Gender wage gap in Pakistan
Pakistan: Gender wage gap was -5.1% in 2021. ▼ Falling
Gender wage gap in Pakistan, 2006–2021
Source: International Labour Organization (2026) – with major processing by Our World in Data. Measured in %.
Analysis
Pakistan recorded -5.1% for gender wage gap in 2021. That is the lowest value across all 14 years on record.
That represents a change of down 138.6% on the previous year and down 121.5% over ten years.
Over the whole period, gender wage gap in Pakistan peaked at 31.8% in 2008 and was at its lowest, -5.1%, in 2021.
That places Pakistan 57th out of 67 countries with data for 2021, putting it in the bottom quarter.
The long-run direction has been consistently falling across the 14 years of available data.
Averages by decade
| Decade | Average | Lowest | Highest | Years |
|---|---|---|---|---|
| 2000s | 23.6% | 16.3% | 31.8% | 4 |
| 2010s | 22.1% | 10.8% | 29.2% | 9 |
| 2020s | -5.1% | -5.1% | -5.1% | 1 |
Countries ranked near Pakistan
More work & labour data for Pakistan
- 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+) 52.3% (2025)
- Labor force participation rate, male (% of male population ages 15+) 80.1% (2025)
- Ratio of female to male labor force participation rate (%) 30.0% (2025)
- Labor force participation rate, female (% of female population ages 15 24.0% (2025)
- Labor force participation rate, total (% of total population ages 15-6 54.7% (2025)
- Labor force participation rate, male (% of male population ages 15-64) 83.0% (2025)
- Labor force participation rate, female (% of female population ages 15 25.6% (2025)
Frequently asked questions
- What is gender wage gap in Pakistan?
- Gender wage gap in Pakistan was -5.1% in 2021, according to International Labour Organization (2026) – with major processing by Our World in Data.
- What is the highest gender wage gap recorded in Pakistan?
- The highest recorded value was 31.8% in 2008.
- What is the lowest gender wage gap recorded in Pakistan?
- The lowest recorded value was -5.1% in 2021.
- How does Pakistan rank for gender wage gap?
- Pakistan ranks 57th out of 67 countries with data for 2021.
- Is gender wage gap rising or falling in Pakistan?
- Over the last ten years it is down 121.5%. The long-run trend across the full record is falling.
- Where does this Pakistan data come from?
- The figures come from International Labour Organization (2026) – with major processing by Our World in Data, published as part of Gender wage gap. Statizoid updates them automatically from the source API.
Download this data
CSV · JSON — 14 observations, free to reuse under CC BY 4.0 (Our World in Data).
About this data
Difference between average earnings of men and average earnings of women expressed as a percentage of average earnings of men.