Data for 1998

Female Labour Force Participation Rate, 1998

Name: Female Labour Force Participation Rate, 1998
Creator: International Labour Organization (ILO)
License: https://www.ilo.org/rights-and-permissions

1998, as ILO’s 2026 release gives it · stored as published, never rewritten

Female Labour Force Participation Rate, 1998 covers 187 countries. Mozambique is highest, at 87.165; Iraq is lowest, at 9.146. The middle country reads 50.064. Against 1997, 187 values changed (118 up, 69 down), the same countries are covered.

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Female Labour Force Participation Rate · Data for 1998

HighestMozambique

87.165

LowestIraq

9.146

Shaded by value in five groups of equal size, darkest at the better end.

187countries
1measure
1998the year it describes
186distinct values3 decimals, as published
Sep 6, 2026read from the publisher
CC BY 4.0licence

01Position · derived

The table

Every country and every column of Female Labour Force Participation Rate, 1998, as published. ILO ranks nobody on this measure; the position is derived here by ordering the published values. “=” marks a shared position.

Search this table

Showing 25 of 187 countries · select a heading to sort

Female Labour Force Participation Rate, 1998: every country, as published by International Labour Organization (ILO).
derived
1	Mozambique`MOZ`Eastern Africa	87.165
2	Burundi`BDI`Eastern Africa	84.972
3	Tanzania`TZA`Eastern Africa	84.316
4	Madagascar`MDG`Eastern Africa	83.861
5	Solomon Islands`SLB`Melanesia	81.393
6	Cambodia`KHM`South-eastern Asia	78.920
7	North Korea`PRK`Eastern Asia	78.105
8	Malawi`MWI`Eastern Africa	78.086
9	Burkina Faso`BFA`Western Africa	77.801
10	Cameroon`CMR`Middle Africa	77.780
11	Nigeria`NGA`Western Africa	77.553
12	Angola`AGO`Middle Africa	75.451
13	Ethiopia`ETH`Eastern Africa	74.645
14	Eritrea`ERI`Eastern Africa	74.207
15	Azerbaijan`AZE`Western Asia	74.020
16	Vanuatu`VUT`Melanesia	73.804
17	Vietnam`VNM`South-eastern Asia	71.824
18	Liberia`LBR`Western Africa	71.744
19	DR Congo`COD`Middle Africa	71.361
20	Uganda`UGA`Eastern Africa	71.236
21	South Sudan`SSD`Eastern Africa	71.090
22	Kenya`KEN`Eastern Africa	70.327
23	Georgia`GEO`Western Asia	69.478
24	Iceland`ISL`Northern Europe	69.391
25	Ghana`GHA`Western Africa	69.161
26	Niger`NER`Western Africa	69.102
27	China`CHN`Eastern Asia	68.988
28	Bahamas`BHS`Caribbean	67.574
29	Lesotho`LSO`Southern Africa	67.241
30	Kazakhstan`KAZ`Central Asia	66.567
31	Thailand`THA`South-eastern Asia	66.361
32	Republic of the Congo`COG`Middle Africa	66.045
33	Timor-Leste`TLS`South-eastern Asia	65.764
34	Central African Republic`CAF`Middle Africa	65.709
35	Sierra Leone`SLE`Western Africa	64.785
36	Barbados`BRB`Caribbean	63.249
37	Guinea`GIN`Western Africa	63.028
38	Benin`BEN`Western Africa	61.741
39	Chad`TCD`Middle Africa	61.444
40	Zimbabwe`ZWE`Eastern Africa	60.491
41	Mali`MLI`Western Africa	60.461
42	Guam`GUM`Micronesia	59.965
43	Jamaica`JAM`Caribbean	59.928
44	Norway`NOR`Northern Europe	59.561
45	New Caledonia`NCL`Melanesia	59.402
46	Denmark`DNK`Northern Europe	59.360
47	Kyrgyzstan`KGZ`Central Asia	59.303
48	Bolivia`BOL`South America	59.291
49	Laos`LAO`South-eastern Asia	59.039
50	United States`USA`Northern America	58.386
51	Switzerland`CHE`Western Europe	58.014
52	Bhutan`BTN`Southern Asia	57.914
53	Canada`CAN`Northern America	57.674
54	Netherlands`NLD`Western Europe	57.667
55	Myanmar`MMR`South-eastern Asia	57.393
56	Sweden`SWE`Northern Europe	57.358
57	Haiti`HTI`Caribbean	56.908
58	Moldova`MDA`Eastern Europe	56.374
59	New Zealand`NZL`Australia and New Zealand	56.304
60	United States Virgin Islands`VIR`Caribbean	55.900
61	Guinea-Bissau`GNB`Western Africa	55.424
62	Finland`FIN`Northern Europe	55.058
63	Peru`PER`South America	54.985
64	Togo`TGO`Western Africa	54.978
65	Armenia`ARM`Western Asia	54.560
66	Macau`MAC`Eastern Asia	54.317
67	Colombia`COL`South America	54.012
68	Australia`AUS`Australia and New Zealand	53.721
69	Albania`ALB`Southern Europe	53.714
70	Mongolia`MNG`Eastern Asia	53.492
71	Lithuania`LTU`Northern Europe	53.402
72	Slovenia`SVN`Southern Europe	53.141
73	Brunei`BRN`South-eastern Asia	53.105
74	Ukraine`UKR`Eastern Europe	53.041
75	Turkmenistan`TKM`Central Asia	52.863
76	United Kingdom`GBR`Northern Europe	52.717
77	Estonia`EST`Northern Europe	52.708
78	Equatorial Guinea`GNQ`Middle Africa	52.671
79	Belarus`BLR`Eastern Europe	52.483
80	Rwanda`RWA`Eastern Africa	52.390
81	Paraguay`PRY`South America	52.264
82	Czechia`CZE`Eastern Europe	51.963
83	Portugal`PRT`Southern Europe	51.886
84	Saint Lucia`LCA`Caribbean	51.880
85	Ecuador`ECU`South America	51.694
86	Latvia`LVA`Northern Europe	51.577
87	Slovakia`SVK`Eastern Europe	51.390
88	Israel`ISR`Western Asia	51.320
89	Argentina`ARG`South America	51.287
90	Zambia`ZMB`Eastern Africa	51.102
91	Indonesia`IDN`South-eastern Asia	51.093
92	Russia`RUS`Eastern Europe	51.031
93	Singapore`SGP`South-eastern Asia	50.842
94	Japan`JPN`Eastern Asia	50.064
95	Ireland`IRL`Northern Europe	49.775
96	Poland`POL`Eastern Europe	49.533
97	Brazil`BRA`South America	49.480
98	Uruguay`URY`South America	49.256
99	Botswana`BWA`Southern Africa	49.101
100	Venezuela`VEN`South America	48.976
101	Austria`AUT`Western Europe	48.820
102	Qatar`QAT`Western Asia	48.624
103	Trinidad and Tobago`TTO`Caribbean	48.599
104	Germany`DEU`Western Europe	48.537
105	Hong Kong`HKG`Eastern Asia	48.418
106	Côte d’Ivoire`CIV`Western Africa	48.365
107	Cyprus`CYP`Western Asia	48.114
108	French Polynesia`PYF`Polynesia	48.082
109	France`FRA`Western Europe	48.064
110	Channel Islands`CHI`Northern Europe	47.791
111	Papua New Guinea`PNG`Melanesia	47.655
112	Saint Vincent and the Grenadines`VCT`Caribbean	47.350
113	Philippines`PHL`South-eastern Asia	47.269
114	South Korea`KOR`Eastern Asia	47.124
115	Namibia`NAM`Southern Africa	47.005
116	Serbia`SRB`Southern Europe	46.339
117	South Africa`ZAF`Southern Africa	46.124
118	Guatemala`GTM`Central America	45.736
119	El Salvador`SLV`Central America	45.566
120	Honduras`HND`Central America	45.292
121	Hungary`HUN`Eastern Europe	45.182
122	Gambia`GMB`Western Africa	45.015
123	Tonga`TON`Polynesia	44.775
124	Croatia`HRV`Southern Europe	44.657
125	Tajikistan`TJK`Central Asia	44.372
126	Bulgaria`BGR`Eastern Europe	44.243
127	Panama`PAN`Central America	44.198
128	Eswatini`SWZ`Southern Africa	43.871
129	Kuwait`KWT`Western Asia	43.786
130	Cabo Verde`CPV`Western Africa	43.375
131	Samoa`WSM`Polynesia	42.640
132	Montenegro`MNE`Southern Europe	42.342
133	Romania`ROU`Eastern Europe	42.124
134	Belgium`BEL`Western Europe	41.540
135	Bosnia and Herzegovina`BIH`Southern Europe	41.339
136	Sri Lanka`LKA`Southern Asia	41.330
137	North Macedonia`MKD`Southern Europe	40.890
138	Uzbekistan`UZB`Central Asia	39.691
139	Malaysia`MYS`South-eastern Asia	39.505
140	Costa Rica`CRI`Central America	39.443
141	Mexico`MEX`Central America	39.316
142	Belize`BLZ`Central America	39.252
143	Greece`GRC`Southern Europe	39.031
144	Dominican Republic`DOM`Caribbean	38.890
145	Mauritius`MUS`Eastern Africa	38.739
146	Fiji`FJI`Melanesia	38.666
147	Spain`ESP`Southern Europe	38.425
=148	Chile`CHL`South America	37.854
=148	Luxembourg`LUX`Western Europe	37.854
150	Gabon`GAB`Middle Africa	37.664
151	Guyana`GUY`South America	36.542
152	Cuba`CUB`Caribbean	34.993
153	Puerto Rico`PRI`Caribbean	34.742
154	Italy`ITA`Southern Europe	34.477
155	Nicaragua`NIC`Central America	34.241
156	Maldives`MDV`Southern Asia	33.180
157	India`IND`Southern Asia	33.157
158	Bahrain`BHR`Western Asia	32.956
159	Senegal`SEN`Western Africa	32.851
160	United Arab Emirates`ARE`Western Asia	32.822
161	Suriname`SUR`South America	32.643
162	Comoros`COM`Eastern Africa	32.033
163	Malta`MLT`Southern Europe	29.742
164	Libya`LBY`Northern Africa	29.602
165	Türkiye`TUR`Western Asia	29.177
166	Sudan`SDN`Northern Africa	28.391
167	Bangladesh`BGD`Southern Asia	27.966
168	Mauritania`MRT`Western Africa	27.676
169	Morocco`MAR`Northern Africa	24.618
170	Tunisia`TUN`Northern Africa	23.758
171	Oman`OMN`Western Asia	23.675
172	São Tomé and Príncipe`STP`Middle Africa	22.144
173	Somalia`SOM`Eastern Africa	21.166
174	Nepal`NPL`Southern Asia	20.951
175	Yemen`YEM`Western Asia	20.520
176	Egypt`EGY`Northern Africa	19.695
177	Lebanon`LBN`Western Asia	19.559
178	Saudi Arabia`SAU`Western Asia	16.602
179	Syria`SYR`Western Asia	16.511
180	Djibouti`DJI`Eastern Africa	16.053
181	Pakistan`PAK`Southern Asia	15.245
182	Afghanistan`AFG`Southern Asia	14.625
183	Palestine`PSE`Western Asia	12.534
184	Iran`IRN`Southern Asia	12.058
185	Algeria`DZA`Northern Africa	11.823
186	Jordan`JOR`Western Asia	11.663
187	Iraq`IRQ`Western Asia	9.146

02In 1998

At either end

The 5 countries at each end of the headline.

Highest

1Mozambique87.165
2Burundi84.972
3Tanzania84.316
4Madagascar83.861
5Solomon Islands81.393

Lowest

187Iraq9.146
186Jordan11.663
185Algeria11.823
184Iran12.058
183Palestine12.534

A higher value is the better result. The middle country reads 50.064. “Shared” marks a value another country also holds.

031997 → 1998

Since 1997

What changed between 1997 and this one: who joined or left, and how far the headline moved.

+0 / −0countries joined / left
187values changed, of 187 in both
118 · 69rose · fell
0unchanged

Rose most

Sri Lanka35.263 → 41.330+6.067
El Salvador41.852 → 45.566+3.714
Ecuador48.535 → 51.694+3.159
Costa Rica37.121 → 39.443+2.322
Maldives31.318 → 33.180+1.862

Fell most

South Korea49.826 → 47.124−2.702
Estonia54.270 → 52.708−1.562
Albania55.150 → 53.714−1.436
Thailand67.743 → 66.361−1.382
Sweden58.592 → 57.358−1.234

Both years come from the same release, so a difference here is a change in the data, not a revision of it. Every country’s full history is charted on the statistic page.

04Caveats

Read before you use

What this edition’s numbers are and are not, worked out from the file itself.

How values are stored

One year of the 2026 release
Every year in this series comes from ILO’s 2026 release, recalculated on one method. It can differ from what was first published for 1998.
186 distinct values among 187
Values are stored exactly as published, to 3 decimals. 2 countries share 37.854. Countries sharing a value share a position too.
The position is ours
ILO publishes values only; the order is this site’s.
Nothing missing
Every one of the 187 countries has every column.

05The files

Download and cite

The table as a file, digit for digit, what this site changed, and a citation for this edition.

Licence in full

.csv
For a spreadsheet or code
187 rows · 5.4 KB · UTF-8, opens in Excel
Opens with 11 lines of source notes; the table starts on row 13.
Download female-labour-participation-1998-nations-inquiry.csv
↗
The publisher’s original
ILO’s own file, on its own site.
SL.TLF.CACT.FE.ZS

What this site changed: Reshaped into one row per country: regional and income-group totals are left out, only the columns listed are kept, each row gets its ISO 3166 code, and some country names are brought to one spelling. No value is recalculated, rescaled or rounded.

Licence: CC BY 4.0 · what it allows, in plain words

Cite this edition

International Labour Organization (ILO) (1998). Female Labour Force Participation Rate, 1998 [data set], describing 1998. As held by Nations Inquiry, https://nationsinquiry.com/datasets/female-labour-participation/1998

0636 held

Other years

‹ The year before
Female Labour Force Participation Rate, 1997
187 countries
The year after ›
Female Labour Force Participation Rate, 1999
187 countries
All of them
Female Labour Force Participation Rate: every year
36 held, with the data dictionary, coverage and licence.
How it has moved, charted by country

07Questions