Data for 2018

Female Labour Force Participation Rate, 2018

Name: Female Labour Force Participation Rate, 2018
Creator: International Labour Organization (ILO)
License: https://www.ilo.org/rights-and-permissions

2018, as ILO’s 2026 release gives it · stored as published, never rewritten

Female Labour Force Participation Rate, 2018 covers 187 countries. Madagascar is highest, at 82.971; Yemen is lowest, at 4.987. The middle country reads 53.131. Against 2017, 186 values changed (107 up, 79 down), the same countries are covered.

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Female Labour Force Participation Rate · Data for 2018

HighestMadagascar

82.971

LowestYemen

4.987

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

187countries
1measure
2018the year it describes
187distinct 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, 2018, 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, 2018: every country, as published by International Labour Organization (ILO).
derived
1	Madagascar`MDG`Eastern Africa	82.971
2	Solomon Islands`SLB`Melanesia	82.361
3	Burundi`BDI`Eastern Africa	81.073
4	Tanzania`TZA`Eastern Africa	80.234
5	Mozambique`MOZ`Eastern Africa	77.840
6	North Korea`PRK`Eastern Asia	77.788
7	Cambodia`KHM`South-eastern Asia	76.845
8	Nigeria`NGA`Western Africa	76.355
9	Benin`BEN`Western Africa	73.755
10	Angola`AGO`Middle Africa	73.224
11	Eritrea`ERI`Eastern Africa	73.044
12	Vietnam`VNM`South-eastern Asia	72.897
13	Burkina Faso`BFA`Western Africa	72.734
14	Liberia`LBR`Western Africa	72.024
15	Uganda`UGA`Eastern Africa	71.687
16	Iceland`ISL`Northern Europe	71.596
17	South Sudan`SSD`Eastern Africa	71.286
18	Bahamas`BHS`Caribbean	71.023
19	Peru`PER`South America	69.850
20	Republic of the Congo`COG`Middle Africa	66.472
21	Moldova`MDA`Eastern Europe	66.419
22	Kenya`KEN`Eastern Africa	65.814
23	Central African Republic`CAF`Middle Africa	65.313
24	New Zealand`NZL`Australia and New Zealand	65.221
25	Macau`MAC`Eastern Asia	64.995
26	Kazakhstan`KAZ`Central Asia	64.818
27	Ethiopia`ETH`Eastern Africa	64.059
28	Saint Lucia`LCA`Caribbean	63.882
29	Bolivia`BOL`South America	63.560
30	Switzerland`CHE`Western Europe	63.007
31	Azerbaijan`AZE`Western Asia	62.630
32	Norway`NOR`Northern Europe	62.625
33	Haiti`HTI`Caribbean	62.139
34	Barbados`BRB`Caribbean	61.625
35	Timor-Leste`TLS`South-eastern Asia	61.620
36	China`CHN`Eastern Asia	61.585
37	Ghana`GHA`Western Africa	61.516
38	Cameroon`CMR`Middle Africa	61.419
39	DR Congo`COD`Middle Africa	61.275
40	Sweden`SWE`Northern Europe	61.259
41	Netherlands`NLD`Western Europe	61.139
42	Canada`CAN`Northern America	60.965
43	Singapore`SGP`South-eastern Asia	60.889
44	Israel`ISR`Western Asia	60.857
45	Australia`AUS`Australia and New Zealand	60.628
46	Zimbabwe`ZWE`Eastern Africa	60.617
47	Niger`NER`Western Africa	60.589
48	Cyprus`CYP`Western Asia	59.627
49	Thailand`THA`South-eastern Asia	59.569
50	Paraguay`PRY`South America	59.414
51	Malawi`MWI`Eastern Africa	58.895
52	Qatar`QAT`Western Asia	58.369
53	Jamaica`JAM`Caribbean	58.309
54	Belarus`BLR`Eastern Europe	58.081
55	Brunei`BRN`South-eastern Asia	57.720
56	Denmark`DNK`Northern Europe	57.649
57	Botswana`BWA`Southern Africa	57.556
58	United Kingdom`GBR`Northern Europe	57.525
59	Estonia`EST`Northern Europe	57.281
60	Laos`LAO`South-eastern Asia	57.066
61	Côte d’Ivoire`CIV`Western Africa	56.841
62	Lithuania`LTU`Northern Europe	56.494
63	United States`USA`Northern America	56.471
64	Guam`GUM`Micronesia	56.400
65	Guinea-Bissau`GNB`Western Africa	56.399
66	Saint Vincent and the Grenadines`VCT`Caribbean	56.362
67	Ireland`IRL`Northern Europe	55.999
68	Uruguay`URY`South America	55.954
69	Togo`TGO`Western Africa	55.799
70	Georgia`GEO`Western Asia	55.742
71	Finland`FIN`Northern Europe	55.688
72	Latvia`LVA`Northern Europe	55.639
73	Mali`MLI`Western Africa	55.620
74	Austria`AUT`Western Europe	55.426
75	Russia`RUS`Eastern Europe	55.416
76	Namibia`NAM`Southern Africa	55.388
77	Germany`DEU`Western Europe	55.211
78	Luxembourg`LUX`Western Europe	54.798
79	Hong Kong`HKG`Eastern Asia	54.747
80	Bhutan`BTN`Southern Asia	54.743
81	Brazil`BRA`South America	54.581
82	Panama`PAN`Central America	54.501
83	Ecuador`ECU`South America	54.481
84	Vanuatu`VUT`Melanesia	54.395
85	New Caledonia`NCL`Melanesia	54.368
86	Portugal`PRT`Southern Europe	54.337
87	Rwanda`RWA`Eastern Africa	54.156
88	Belize`BLZ`Central America	54.103
89	Equatorial Guinea`GNQ`Middle Africa	53.911
90	Slovenia`SVN`Southern Europe	53.719
91	Armenia`ARM`Western Asia	53.631
92	Colombia`COL`South America	53.244
93	South Korea`KOR`Eastern Asia	53.224
94	Indonesia`IDN`South-eastern Asia	53.131
95	United States Virgin Islands`VIR`Caribbean	52.911
96	Czechia`CZE`Eastern Europe	52.559
97	Chile`CHL`South America	52.416
98	Japan`JPN`Eastern Asia	52.368
99	Slovakia`SVK`Eastern Europe	52.241
100	Zambia`ZMB`Eastern Africa	52.138
101	Spain`ESP`Southern Europe	51.873
102	Mongolia`MNG`Eastern Asia	51.717
103	Malaysia`MYS`South-eastern Asia	51.625
104	Hungary`HUN`Eastern Europe	51.527
105	Sierra Leone`SLE`Western Africa	51.415
106	Albania`ALB`Southern Europe	51.406
107	Trinidad and Tobago`TTO`Caribbean	51.338
108	United Arab Emirates`ARE`Western Asia	51.312
109	Channel Islands`CHI`Northern Europe	51.305
110	France`FRA`Western Europe	50.813
111	Lesotho`LSO`Southern Africa	50.356
112	Dominican Republic`DOM`Caribbean	50.285
113	Honduras`HND`Central America	50.022
114	Poland`POL`Eastern Europe	49.857
115	Papua New Guinea`PNG`Melanesia	49.709
116	Kuwait`KWT`Western Asia	49.614
117	Ukraine`UKR`Eastern Europe	49.498
118	French Polynesia`PYF`Polynesia	49.253
119	Bulgaria`BGR`Eastern Europe	49.175
120	Argentina`ARG`South America	49.146
121	Nicaragua`NIC`Central America	48.852
122	Belgium`BEL`Western Europe	48.769
123	Costa Rica`CRI`Central America	48.659
124	Cabo Verde`CPV`Western Africa	48.620
125	South Africa`ZAF`Southern Africa	48.518
126	Chad`TCD`Middle Africa	48.501
127	Myanmar`MMR`South-eastern Asia	48.438
128	Malta`MLT`Southern Europe	48.214
129	Eswatini`SWZ`Southern Africa	47.083
130	Serbia`SRB`Southern Europe	46.379
131	Suriname`SUR`South America	45.863
132	Mauritius`MUS`Eastern Africa	45.604
133	Philippines`PHL`South-eastern Asia	45.532
134	Montenegro`MNE`Southern Europe	45.520
135	Croatia`HRV`Southern Europe	45.012
136	El Salvador`SLV`Central America	44.928
137	Venezuela`VEN`South America	44.850
138	Gambia`GMB`Western Africa	44.792
139	Cuba`CUB`Caribbean	44.767
140	Guyana`GUY`South America	44.263
141	Mexico`MEX`Central America	44.134
142	Kyrgyzstan`KGZ`Central Asia	44.016
143	Guinea`GIN`Western Africa	43.497
144	Greece`GRC`Southern Europe	43.387
145	Bahrain`BHR`Western Asia	43.209
146	Romania`ROU`Eastern Europe	42.932
147	Tonga`TON`Polynesia	42.606
148	Gabon`GAB`Middle Africa	41.909
149	North Macedonia`MKD`Southern Europe	41.277
150	Comoros`COM`Eastern Africa	41.147
151	Italy`ITA`Southern Europe	40.777
152	Maldives`MDV`Southern Asia	40.382
153	Uzbekistan`UZB`Central Asia	39.739
154	Samoa`WSM`Polynesia	39.417
155	Turkmenistan`TKM`Central Asia	38.933
156	Fiji`FJI`Melanesia	38.505
157	Guatemala`GTM`Central America	38.408
158	Bosnia and Herzegovina`BIH`Southern Europe	38.384
159	Bangladesh`BGD`Southern Asia	38.056
160	Senegal`SEN`Western Africa	36.353
161	Türkiye`TUR`Western Asia	34.115
162	Libya`LBY`Northern Africa	34.039
163	Sri Lanka`LKA`Southern Asia	33.105
164	Puerto Rico`PRI`Caribbean	32.997
165	Oman`OMN`Western Asia	30.370
166	Lebanon`LBN`Western Asia	28.470
167	Nepal`NPL`Southern Asia	27.628
168	Tunisia`TUN`Northern Africa	27.383
169	India`IND`Southern Asia	26.568
170	Mauritania`MRT`Western Africa	26.234
171	São Tomé and Príncipe`STP`Middle Africa	23.092
172	Morocco`MAR`Northern Africa	22.230
173	Saudi Arabia`SAU`Western Asia	21.824
174	Pakistan`PAK`Southern Asia	21.571
175	Tajikistan`TJK`Central Asia	21.430
176	Somalia`SOM`Eastern Africa	21.056
177	Afghanistan`AFG`Southern Asia	19.805
178	Sudan`SDN`Northern Africa	19.704
179	Egypt`EGY`Northern Africa	18.415
180	Djibouti`DJI`Eastern Africa	18.340
181	Palestine`PSE`Western Asia	17.665
182	Iran`IRN`Southern Asia	17.341
183	Algeria`DZA`Northern Africa	14.801
184	Jordan`JOR`Western Asia	14.649
185	Syria`SYR`Western Asia	13.137
186	Iraq`IRQ`Western Asia	11.446
187	Yemen`YEM`Western Asia	4.987

02In 2018

At either end

The 5 countries at each end of the headline.

Highest

1Madagascar82.971
2Solomon Islands82.361
3Burundi81.073
4Tanzania80.234
5Mozambique77.840

Lowest

187Yemen4.987
186Iraq11.446
185Syria13.137
184Jordan14.649
183Algeria14.801

A higher value is the better result. The middle country reads 53.131. “Shared” marks a value another country also holds.

032017 → 2018

Since 2017

What changed between 2017 and this one: who joined or left, and how far the headline moved.

+0 / −0countries joined / left
186values changed, of 187 in both
107 · 79rose · fell
1unchanged

Rose most

Belize48.678 → 54.103+5.425
Bolivia59.112 → 63.560+4.448
Honduras45.758 → 50.022+4.264
Costa Rica45.905 → 48.659+2.754
Uganda69.217 → 71.687+2.470

Fell most

Egypt22.184 → 18.415−3.769
United States Virgin Islands56.528 → 52.911−3.617
Cabo Verde52.038 → 48.620−3.418
Sri Lanka36.094 → 33.105−2.989
Kenya68.685 → 65.814−2.871

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 2018.
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-2018-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) (2018). Female Labour Force Participation Rate, 2018 [data set], describing 2018. As held by Nations Inquiry, https://nationsinquiry.com/datasets/female-labour-participation/2018

0636 held

Other years

‹ The year before
Female Labour Force Participation Rate, 2017
187 countries
The year after ›
Female Labour Force Participation Rate, 2019
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