Female employment rate in Australia
Australia: Female employment rate was 60.6% in 2025. ▲ Rising
Female employment rate in Australia, 1979–2025
Source: Labour Force Statistics, via World Bank (2026) – processed by Our World in Data. Measured in %.
Analysis
Australia recorded 60.6% for female employment rate in 2025.
That represents a change of down 0.1% on the previous year and up 9.2% over ten years.
Over the whole period, female employment rate in Australia peaked at 60.7% in 2024 and was at its lowest, 40.0%, in 1979.
That places Australia 31st out of 172 countries with data for 2025, putting it in the top quarter.
The long-run direction has been consistently rising across the 47 years of available data.
Averages by decade
| Decade | Average | Lowest | Highest | Years |
|---|---|---|---|---|
| 1970s | 40.0% | 40.0% | 40.0% | 1 |
| 1980s | 42.9% | 40.0% | 47.7% | 10 |
| 1990s | 48.4% | 46.5% | 50.1% | 10 |
| 2000s | 53.5% | 51.2% | 55.9% | 10 |
| 2010s | 56.0% | 55.0% | 57.9% | 10 |
| 2020s | 59.5% | 56.3% | 60.7% | 6 |
Countries ranked near Australia
More work & labour data for Australia
- Legislation on sexual harassment in employment 1 (1=yes; 0=no) (2023)
- Criminal sanctions or compensation for workplace sexual harassment 1 (1=yes; 0=no) (2023)
- Women can take the same jobs as men 1 (1=yes; 0=no) (2023)
- Labor force participation rate, total (% of total population ages 15+) 66.5% (2025)
- Labor force participation rate, male (% of male population ages 15+) 70.7% (2025)
- Ratio of female to male labor force participation rate (%) 88.4% (2025)
- Labor force participation rate, female (% of female population ages 15 62.5% (2025)
- Labor force participation rate, total (% of total population ages 15-6 80.6% (2025)
- Labor force participation rate, male (% of male population ages 15-64) 83.8% (2025)
- Labor force participation rate, female (% of female population ages 15 77.4% (2025)
Frequently asked questions
- What is female employment rate in Australia?
- Female employment rate in Australia was 60.6% in 2025, according to Labour Force Statistics, via World Bank (2026) – processed by Our World in Data.
- What is the highest female employment rate recorded in Australia?
- The highest recorded value was 60.7% in 2024.
- What is the lowest female employment rate recorded in Australia?
- The lowest recorded value was 40.0% in 1979.
- How does Australia rank for female employment rate?
- Australia ranks 31st out of 172 countries with data for 2025.
- Is female employment rate rising or falling in Australia?
- Over the last ten years it is up 9.2%. The long-run trend across the full record is rising.
- Where does this Australia data come from?
- The figures come from Labour Force Statistics, via World Bank (2026) – processed by Our World in Data, published as part of Female employment rate. Statizoid updates them automatically from the source API.
Download this data
CSV · JSON — 47 observations, free to reuse under CC BY 4.0 (Our World in Data).
About this data
Share of the female working-age population who are employed. Figures refer to national estimates and may not be fully comparable across countries.