Female labor force participation rates in Belgium
Belgium: Female labor force participation rates was 49.78 in 2025. ▲ Rising
Latest (2025)
49.78
Change on year
down 0.4%
World rank
120th
of 186 countries
All-time high
50.03
in 2022
All-time low
36.46
in 1990
Years of data
36
1990–2025
Female labor force participation rates in Belgium, 1990–2025
Source: Our World in Data.
Analysis
In 2025, female labor force participation rates in Belgium stood at 49.78.
That represents a change of down 0.4% on the previous year and up 3.6% over ten years.
Over the whole period, female labor force participation rates in Belgium peaked at 50.03 in 2022 and was at its lowest, 36.46, in 1990.
That places Belgium 120th out of 186 countries with data for 2025, putting it in the middle of the range.
The long-run direction has been consistently rising across the 36 years of available data.
Averages by decade
| Decade | Average | Lowest | Highest | Years |
|---|---|---|---|---|
| 1990s | 39.92 | 36.46 | 43.15 | 10 |
| 2000s | 44.7 | 41.79 | 46.98 | 10 |
| 2010s | 47.97 | 47.1 | 49.1 | 10 |
| 2020s | 49.61 | 48.66 | 50.03 | 6 |
Countries ranked near Belgium
- 117 Cape Verde 50.47 compare
- 118 Bulgaria 50.38 compare
- 119 South Africa 49.88 compare
- 121 El Salvador 49.05 compare
- 122 Eswatini 48.52 compare
- 123 Lesotho 48.09 compare
More work & labour data for Belgium
- Legislation on sexual harassment in employment 1 (2023)
- Criminal penalties or civil remedies sexual harassment in employment 1 (2023)
- Women can take the same jobs as men 1 (2023)
- Labor force participation rate, total (% of total population ages 15+) 54.3% (2025)
- Labor force participation rate, male (% of male population ages 15+) 59.0% (2025)
- Ratio of female to male labor force participation rate (%) 84.4% (2025)
- Labor force participation rate, female (% of female population ages 15 49.8% (2025)
- Labor force participation rate, total (% of total population ages 15-6 71.0% (2025)
- Labor force participation rate, male (% of male population ages 15-64) 74.8% (2025)
- Labor force participation rate, female (% of female population ages 15 67.2% (2025)
Frequently asked questions
- What is female labor force participation rates in Belgium?
- Female labor force participation rates in Belgium was 49.78 in 2025, according to Our World in Data.
- What is the highest female labor force participation rates recorded in Belgium?
- The highest recorded value was 50.03 in 2022.
- What is the lowest female labor force participation rates recorded in Belgium?
- The lowest recorded value was 36.46 in 1990.
- How does Belgium rank for female labor force participation rates?
- Belgium ranks 120th out of 186 countries with data for 2025.
- Is female labor force participation rates rising or falling in Belgium?
- Over the last ten years it is up 3.6%. The long-run trend across the full record is rising.
- Where does this Belgium data come from?
- The figures come from Our World in Data, published as part of Female labor force participation rates. Statizoid updates them automatically from the source API.
Download this data
CSV · JSON — 36 observations, free to reuse under CC BY 4.0 (Our World in Data).