Ratio of female to male labor force participation rate (%) in Belgium
Belgium: Ratio of female to male labor force participation rate (%) was 85.4% in 2025. ▲ Rising
Ratio of female to male labor force participation rate (%) in Belgium, 1961–2025
Source: Labour Force Statistics database (LFS), International Labour Organization (ILO).
Analysis
The most recent figure for ratio of female to male labor force participation rate (%) in Belgium is 85.4%, measured in 2025. That is the highest value across all 49 years on record.
That represents a change of up 0.7% on the previous year and up 4.8% over ten years.
Over the whole period, ratio of female to male labor force participation rate (%) in Belgium peaked at 85.4% in 2025 and was at its lowest, 33.6%, in 1961.
That places Belgium 66th out of 196 countries with data for 2025, putting it in the middle of the range.
The long-run direction has been consistently rising across the 49 years of available data.
Ratio of female to male labor force participation rate (%) in Belgium, year by year
| Year | Value | Change |
|---|---|---|
| 1961 | 33.6% | — |
| 1970 | 39.2% | +16.7% |
| 1977 | 53.0% | +35.0% |
| 1979 | 55.5% | +4.8% |
| 1980 | 56.7% | +2.2% |
| 1981 | 54.7% | -3.6% |
| 1983 | 55.0% | +0.6% |
| 1984 | 56.0% | +1.7% |
| 1985 | 56.5% | +1.0% |
| 1986 | 57.9% | +2.5% |
| 1987 | 58.4% | +0.9% |
| 1988 | 59.1% | +1.2% |
| 1989 | 58.9% | -0.4% |
| 1990 | 59.9% | +1.7% |
| 1991 | 61.9% | +3.4% |
| 1992 | 63.6% | +2.8% |
| 1993 | 65.3% | +2.6% |
| 1994 | 65.7% | +0.6% |
| 1995 | 66.3% | +0.9% |
| 1996 | 66.6% | +0.5% |
| 1997 | 67.6% | +1.5% |
| 1998 | 68.7% | +1.6% |
| 1999 | 70.5% | +2.6% |
| 2000 | 71.0% | +0.7% |
| 2001 | 69.2% | -2.5% |
| 2002 | 70.5% | +1.9% |
| 2003 | 71.3% | +1.0% |
| 2004 | 73.4% | +3.0% |
| 2005 | 74.4% | +1.4% |
| 2006 | 75.3% | +1.1% |
| 2007 | 76.2% | +1.2% |
| 2008 | 77.1% | +1.2% |
| 2009 | 77.8% | +0.9% |
| 2010 | 78.5% | +0.9% |
| 2011 | 78.8% | +0.4% |
| 2012 | 78.8% | +0.1% |
| 2013 | 80.1% | +1.5% |
| 2014 | 81.2% | +1.4% |
| 2015 | 81.5% | +0.4% |
| 2016 | 81.4% | -0.2% |
| 2017 | 82.3% | +1.2% |
| 2018 | 83.9% | +1.9% |
| 2019 | 84.3% | +0.5% |
| 2020 | 84.4% | +0.1% |
| 2021 | 84.7% | +0.3% |
| 2022 | 85.3% | +0.8% |
| 2023 | 85.2% | -0.1% |
| 2024 | 84.9% | -0.4% |
| 2025 | 85.4% | +0.7% |
Belgium compared with similar countries
- Belgium's 85.4% is above the median for high income countries, which is 85.1%, 1.0× the median. (79 countries reporting)
- Belgium's 85.4% is above the median for Europe & Central Asia, which is 85.0%, 1.0× the median. (54 countries reporting)
Biggest year-on-year movements
Years where Ratio of female to male labor force participation rate (%) in Belgium changed far more than this series normally does. A large move can be a real event or a change in how the figure was measured — the source note below says who published it.
| Year | Change | From | To |
|---|---|---|---|
| 1977 | +35.0% | 39.2% | 53.0% |
Averages by decade
| Decade | Average | Lowest | Highest | Years |
|---|---|---|---|---|
| 1960s | 33.6% | 33.6% | 33.6% | 1 |
| 1970s | 49.2% | 39.2% | 55.5% | 3 |
| 1980s | 57.0% | 54.7% | 59.1% | 9 |
| 1990s | 65.6% | 59.9% | 70.5% | 10 |
| 2000s | 73.6% | 69.2% | 77.8% | 10 |
| 2010s | 81.1% | 78.5% | 84.3% | 10 |
| 2020s | 85.0% | 84.4% | 85.4% | 6 |
Countries ranked near Belgium
More work & labour data for Belgium
- Population - Est. & Proj. — Total Population - Both sexes, annual -0.1652 % change on previous year (2100)
- Population - Est. & Proj. — Total Population - Male, annual growth -0.1676 % change on previous year (2100)
- Population - Est. & Proj. — Total Population - Female, annual growth -0.1614 % change on previous year (2100)
- Population - Est. & Proj. — Rural population, annual growth rate -1.59 % change on previous year (2050)
- Population - Est. & Proj. — Urban population, annual growth rate 0.1395 % change on previous year (2050)
- Population - Est. & Proj. — Urban population 12,349 1000 No (2050)
- Population - Est. & Proj. — Rural population 139 1000 No (2050)
- Population - Est. & Proj. — Total Population - Female 5,498 1000 No (2100)
- Population - Est. & Proj. — Total Population - Male 5,563 1000 No (2100)
- Population - Est. & Proj. — Total Population - Both sexes 11,061 1000 No (2100)
Frequently asked questions
- What is ratio of female to male labor force participation rate (%) in Belgium?
- Ratio of female to male labor force participation rate (%) in Belgium was 85.4% in 2025, according to Labour Force Statistics database (LFS), International Labour Organization (ILO).
- What is the highest ratio of female to male labor force participation rate (%) recorded in Belgium?
- The highest recorded value was 85.4% in 2025.
- What is the lowest ratio of female to male labor force participation rate (%) recorded in Belgium?
- The lowest recorded value was 33.6% in 1961.
- How does Belgium rank for ratio of female to male labor force participation rate (%)?
- Belgium ranks 66th out of 196 countries with data for 2025.
- Is ratio of female to male labor force participation rate (%) rising or falling in Belgium?
- Over the last ten years it is up 4.8%. The long-run trend across the full record is rising.
- Where does this Belgium data come from?
- The figures come from Labour Force Statistics database (LFS), International Labour Organization (ILO), published as part of Ratio of female to male labor force participation rate (%) (national estimate). Statizoid updates them automatically from the source API.
Download this data
CSV · JSON — 49 observations, free to reuse under CC BY 4.0 (World Bank Open Data).
About this data
Ratio of female to male labor force participation rate is the proportion of female labor force participation relative to male labor force participation. The labor force participation rate is the labor force as a percent of the population ages 15 and older. The labor force is the sum of all persons of working age who are employed and those who are unemployed.