Proportion of labor force who are women in South Korea
South Korea: Proportion of labor force who are women was 44.36 in 2025. ▲ Rising
Latest (2025)
44.36
Change on year
up 0.1%
World rank
104th
of 186 countries
All-time high
44.36
in 2025
All-time low
38.74
in 1993
Years of data
36
1990–2025
Proportion of labor force who are women in South Korea, 1990–2025
Source: Our World in Data.
Analysis
The most recent figure for proportion of labor force who are women in South Korea is 44.36, measured in 2025. That is the highest value across all 36 years on record.
The figure is up 0.1% on the previous year and up 5.8% over ten years.
Over the whole period, proportion of labor force who are women in South Korea peaked at 44.36 in 2025 and was at its lowest, 38.74, in 1993.
South Korea ranks 104th of 186 countries on this measure, in the middle of the range.
The long-run direction has been consistently rising across the 36 years of available data.
Proportion of labor force who are women in South Korea, year by year
| Year | Value | Change |
|---|---|---|
| 1990 | 39.52 | — |
| 1991 | 39.02 | -1.3% |
| 1992 | 38.8 | -0.6% |
| 1993 | 38.74 | -0.2% |
| 1994 | 38.87 | +0.3% |
| 1995 | 39.08 | +0.5% |
| 1996 | 39.34 | +0.7% |
| 1997 | 39.82 | +1.2% |
| 1998 | 38.79 | -2.6% |
| 1999 | 39.25 | +1.2% |
| 2000 | 40.24 | +2.5% |
| 2001 | 40.54 | +0.7% |
| 2002 | 40.53 | -0.0% |
| 2003 | 40.16 | -0.9% |
| 2004 | 40.64 | +1.2% |
| 2005 | 40.85 | +0.5% |
| 2006 | 41.06 | +0.5% |
| 2007 | 41 | -0.1% |
| 2008 | 41.09 | +0.2% |
| 2009 | 40.85 | -0.6% |
| 2010 | 40.93 | +0.2% |
| 2011 | 40.95 | +0.1% |
| 2012 | 41.08 | +0.3% |
| 2013 | 41.27 | +0.5% |
| 2014 | 41.61 | +0.8% |
| 2015 | 41.93 | +0.8% |
| 2016 | 42.08 | +0.4% |
| 2017 | 42.31 | +0.5% |
| 2018 | 42.56 | +0.6% |
| 2019 | 42.86 | +0.7% |
| 2020 | 42.88 | +0.0% |
| 2021 | 43.13 | +0.6% |
| 2022 | 43.38 | +0.6% |
| 2023 | 43.82 | +1.0% |
| 2024 | 44.3 | +1.1% |
| 2025 | 44.36 | +0.1% |
South Korea compared with similar countries
- South Korea's 44.36 is below the median for high income countries, which is 46.51, 95% of the median. (62 countries reporting)
- South Korea's 44.36 is below the median for East Asia & Pacific, which is 45.84, 97% of the median. (29 countries reporting)
Averages by decade
| Decade | Average | Lowest | Highest | Years |
|---|---|---|---|---|
| 1990s | 39.12 | 38.74 | 39.82 | 10 |
| 2000s | 40.7 | 40.16 | 41.09 | 10 |
| 2010s | 41.76 | 40.93 | 42.86 | 10 |
| 2020s | 43.64 | 42.88 | 44.36 | 6 |
Countries ranked near South Korea
More work & labour data for South Korea
- Persons outside the labour force (ILO modelled estimates) 16,840 (2027)
- Labour force participation rate (ILO modelled estimates) 63.91 (2027)
- Labour force (ILO modelled estimates) 29,824 (2027)
- Unemployment rate (ILO modelled estimates) 2.96 (2027)
- Labour dependency ratio 0.78 (2027)
- Output per worker, GDP constant 2021 international $ at PPP 97,052 (2027)
- Output per worker, GDP constant 2015 US $ 65,686 (2027)
- Employment-to-population ratio (ILO modelled estimates) 62.02 (2027)
- Persons outside the labour force (ILO modelled estimates) (15+) 0.9719 % change on previous year (2027)
- Labour force (ILO modelled estimates) (15+), annual growth rate -0.1065 % change on previous year (2027)
Frequently asked questions
- What is proportion of labor force who are women in South Korea?
- Proportion of labor force who are women in South Korea was 44.36 in 2025, according to Our World in Data.
- What is the highest proportion of labor force who are women recorded in South Korea?
- The highest recorded value was 44.36 in 2025.
- What is the lowest proportion of labor force who are women recorded in South Korea?
- The lowest recorded value was 38.74 in 1993.
- How does South Korea rank for proportion of labor force who are women?
- South Korea ranks 104th out of 186 countries with data for 2025.
- Is proportion of labor force who are women rising or falling in South Korea?
- Over the last ten years it is up 5.8%. The long-run trend across the full record is rising.
- Where does this South Korea data come from?
- The figures come from Our World in Data, published as part of Proportion of labor force who are women. Statizoid updates them automatically from the source API.
Download this data
CSV · JSON — 36 observations, free to reuse under CC BY 4.0 (Our World in Data).