Ratio of female to male labor force participation rate (%) … national in Iran
Iran: Ratio of female to male labor force participation rate (%) … national was 20.9% in 2024. ▲ Rising
Ratio of female to male labor force participation rate (%) in Iran, 1966–2024
Source: Labour Force Statistics database (LFS), International Labour Organization (ILO).
Analysis
In 2024, ratio of female to male labor force participation rate (%) in Iran stood at 20.9%.
That represents a change of down 0.2% on the previous year and up 8.7% over ten years.
Over the whole period, ratio of female to male labor force participation rate (%) in Iran peaked at 26.1% in 2005 and was at its lowest, 11.1%, in 1986.
That places Iran 193rd out of 196 countries with data for 2024, putting it in the bottom quarter.
The long-run direction has been consistently rising across the 26 years of available data.
Ratio of female to male labor force participation rate (%) … national in Iran, year by year
| Year | Value | Change |
|---|---|---|
| 1966 | 14.0% | — |
| 1972 | 11.6% | -17.5% |
| 1976 | 16.1% | +39.2% |
| 1986 | 11.1% | -31.5% |
| 1991 | 12.4% | +12.3% |
| 1996 | 14.2% | +14.7% |
| 2005 | 26.1% | +83.6% |
| 2006 | 25.6% | -1.9% |
| 2007 | 24.4% | -4.7% |
| 2008 | 21.9% | -10.3% |
| 2009 | 23.0% | +4.9% |
| 2010 | 22.5% | -2.1% |
| 2011 | 20.8% | -7.5% |
| 2012 | 22.4% | +7.5% |
| 2013 | 19.8% | -11.7% |
| 2014 | 19.3% | -2.5% |
| 2015 | 21.0% | +9.1% |
| 2016 | 23.5% | +11.8% |
| 2017 | 24.9% | +5.9% |
| 2018 | 24.8% | -0.3% |
| 2019 | 24.1% | -2.8% |
| 2020 | 20.4% | -15.5% |
| 2021 | 19.5% | -4.4% |
| 2022 | 20.1% | +3.1% |
| 2023 | 21.0% | +4.4% |
| 2024 | 20.9% | -0.2% |
Iran compared with similar countries
- Iran's 20.9% is below the median for upper middle income countries, which is 70.0%, 30% of the median. (53 countries reporting)
- Iran's 20.9% is below the median for Middle East, North Africa, Afghanistan & Pakistan, which is 34.6%, 60% of the median. (21 countries reporting)
Biggest year-on-year movements
Years where Ratio of female to male labor force participation rate (%) … national in Iran 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 |
|---|---|---|---|
| 2005 | +83.6% | 14.2% | 26.1% |
Averages by decade
| Decade | Average | Lowest | Highest | Years |
|---|---|---|---|---|
| 1960s | 14.0% | 14.0% | 14.0% | 1 |
| 1970s | 13.9% | 11.6% | 16.1% | 2 |
| 1980s | 11.1% | 11.1% | 11.1% | 1 |
| 1990s | 13.3% | 12.4% | 14.2% | 2 |
| 2000s | 24.2% | 21.9% | 26.1% | 5 |
| 2010s | 22.3% | 19.3% | 24.9% | 10 |
| 2020s | 20.4% | 19.5% | 21.0% | 5 |
Countries ranked near Iran
More work & labour data for Iran
- Persons outside the labour force (ILO modelled estimates) 44,188 (2027)
- Labour force participation rate (ILO modelled estimates) 40.34 (2027)
- Labour force (ILO modelled estimates) 29,874 (2027)
- Unemployment rate (ILO modelled estimates) 8.53 (2027)
- Labour dependency ratio 2.43 (2027)
- Output per worker, GDP constant 2021 international $ at PPP 57,320 (2027)
- Output per worker, GDP constant 2015 US $ 20,416 (2027)
- Employment-to-population ratio (ILO modelled estimates) 36.89 (2027)
- Persons outside the labour force (ILO modelled estimates) (15+) 1.89 % change on previous year (2027)
- Labour force (ILO modelled estimates) (15+), annual growth rate 0.574 % change on previous year (2027)
Frequently asked questions
- What is ratio of female to male labor force participation rate (%) in Iran?
- Ratio of female to male labor force participation rate (%) in Iran was 20.9% in 2024, 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 Iran?
- The highest recorded value was 26.1% in 2005.
- What is the lowest ratio of female to male labor force participation rate (%) recorded in Iran?
- The lowest recorded value was 11.1% in 1986.
- How does Iran rank for ratio of female to male labor force participation rate (%)?
- Iran ranks 193rd out of 196 countries with data for 2024.
- Is ratio of female to male labor force participation rate (%) rising or falling in Iran?
- Over the last ten years it is up 8.7%. The long-run trend across the full record is rising.
- Where does this Iran 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 — 26 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.