Ratio of female to male labor force participation rate (%) in Sweden
Sweden: Ratio of female to male labor force participation rate (%) was 91.8% in 2025. ▲ Rising
Ratio of female to male labor force participation rate (%) in Sweden, 1965–2025
Source: Labour Force Statistics database (LFS), International Labour Organization (ILO).
Analysis
In 2025, ratio of female to male labor force participation rate (%) in Sweden stood at 91.8%.
That represents a change of down 0.3% on the previous year and down 1.7% over ten years.
Over the whole period, ratio of female to male labor force participation rate (%) in Sweden peaked at 94.8% in 1989 and was at its lowest, 49.8%, in 1965.
Sweden ranks 20th of 196 countries on this measure, in the top 10%.
The long-run direction has been consistently rising across the 46 years of available data.
Ratio of female to male labor force participation rate (%) in Sweden, year by year
| Year | Value | Change |
|---|---|---|
| 1965 | 49.8% | — |
| 1975 | 71.4% | +43.4% |
| 1976 | 72.7% | +1.7% |
| 1982 | 86.0% | +18.3% |
| 1983 | 87.1% | +1.4% |
| 1984 | 88.5% | +1.5% |
| 1985 | 89.0% | +0.6% |
| 1986 | 94.1% | +5.7% |
| 1987 | 94.6% | +0.6% |
| 1989 | 94.8% | +0.2% |
| 1990 | 91.9% | -3.0% |
| 1991 | 91.7% | -0.2% |
| 1992 | 91.8% | +0.1% |
| 1993 | 91.6% | -0.2% |
| 1994 | 91.1% | -0.6% |
| 1995 | 92.0% | +1.0% |
| 1996 | 87.7% | -4.6% |
| 1997 | 86.5% | -1.4% |
| 1998 | 83.8% | -3.0% |
| 1999 | 86.1% | +2.7% |
| 2000 | 87.5% | +1.6% |
| 2001 | 87.5% | -0.1% |
| 2002 | 88.0% | +0.6% |
| 2003 | 88.3% | +0.3% |
| 2004 | 87.9% | -0.4% |
| 2005 | 87.6% | -0.4% |
| 2006 | 87.6% | +0.1% |
| 2007 | 88.0% | +0.5% |
| 2008 | 87.7% | -0.4% |
| 2009 | 88.2% | +0.6% |
| 2010 | 90.8% | +3.0% |
| 2011 | 91.8% | +1.1% |
| 2012 | 92.3% | +0.6% |
| 2013 | 92.5% | +0.2% |
| 2014 | 92.5% | -0.0% |
| 2015 | 93.4% | +1.0% |
| 2016 | 93.6% | +0.2% |
| 2017 | 93.4% | -0.2% |
| 2018 | 93.9% | +0.5% |
| 2019 | 94.0% | +0.1% |
| 2020 | 92.5% | -1.6% |
| 2021 | 90.2% | -2.5% |
| 2022 | 90.4% | +0.3% |
| 2023 | 91.2% | +0.8% |
| 2024 | 92.1% | +1.0% |
| 2025 | 91.8% | -0.3% |
Sweden compared with similar countries
- Sweden's 91.8% is above the median for high income countries, which is 85.1%, 1.1× the median. (79 countries reporting)
- Sweden's 91.8% is above the median for Europe & Central Asia, which is 85.0%, 1.1× the median. (54 countries reporting)
Biggest year-on-year movements
Years where Ratio of female to male labor force participation rate (%) in Sweden 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 |
|---|---|---|---|
| 1975 | +43.4% | 49.8% | 71.4% |
Averages by decade
| Decade | Average | Lowest | Highest | Years |
|---|---|---|---|---|
| 1960s | 49.8% | 49.8% | 49.8% | 1 |
| 1970s | 72.0% | 71.4% | 72.7% | 2 |
| 1980s | 90.6% | 86.0% | 94.8% | 7 |
| 1990s | 89.4% | 83.8% | 92.0% | 10 |
| 2000s | 87.8% | 87.5% | 88.3% | 10 |
| 2010s | 92.8% | 90.8% | 94.0% | 10 |
| 2020s | 91.3% | 90.2% | 92.5% | 6 |
Countries ranked near Sweden
More work & labour data for Sweden
- Population - Est. & Proj. — Total Population - Both sexes, annual -0.0422 % change on previous year (2100)
- Population - Est. & Proj. — Total Population - Male, annual growth -0.0602 % change on previous year (2100)
- Population - Est. & Proj. — Total Population - Female, annual growth -0.0243 % change on previous year (2100)
- Population - Est. & Proj. — Rural population, annual growth rate -1.29 % change on previous year (2050)
- Population - Est. & Proj. — Urban population, annual growth rate 0.5427 % change on previous year (2050)
- Population - Est. & Proj. — Urban population 10,837 1000 No (2050)
- Population - Est. & Proj. — Rural population 788.88 1000 No (2050)
- Population - Est. & Proj. — Total Population - Female 5,587 1000 No (2100)
- Population - Est. & Proj. — Total Population - Male 5,780 1000 No (2100)
- Population - Est. & Proj. — Total Population - Both sexes 11,367 1000 No (2100)
Frequently asked questions
- What is ratio of female to male labor force participation rate (%) in Sweden?
- Ratio of female to male labor force participation rate (%) in Sweden was 91.8% 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 Sweden?
- The highest recorded value was 94.8% in 1989.
- What is the lowest ratio of female to male labor force participation rate (%) recorded in Sweden?
- The lowest recorded value was 49.8% in 1965.
- How does Sweden rank for ratio of female to male labor force participation rate (%)?
- Sweden ranks 20th out of 196 countries with data for 2025.
- Is ratio of female to male labor force participation rate (%) rising or falling in Sweden?
- Over the last ten years it is down 1.7%. The long-run trend across the full record is rising.
- Where does this Sweden 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 — 46 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.