Gender wage gap vs. ratio of female-to-male labor force participation in Korea
Korea: Gender wage gap vs. ratio of female-to-male labor force participation was 29.3% in 2022. ▼ Falling
Gender wage gap vs. ratio of female-to-male labor force participation in Korea, 2009–2022
Source: International Labour Organization (2026) – with major processing by Our World in Data. Measured in %.
Analysis
Korea recorded 29.3% for gender wage gap vs. ratio of female-to-male labor force participation in 2022. That is the lowest value across all 14 years on record.
The figure is down 0.3% on the previous year and down 10.4% over ten years.
Over the whole period, gender wage gap vs. ratio of female-to-male labor force participation in Korea peaked at 35.1% in 2009 and was at its lowest, 29.3%, in 2022.
Korea ranks 5th of 67 countries on this measure, in the top 10%.
The long-run direction has been consistently falling across the 14 years of available data.
Gender wage gap vs. ratio of female-to-male labor force participation in Korea, year by year
| Year | % | Change |
|---|---|---|
| 2009 | 35.1% | — |
| 2010 | 34.3% | -2.3% |
| 2011 | 33.6% | -2.0% |
| 2012 | 32.7% | -2.7% |
| 2013 | 32.9% | +0.8% |
| 2014 | 33.8% | +2.6% |
| 2015 | 34.7% | +2.6% |
| 2016 | 33.6% | -3.1% |
| 2017 | 33.1% | -1.5% |
| 2018 | 31.5% | -4.8% |
| 2019 | 30.0% | -4.7% |
| 2020 | 29.6% | -1.5% |
| 2021 | 29.4% | -0.6% |
| 2022 | 29.3% | -0.3% |
Korea compared with similar countries
- Korea's 29.3% is above the median for high income countries, which is 14.9%, 2.0× the median. (21 countries reporting)
- Korea's 29.3% is above the median for East Asia & Pacific, which is 8.7%, 3.4× the median. (11 countries reporting)
Averages by decade
| Decade | Average | Lowest | Highest | Years |
|---|---|---|---|---|
| 2000s | 35.1% | 35.1% | 35.1% | 1 |
| 2010s | 33.0% | 30.0% | 34.7% | 10 |
| 2020s | 29.4% | 29.3% | 29.6% | 3 |
Countries ranked near Korea
More work & labour data for Korea
- Persons outside the labour force (ILO modelled estimates) 16,840 (2027)
- Labour force participation rate (ILO modelled estimates) 63.91 (2027)
- Labour force (ILO modelled estimates) 29,824 (2027)
- Unemployment rate (ILO modelled estimates) 2.96 (2027)
- Labour dependency ratio 0.78 (2027)
- Output per worker, GDP constant 2021 international $ at PPP 97,052 (2027)
- Output per worker, GDP constant 2015 US $ 65,686 (2027)
- Employment-to-population ratio (ILO modelled estimates) 62.02 (2027)
- Persons outside the labour force (ILO modelled estimates) (15+) 0.9719 % change on previous year (2027)
- Labour force (ILO modelled estimates) (15+), annual growth rate -0.1065 % change on previous year (2027)
Frequently asked questions
- What is gender wage gap vs. ratio of female-to-male labor force participation in Korea?
- Gender wage gap vs. ratio of female-to-male labor force participation in Korea was 29.3% in 2022, according to International Labour Organization (2026) – with major processing by Our World in Data.
- What is the highest gender wage gap vs. ratio of female-to-male labor force participation recorded in Korea?
- The highest recorded value was 35.1% in 2009.
- What is the lowest gender wage gap vs. ratio of female-to-male labor force participation recorded in Korea?
- The lowest recorded value was 29.3% in 2022.
- How does Korea rank for gender wage gap vs. ratio of female-to-male labor force participation?
- Korea ranks 5th out of 67 countries with data for 2022.
- Is gender wage gap vs. ratio of female-to-male labor force participation rising or falling in Korea?
- Over the last ten years it is down 10.4%. The long-run trend across the full record is falling.
- Where does this Korea 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 vs. ratio of female-to-male labor force participation. 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.