates, or chaebols, are the country's personnel powerhouses. According to The Korea Herald, one in 10 Koreans work for these large companies.
Samsung Electronics, the largest South Korean firm by market cap, has the most employees, with 124,564 recorded at the end of 2025.
The public sector takes the top spot in Singapore. The city-state's Public Service employs about 152,000 public officers who work in 16 ministries and more than 50 statutory boards. The roles are diverse, with general civil servants, teachers, lawyers and environmental workers on the payroll.
Private sector companies with the largest workforces include Singapore Airlines and DBS Bank, the country's premier financial services corporation.
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Argentina's controversial president Javier Milei has laid off more than 60,000 government workers in a bid to shrink the state. Despite that, the public sector remains the leading employer in the South American nation.
The federal government is the biggest single employer, with a headcount of between 280,000 and 300,000 following the cuts.
The state reigns supreme in Canada. The nation's federal government has the largest workforce of any organisation, with 345,282 employees in total.
However, the private sector isn't all that far behind. George Weston Ltd, which consists of Canada's largest food and drug retailer, has more than 220,000 staff members.
FEMSA is Mexico's biggest employer. The beverage and retail behemoth, which operates the biggest independent Coca-Cola bottling operation in the world and Latin America's largest convenience store chain, Oxxo, employs around 350,000 staff.
Walmart Mexico is second, with 235,000. Chillingly, research published in the journal Science in 2023 placed the country's brutal drug cartels fifth. A shocking 175,000 personnel do their dirty work, with their ranks reportedly growing by the day.
The Government of New South Wales is Australia's largest employer by a long shot. All in all, 478,000 people are on its books.
Australia's leading private sector employer is Woolworths Group. According to its website, the nation's largest retailer has over 200,000 staff across its numerous supermarkets, Metro Food Stores, and Big W discount department chain.
The majority of Germany's five million civil servants are spread throughout the country's 16 states but, with around 500,000 employees, the federal government is the nation's biggest single employer.
As for private sector workforces, Volkswagen leads the way, with around 284,000 staff. However, the company has announced plans to close multiple plants nationwide.
Brazil's federal government has the highest headcount of any organisation in the country, with 579,000 employees according to recent figures.
The private sector leader is multinational food company JBS, which is the largest meat processing enterprise in the world. It's added thousands of new jobs in recent years and currently boasts a Brazil-based workforce of around 158,000 people.
The public sector is also numéro un in France. The country's leading employer is the Ministry of National Education and Youth, which has a workforce of over 1.2 million.
A minor player by comparison, France's biggest private sector employer is supermarket chain Carrefour, which has over 105,000 employees nationwide.
Often dubbed the "lifeline to the nation", state-owned Indian Railways operates the largest rail network in Asia and has a workforce of over 1.2 million, making it the country's largest employer by a wide margin.
India's private sector king in terms of staff numbers is Tata Consultancy Services, which has almost 600,000 employees nationwide.
South Africa's government is its leading employer, with 1.3 million public servants in the country.
The country's largest private sector employer is Shoprite Holdings. The group operates retail chains including Shoprite, Checkers and Usave and employs around 174,000 people.
NHS England, the country's universal healthcare system, has long been the leading employer in the UK. The vast organisation has 1.5 million staff in total, ranging from nurses and doctors to admin and managerial personnel.
Mirroring a number of other countries, the private sector player with the most staff is another food-focused retailer: Tesco. However, despite having around 340,000 employees, Tesco still isn't the UK company with the largest global workforce. That accolade goes to food services multinational Compass Group, which has 580,000 staff members worldwide.
The Chinese government exerts tremendous control over the nation's economy, so it comes as no surprise that the leading employer is a state-owned company. Figures published by Forbes reveal that power utility firm State Grid is the number one, with 1,700,000 employees.
Electric vehicle manufacturer BYD is next with 968,900, which makes it the largest private sector employer in the People's Republic.
The federal government is America's biggest employer, reflecting the size and complexity of the nation. As per official FRED data, there are just over three million people on the federal government payroll.
The biggest private sector employer in the US is none other than Walmart. The gargantuan retailer has approximately 1.6 million staff in the country – and with 2.1 million personnel globally, it's easily the world's leading private sector employer too.
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