Gender wage gap vs. ratio of female-to-male labor force participation in United Kingdom
United Kingdom: Gender wage gap vs. ratio of female-to-male labor force participation was 16.3% in 2024. ▼ Falling
Gender wage gap vs. ratio of female-to-male labor force participation in United Kingdom, 1995–2024
Source: International Labour Organization (2026) – with major processing by Our World in Data. Measured in %.
Analysis
In 2024, gender wage gap vs. ratio of female-to-male labor force participation in United Kingdom stood at 16.3%.
The figure is up 11.7% on the previous year and down 6.6% over ten years.
Over the whole period, gender wage gap vs. ratio of female-to-male labor force participation in United Kingdom peaked at 21.0% in 2006 and was at its lowest, 14.6%, in 2023.
That places United Kingdom 13th out of 67 countries with data for 2024, putting it in the top quarter.
The long-run direction has been consistently falling across the 23 years of available data.
Gender wage gap vs. ratio of female-to-male labor force participation in United Kingdom, year by year
| Year | % | Change |
|---|---|---|
| 1995 | 19.8% | — |
| 1996 | 19.5% | -1.2% |
| 1997 | 19.8% | +1.3% |
| 2005 | 19.7% | -0.2% |
| 2006 | 21.0% | +6.4% |
| 2007 | 19.3% | -8.2% |
| 2008 | 19.0% | -1.2% |
| 2009 | 18.9% | -0.5% |
| 2010 | 18.7% | -1.1% |
| 2011 | 18.5% | -1.2% |
| 2012 | 18.1% | -2.0% |
| 2013 | 17.9% | -1.4% |
| 2014 | 17.4% | -2.5% |
| 2015 | 18.7% | +7.4% |
| 2016 | 17.9% | -4.7% |
| 2017 | 18.5% | +3.7% |
| 2018 | 19.3% | +4.3% |
| 2019 | 19.0% | -1.8% |
| 2020 | 16.2% | -14.8% |
| 2021 | 18.3% | +13.1% |
| 2022 | 16.9% | -7.4% |
| 2023 | 14.6% | -13.8% |
| 2024 | 16.3% | +11.7% |
United Kingdom compared with similar countries
- United Kingdom's 16.3% is above the median for high income countries, which is 14.9%, 1.1× the median. (21 countries reporting)
- United Kingdom's 16.3% is above the median for Europe & Central Asia, which is 10.7%, 1.5× the median. (16 countries reporting)
Averages by decade
| Decade | Average | Lowest | Highest | Years |
|---|---|---|---|---|
| 1990s | 19.7% | 19.5% | 19.8% | 3 |
| 2000s | 19.6% | 18.9% | 21.0% | 5 |
| 2010s | 18.4% | 17.4% | 19.3% | 10 |
| 2020s | 16.4% | 14.6% | 18.3% | 5 |
Countries ranked near United Kingdom
More work & labour data for United Kingdom
- Persons outside the labour force (ILO modelled estimates) 22,956 (2027)
- Labour force participation rate (ILO modelled estimates) 60.91 (2027)
- Labour force (ILO modelled estimates) 35,770 (2027)
- Unemployment rate (ILO modelled estimates) 4.93 (2027)
- Labour dependency ratio 1.07 (2027)
- Output per worker, GDP constant 2021 international $ at PPP 111,361 (2027)
- Output per worker, GDP constant 2015 US $ 100,223 (2027)
- Employment-to-population ratio (ILO modelled estimates) 57.91 (2027)
- Persons outside the labour force (ILO modelled estimates) (15+) 1.47 % change on previous year (2027)
- Labour force (ILO modelled estimates) (15+), annual growth rate 0.4352 % change on previous year (2027)
Frequently asked questions
- What is gender wage gap vs. ratio of female-to-male labor force participation in United Kingdom?
- Gender wage gap vs. ratio of female-to-male labor force participation in United Kingdom was 16.3% in 2024, 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 United Kingdom?
- The highest recorded value was 21.0% in 2006.
- What is the lowest gender wage gap vs. ratio of female-to-male labor force participation recorded in United Kingdom?
- The lowest recorded value was 14.6% in 2023.
- How does United Kingdom rank for gender wage gap vs. ratio of female-to-male labor force participation?
- United Kingdom ranks 13th out of 67 countries with data for 2024.
- Is gender wage gap vs. ratio of female-to-male labor force participation rising or falling in United Kingdom?
- Over the last ten years it is down 6.6%. The long-run trend across the full record is falling.
- Where does this United Kingdom 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 — 23 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.