Labor force (15-64 years), female in Ethiopia

Ethiopia: Labor force (15-64 years), female was 22.23 million in 2011. ▲ Rising

Latest (2011)
22.23 million
Change on year
up 3.5%
World rank
2nd
of 52 countries
All-time high
22.23 million
in 2011
All-time low
9.51 million
in 1990
Years of data
22
1990–2011

Labor force (15-64 years), female in Ethiopia, 1990–2011

05.0M10.0M15.0M20.0M1990200020111990: 9.5M1991: 9.9M1992: 10.2M1993: 10.5M1994: 10.7M1995: 11.0M1996: 11.2M1997: 11.5M1998: 11.9M1999: 12.2M2000: 14.7M2001: 15.3M2002: 16.0M2003: 16.7M2004: 17.4M2005: 18.2M2006: 18.8M2007: 19.4M2008: 20.1M2009: 20.7M2010: 21.5M2011: 22.2M

Source: International Labour Organization, Key Indicators of the Labour Market database.

Analysis

In 2011, labor force (15-64 years), female in Ethiopia stood at 22.23 million. That is the highest value across all 22 years on record.

That represents a change of up 3.5% on the previous year and up 45.1% over ten years.

Over the whole period, labor force (15-64 years), female in Ethiopia peaked at 22.23 million in 2011 and was at its lowest, 9.51 million, in 1990.

That places Ethiopia 2nd out of 52 countries with data for 2011, putting it in the top 10%.

The long-run direction has been consistently rising across the 22 years of available data.

Labor force (15-64 years), female in Ethiopia, year by year

Annual values for Labor force (15-64 years), female in Ethiopia, 1990 to 2011.
Year Value Change
1990 9.51 million —
1991 9.86 million +3.6%
1992 10.22 million +3.7%
1993 10.45 million +2.3%
1994 10.75 million +2.8%
1995 11.02 million +2.5%
1996 11.25 million +2.1%
1997 11.55 million +2.6%
1998 11.91 million +3.1%
1999 12.22 million +2.6%
2000 14.69 million +20.2%
2001 15.32 million +4.3%
2002 15.99 million +4.3%
2003 16.69 million +4.4%
2004 17.42 million +4.4%
2005 18.19 million +4.4%
2006 18.77 million +3.2%
2007 19.40 million +3.3%
2008 20.06 million +3.4%
2009 20.75 million +3.5%
2010 21.47 million +3.5%
2011 22.23 million +3.5%

Ethiopia compared with similar countries

  • Ethiopia's 22.23 million is above the median for low income countries, which is 2.42 million, 9.2× the median. (20 countries reporting)
  • Ethiopia's 22.23 million is above the median for Sub-Saharan Africa, which is 2.04 million, 10.9× the median. (46 countries reporting)

Averages by decade

DecadeAverage LowestHighest Years
1990s 10.87 million 9.51 million 12.22 million 10
2000s 17.73 million 14.69 million 20.75 million 10
2010s 21.85 million 21.47 million 22.23 million 2

Countries ranked near Ethiopia

  1. 1 Nigeria 23.65 million compare
  2. 3 Democratic Republic of Congo 14.42 million compare
  3. 4 Tanzania 12.56 million compare
  4. 5 South Africa 9.29 million compare

See the full ranking of 58 places →

More work & labour data for Ethiopia

All data for Ethiopia →

Frequently asked questions

What is labor force (15-64 years), female in Ethiopia?
Labor force (15-64 years), female in Ethiopia was 22.23 million in 2011, according to International Labour Organization, Key Indicators of the Labour Market database.
What is the highest labor force (15-64 years), female recorded in Ethiopia?
The highest recorded value was 22.23 million in 2011.
What is the lowest labor force (15-64 years), female recorded in Ethiopia?
The lowest recorded value was 9.51 million in 1990.
How does Ethiopia rank for labor force (15-64 years), female?
Ethiopia ranks 2nd out of 52 countries with data for 2011.
Is labor force (15-64 years), female rising or falling in Ethiopia?
Over the last ten years it is up 45.1%. The long-run trend across the full record is rising.
Where does this Ethiopia data come from?
The figures come from International Labour Organization, Key Indicators of the Labour Market database, published as part of Labor force (15-64 years), female. Statizoid updates them automatically from the source API.

Download this data

CSV · JSON — 22 observations, free to reuse under CC BY 4.0 (World Bank Open Data).

Share, cite or embed this page

Cite this page

Labor force (15-64 years), female in Ethiopia. Statizoid, drawing on International Labour Organization, Key Indicators of the Labour Market database. Retrieved 26 September 2026, from https://labour.statizoid.com/stat/labor-force-15-64-years-female/ethiopia/

Embed or link this data

Paste this into a page to link back to these figures. The data itself is free to reuse under CC BY 4.0 (World Bank Open Data); please keep the attribution.

<a href="https://labour.statizoid.com/stat/labor-force-15-64-years-female/ethiopia/">Labor force (15-64 years), female in Ethiopia</a> — Statizoid

About this data

Indicator
Labor force (15-64 years), female
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.