Statizoid

Labor force (15-64 years), female (% of total labor force 15-64 years) by country

The labor force comprising people ages 15 to 64 who meet the International Labour Organization definition of the economically active population: all people who supply labor for the production of goods and services during a specified period. It includes both the employed and the unemployed. While national practices...

Countries reporting
52
Highest
52.8%
Mozambique
Lowest
17.7%
Algeria
Median
45.7%
Years covered
22
1990–2011
Data points
1,276

What the numbers show

Labor force (15-64 years), female (% of total labor force 15-64 years) is currently reported for 52 countries. The highest value is 52.8% in Mozambique; the lowest is 17.7% in Algeria.

The median across all reporting countries is 45.7%, and the mean is 42.3%.

The gap between the highest and lowest reporting country is a factor of about 3.

Over the past decade 32 countries rose and 20 fell. The largest increase was in Algeria (up 21.6%), and the largest decrease in Lesotho (down 6.4%).

Labor force (15-64 years), female: full country ranking

#Country LatestYear 10-year changeTrend
1 Mozambique 52.8% 2011 down 4.0% falling
2 Rwanda 51.7% 2011 down 1.9% flat
3 Burundi 51.5% 2011 down 2.0% flat
4 Malawi 51.1% 2011 up 4.2% flat
5 Sierra Leone 51.1% 2011 down 4.5% flat
6 Togo 50.4% 2011 up 2.3% rising
7 Tanzania, United Republic of 49.7% 2011 down 0.0% flat
8 Congo, Democratic Republic of the 49.5% 2011 down 0.6% flat
9 Uganda 49.1% 2011 down 1.3% flat
10 Madagascar 49.0% 2011 up 0.3% flat
11 Zimbabwe 49.0% 2011 up 5.3% rising
12 Eritrea 48.7% 2011 up 2.7% flat
13 Congo 48.3% 2011 up 1.2% rising
14 Gambia 48.1% 2011 up 1.4% rising
15 Liberia 48.0% 2011 down 2.7% flat
16 Ghana 47.7% 2011 down 1.0% flat
17 Ethiopia 47.7% 2011 up 3.8% rising
18 Burkina Faso 47.5% 2011 down 1.1% flat
19 Benin 47.4% 2011 up 1.4% rising
20 Guinea-Bissau 47.2% 2011 up 3.5% rising
21 Botswana 46.5% 2011 down 0.7% flat
22 Central African Republic 46.5% 2011 up 1.6% flat
23 Namibia 46.5% 2011 up 4.1% flat
24 Kenya 46.1% 2011 down 0.5% flat
25 Angola 45.8% 2011 down 5.0% falling
26 Cameroon 45.8% 2011 up 1.0% rising
27 Gabon 45.7% 2011 up 2.2% flat
28 Zambia 45.5% 2011 down 2.1% flat
29 Lesotho 45.3% 2011 down 6.4% falling
30 Guinea 45.1% 2011 up 1.5% flat
31 Equatorial Guinea 44.9% 2011 up 1.3% flat
32 Chad 44.8% 2011 down 0.7% flat
33 Senegal 43.7% 2011 up 1.9% rising
34 South Africa 42.8% 2011 down 1.8% rising
35 Nigeria 42.5% 2011 up 5.7% rising
36 Eswatini 39.2% 2011 down 2.2% falling
37 Cape Verde 38.8% 2011 up 0.3% flat
38 Mauritius 38.2% 2011 up 8.9% rising
39 Côte d'Ivoire 38.0% 2011 up 6.8% rising
40 Sao Tome and Principe 37.8% 2011 up 5.3% rising
41 Mali 35.0% 2011 down 4.0% falling
42 Djibouti 34.8% 2011 up 8.2% rising
43 Somalia 33.8% 2011 up 2.5% rising
44 Niger 31.1% 2011 down 3.5% rising
45 Comoros 30.3% 2011 up 7.9% rising
46 Sudan 29.7% 2011 up 2.8% rising
47 Libya 28.9% 2011 up 5.3% rising
48 Tunisia 28.1% 2011 up 6.7% rising
49 Morocco 26.7% 2011 up 3.9% flat
50 Mauritania 26.5% 2011 up 12.5% rising
51 Egypt 24.4% 2011 up 8.4% flat
52 Algeria 17.7% 2011 up 21.6% rising

Regions and income groups

Aggregates are excluded from the country ranking above so that a region can never outrank a country.

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Labor force (15-64 years), female by country. Statizoid, drawing on International Labour Organization, Key Indicators of the Labour Market database. Retrieved 06 September 2026, from https://labour.statizoid.com/stat/labor-force-15-64-years-female-percent-of-total-labor-force-15-64-years/

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About this data

Indicator
Labor force (15-64 years), female (% of total labor force 15-64 years)
Unit
% of total labor force 15-64 years
Source
International Labour Organization, Key Indicators of the Labour Market database
Licence
CC BY 4.0 (World Bank Open Data)
Coverage
58 places, 1,276 data points, 1990–2011
Last refreshed

The labor force comprising people ages 15 to 64 who meet the International Labour Organization definition of the economically active population: all people who supply labor for the production of goods and services during a specified period. It includes both the employed and the unemployed. While national practices vary in the treatment of such groups as the armed forces and seasonal or part-time workers, in general the labor force includes the armed forces, the unemployed, and first-time job-seekers, but excludes homemakers and other unpaid caregivers and workers in the informal sector.