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Who are the largest employers in the WORLD?
https://www.forbes.com/sites/niallmccarthy/2015/06/23/the-worlds-biggest-employers-infographic/ [forbes.com]
Given the size of their populations, many people generally assume that the world's largest employers are Chinese or Indian. However, according to research published by the World Economic Forum, the US Department of Defense boasts a workforce of 3.2 million people, making it the largest global employer. The Chinese military, the People's Liberation Army, is in second position with a force of 2.3 million.
Walmart and McDonald's come third and fourth with 2.1 and 1.9 million employees respectively (the number for McDonald's includes franchises). England's National Health Service (NHS) makes a surprising appearance in fifth place with a 1.7 million strong workforce - more than Indian Railways or the Indian armed forces.
The claim seems to be verified by wikipedia - https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/List_of_largest_employers [wikipedia.org] Their page also lists the top 11 non-governmental employers
Employees
Employer 2015[1] 2010[2][3] Headquarters
United States Department of Defense 3.2 million United States
People's Liberation Army 2.3 million China
Walmart 2.1 million United States
McDonald's[note 1] 1.9 million 1.7 million United States
National Health Service 1.7 million 1.4 million United Kingdom
China National Petroleum Corporation 1.5 million 1.7 million China
State Grid Corporation of China 1.5 million 1.6 million China
Indian Railways 1.4 million 1.3 million India
Indian Armed Forces 1.3 million India
Hon Hai Precision Industry (Foxconn) 1.2 million 0.8 million Taiwan[4]
Private and semipublic companies with the most employees in the world
Rank Employer Country Employees
1 Walmart United States 2,300,000
2 China National Petroleum China 1,512,048
3 China Post Group China 941,211
4 State Grid China 926,067
5 Hon Hai Precision Industry Taiwan 726,772
6 Sinopec Group China 713,288
7 Tata Group India 695,000
8 Volkswagen Germany 626,715
9 United States Postal Service United States 574,349
10 Compass Group GBR 527,180
11 Agricultural Bank of China China 501,368
No story seems to be complete without the BBC's angle on things https://www.bbc.co.uk/news/magazine-17429786 [bbc.co.uk]
The National Health Service (NHS) in England is at the centre of a big political row about its reform. It's often said to be the third biggest employer in the world, after the Chinese army and Indian Railways. But is that really true?
It's an incredible claim, given how much smaller the UK is than China or India.
And indeed, it is not true.
Sizing up the world's biggest employers and compiling a list of the top 10, the NHS is revealed to be the fifth largest, with 1.7 million workers across England, Wales, Scotland and Northern Ireland.
