Labor participation rate, female (% of female population ages 35-54) by country
Labor force participation rate is the proportion of the population ages 35-54 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 35-54) is currently reported for 52 countries. The highest value is 98.1% in Malawi; the lowest is 16.8% in Algeria.
The median across all reporting countries is 78.7%, and the mean is 70.1%.
The gap between the highest and lowest reporting country is a factor of about 6.
Over the past decade 42 countries rose and 10 fell. The largest increase was in Algeria (up 61.5%), and the largest decrease in Morocco (down 9.6%).
Labor participation rate, female: full country ranking
| # | Country | Latest | Year | 10-year change | Trend |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| 1 | Malawi | 98.1% | 2010 | up 11.1% | rising |
| 2 | Rwanda | 97.1% | 2010 | up 0.2% | flat |
| 3 | Burundi | 96.5% | 2010 | down 0.5% | flat |
| 3 | Mozambique | 96.5% | 2010 | up 1.9% | rising |
| 5 | Tanzania, United Republic of | 95.2% | 2010 | up 0.4% | flat |
| 6 | Madagascar | 93.5% | 2010 | up 1.0% | flat |
| 7 | Togo | 93.4% | 2010 | up 4.8% | rising |
| 8 | Equatorial Guinea | 93.2% | 2010 | up 1.9% | flat |
| 9 | Uganda | 92.6% | 2010 | down 2.3% | flat |
| 10 | Zimbabwe | 91.7% | 2010 | up 10.1% | rising |
| 11 | Congo, Democratic Republic of the | 88.0% | 2010 | up 1.1% | rising |
| 12 | Eritrea | 87.7% | 2010 | up 11.6% | rising |
| 13 | Congo | 86.6% | 2010 | up 4.6% | rising |
| 13 | Burkina Faso | 86.6% | 2010 | up 0.5% | flat |
| 15 | Central African Republic | 86.4% | 2010 | up 4.2% | rising |
| 16 | Ethiopia | 86.3% | 2010 | up 12.4% | rising |
| 17 | Botswana | 85.8% | 2010 | up 4.0% | rising |
| 18 | Ghana | 84.9% | 2010 | down 3.4% | flat |
| 19 | Kenya | 83.0% | 2010 | up 1.0% | flat |
| 20 | Cameroon | 82.6% | 2010 | up 4.4% | rising |
| 20 | Gabon | 82.6% | 2010 | up 6.2% | rising |
| 22 | Zambia | 81.4% | 2010 | down 2.5% | flat |
| 23 | Sierra Leone | 81.2% | 2010 | down 4.6% | flat |
| 24 | Guinea-Bissau | 80.9% | 2010 | up 7.3% | rising |
| 25 | Gambia | 79.9% | 2010 | up 1.8% | rising |
| 26 | Senegal | 79.3% | 2010 | up 3.0% | rising |
| 27 | Guinea | 78.0% | 2010 | up 2.9% | flat |
| 28 | Liberia | 77.3% | 2010 | down 2.6% | flat |
| 29 | Benin | 76.4% | 2010 | up 7.2% | rising |
| 30 | Lesotho | 76.1% | 2010 | down 3.8% | flat |
| 31 | Angola | 75.1% | 2010 | down 7.1% | falling |
| 32 | Chad | 73.5% | 2010 | up 0.5% | flat |
| 33 | Namibia | 73.4% | 2010 | up 13.3% | rising |
| 34 | Côte d'Ivoire | 62.9% | 2010 | up 8.6% | rising |
| 35 | South Africa | 61.9% | 2010 | up 4.0% | rising |
| 36 | Nigeria | 60.1% | 2010 | up 2.6% | rising |
| 37 | Cape Verde | 60.0% | 2010 | up 13.6% | rising |
| 38 | Sao Tome and Principe | 58.1% | 2010 | up 7.2% | rising |
| 39 | Mauritius | 54.9% | 2010 | up 10.0% | rising |
| 40 | Eswatini | 51.6% | 2010 | up 5.3% | rising |
| 41 | Niger | 46.6% | 2010 | up 5.7% | rising |
| 42 | Comoros | 43.9% | 2010 | up 16.8% | rising |
| 43 | Mali | 43.4% | 2010 | down 5.9% | falling |
| 44 | Somalia | 43.1% | 2010 | up 6.4% | rising |
| 45 | Djibouti | 38.4% | 2010 | up 27.6% | rising |
| 46 | Sudan | 33.6% | 2010 | up 12.0% | rising |
| 47 | Mauritania | 33.3% | 2010 | up 22.0% | rising |
| 48 | Libya | 33.2% | 2010 | up 6.8% | rising |
| 49 | Egypt | 29.5% | 2010 | up 32.3% | rising |
| 50 | Morocco | 29.3% | 2010 | down 9.6% | rising |
| 51 | Tunisia | 26.3% | 2010 | up 15.4% | rising |
| 52 | Algeria | 16.8% | 2010 | up 61.5% | 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 35-54 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.