Labor participation rate, female (% of female population ages 25-54) by country
Labor force participation rate is the proportion of the population ages 25-54 that is economically active: all people who supply labor for the production of goods and services during a specified period. The participation rates are harmonized to account for differences in national data collection and tabulation...
What the numbers show
Labor participation rate, female (% of female population ages 25-54) is currently reported for 52 countries. The highest value is 97.6% in Malawi; the lowest is 21.0% in Algeria.
The median across all reporting countries is 75.9%, and the mean is 69.3%.
The gap between the highest and lowest reporting country is a factor of about 5.
Over the past decade 40 countries rose and 12 fell. The largest increase was in Algeria (up 34.9%), and the largest decrease in Angola (down 6.8%).
Labor participation rate, female: full country ranking
| # | Country | Latest | Year | 10-year change | Trend |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| 1 | Malawi | 97.6% | 2011 | up 14.3% | rising |
| 2 | Rwanda | 96.2% | 2011 | down 0.4% | flat |
| 3 | Mozambique | 95.9% | 2011 | up 1.0% | rising |
| 4 | Tanzania, United Republic of | 95.9% | 2011 | up 1.7% | flat |
| 5 | Burundi | 94.9% | 2011 | down 0.7% | flat |
| 6 | Madagascar | 92.5% | 2011 | up 1.1% | flat |
| 7 | Equatorial Guinea | 92.0% | 2011 | up 2.4% | flat |
| 8 | Togo | 90.6% | 2011 | up 4.5% | rising |
| 9 | Zimbabwe | 90.1% | 2011 | up 10.0% | rising |
| 10 | Eritrea | 88.7% | 2011 | up 7.3% | rising |
| 11 | Botswana | 88.4% | 2011 | up 3.8% | rising |
| 12 | Uganda | 88.3% | 2011 | down 5.0% | falling |
| 13 | Ethiopia | 87.3% | 2011 | up 8.0% | rising |
| 14 | Burkina Faso | 85.5% | 2011 | up 1.0% | flat |
| 15 | Congo, Democratic Republic of the | 84.6% | 2011 | up 1.6% | flat |
| 16 | Ghana | 84.1% | 2011 | down 1.0% | flat |
| 17 | Congo | 82.9% | 2011 | up 5.9% | rising |
| 18 | Central African Republic | 80.3% | 2011 | up 4.2% | flat |
| 19 | Guinea-Bissau | 79.9% | 2011 | up 6.7% | rising |
| 20 | Namibia | 79.5% | 2011 | up 19.2% | rising |
| 21 | Sierra Leone | 79.3% | 2011 | down 2.4% | flat |
| 22 | Zambia | 78.0% | 2011 | down 2.4% | flat |
| 23 | Gambia | 78.0% | 2011 | up 2.8% | rising |
| 24 | Cameroon | 77.1% | 2011 | up 4.2% | rising |
| 25 | Guinea | 77.0% | 2011 | up 2.9% | flat |
| 26 | Benin | 76.0% | 2011 | up 6.6% | rising |
| 27 | Kenya | 75.9% | 2011 | down 1.4% | falling |
| 28 | Lesotho | 75.7% | 2011 | down 2.5% | flat |
| 29 | Gabon | 75.0% | 2011 | up 6.5% | rising |
| 30 | Senegal | 75.0% | 2011 | up 3.9% | rising |
| 31 | Angola | 74.1% | 2011 | down 6.8% | falling |
| 32 | Liberia | 72.1% | 2011 | down 1.8% | flat |
| 33 | Chad | 69.7% | 2011 | up 0.5% | flat |
| 34 | Cape Verde | 64.4% | 2011 | up 13.3% | rising |
| 35 | South Africa | 62.7% | 2011 | up 1.9% | rising |
| 36 | Sao Tome and Principe | 59.9% | 2011 | up 8.3% | rising |
| 37 | Côte d'Ivoire | 59.4% | 2011 | up 7.9% | rising |
| 38 | Mauritius | 58.5% | 2011 | up 12.5% | rising |
| 39 | Nigeria | 52.5% | 2011 | up 4.0% | rising |
| 40 | Eswatini | 52.4% | 2011 | up 5.6% | rising |
| 41 | Somalia | 45.2% | 2011 | up 5.3% | rising |
| 42 | Mali | 43.4% | 2011 | down 0.6% | falling |
| 43 | Niger | 42.5% | 2011 | down 1.8% | rising |
| 44 | Comoros | 40.9% | 2011 | up 14.5% | rising |
| 45 | Djibouti | 39.6% | 2011 | up 25.3% | rising |
| 46 | Libya | 37.8% | 2011 | up 1.8% | rising |
| 47 | Sudan | 37.8% | 2011 | up 7.2% | rising |
| 48 | Tunisia | 34.6% | 2011 | up 12.2% | rising |
| 49 | Mauritania | 33.3% | 2011 | up 19.5% | rising |
| 50 | Morocco | 30.9% | 2011 | up 0.4% | rising |
| 51 | Egypt | 30.2% | 2011 | up 10.6% | flat |
| 52 | Algeria | 21.0% | 2011 | up 34.9% | rising |
Regions and income groups
Aggregates are excluded from the country ranking above so that a region can never outrank a country.
About this data
Labor force participation rate is the proportion of the population ages 25-54 that is economically active: all people who supply labor for the production of goods and services during a specified period. The participation rates are harmonized to account for differences in national data collection and tabulation methodologies as well as for other country-specific factors such as military service requirements. The series includes both nationally reported and imputed data and only estimates that are national, meaning there are no geographic limitations in coverage.