Labor force with basic education, female (% of female working-age) in United Kingdom
United Kingdom: Labor force with basic education, female (% of female working-age) was 48.9% in 2025. ▼ Falling
Labor force with basic education, female in United Kingdom, 1992–2025
Source: Education and Mismatch Indicators database (EMI), International Labour Organization (ILO). Measured in % of female working-age population with basic education.
Analysis
In 2025, labor force with basic education, female in United Kingdom stood at 48.9%. That is the lowest value across all 33 years on record.
That represents a change of down 2.9% on the previous year and down 21.0% over ten years.
Over the whole period, labor force with basic education, female in United Kingdom peaked at 73.6% in 2005 and was at its lowest, 48.9%, in 2025.
That places United Kingdom 31st out of 125 countries with data for 2025, putting it in the top quarter.
The long-run direction has been consistently falling across the 33 years of available data.
Labor force with basic education, female (% of female working-age) in United Kingdom, year by year
| Year | % of female working-age population with basic education | Change |
|---|---|---|
| 1992 | 63.7% | — |
| 1993 | 63.2% | -0.8% |
| 1994 | 62.4% | -1.2% |
| 1995 | 62.2% | -0.3% |
| 1996 | 62.6% | +0.5% |
| 1997 | 62.4% | -0.2% |
| 1999 | 63.4% | +1.5% |
| 2000 | 63.5% | +0.1% |
| 2001 | 63.0% | -0.7% |
| 2002 | 62.8% | -0.3% |
| 2003 | 62.2% | -1.0% |
| 2004 | 62.2% | +0.0% |
| 2005 | 73.6% | +18.3% |
| 2006 | 73.4% | -0.3% |
| 2007 | 72.4% | -1.3% |
| 2008 | 66.7% | -8.0% |
| 2009 | 64.8% | -2.8% |
| 2010 | 62.9% | -2.9% |
| 2011 | 64.1% | +1.8% |
| 2012 | 62.0% | -3.2% |
| 2013 | 61.8% | -0.4% |
| 2014 | 61.7% | -0.1% |
| 2015 | 61.9% | +0.3% |
| 2016 | 61.7% | -0.2% |
| 2017 | 62.9% | +2.0% |
| 2018 | 62.3% | -1.0% |
| 2019 | 62.8% | +0.7% |
| 2020 | 61.0% | -2.9% |
| 2021 | 60.1% | -1.4% |
| 2022 | 50.1% | -16.6% |
| 2023 | 49.2% | -1.9% |
| 2024 | 50.3% | +2.4% |
| 2025 | 48.9% | -2.9% |
United Kingdom compared with similar countries
- United Kingdom's 48.9% is above the median for high income countries, which is 32.5%, 1.5× the median. (52 countries reporting)
- United Kingdom's 48.9% is above the median for Europe & Central Asia, which is 25.9%, 1.9× the median. (44 countries reporting)
Averages by decade
| Decade | Average | Lowest | Highest | Years |
|---|---|---|---|---|
| 1990s | 62.8% | 62.2% | 63.7% | 7 |
| 2000s | 66.5% | 62.2% | 73.6% | 10 |
| 2010s | 62.4% | 61.7% | 64.1% | 10 |
| 2020s | 53.3% | 48.9% | 61.0% | 6 |
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 labor force with basic education, female in United Kingdom?
- Labor force with basic education, female in United Kingdom was 48.9% in 2025, according to Education and Mismatch Indicators database (EMI), International Labour Organization (ILO).
- What is the highest labor force with basic education, female recorded in United Kingdom?
- The highest recorded value was 73.6% in 2005.
- What is the lowest labor force with basic education, female recorded in United Kingdom?
- The lowest recorded value was 48.9% in 2025.
- How does United Kingdom rank for labor force with basic education, female?
- United Kingdom ranks 31st out of 125 countries with data for 2025.
- Is labor force with basic education, female rising or falling in United Kingdom?
- Over the last ten years it is down 21.0%. The long-run trend across the full record is falling.
- Where does this United Kingdom data come from?
- The figures come from Education and Mismatch Indicators database (EMI), International Labour Organization (ILO), published as part of Labor force with basic education, female (% of female working-age population with basic education). Statizoid updates them automatically from the source API.
Download this data
CSV · JSON — 33 observations, free to reuse under CC BY 4.0 (World Bank Open Data).
About this data
The ratio of the labor force with basic education to the working-age population with basic education. Basic education comprises primary education or lower secondary education according to the International Standard Classification of Education 2011 (ISCED 2011).