Data for 2021

Female Labour Force Participation Rate, 2021

Name: Female Labour Force Participation Rate, 2021
Creator: International Labour Organization (ILO)
License: https://www.ilo.org/rights-and-permissions

2021, as ILO’s 2026 release gives it · stored as published, never rewritten

Female Labour Force Participation Rate, 2021 covers 187 countries. Madagascar is highest, at 82.807; Yemen is lowest, at 4.875. The middle country reads 52.482. Against 2020, 186 values changed (143 up, 43 down), the same countries are covered.

Download CSV Cite this year

Share this page

Female Labour Force Participation Rate · Data for 2021

HighestMadagascar

82.807

LowestYemen

4.875

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

187countries
1measure
2021the 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, 2021, 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, 2021: every country, as published by International Labour Organization (ILO).
derived
1	Madagascar`MDG`Eastern Africa	82.807
2	Solomon Islands`SLB`Melanesia	82.260
3	Burundi`BDI`Eastern Africa	80.488
4	Tanzania`TZA`Eastern Africa	80.425
5	Mozambique`MOZ`Eastern Africa	76.785
6	North Korea`PRK`Eastern Asia	76.483
7	Nigeria`NGA`Western Africa	75.893
8	Benin`BEN`Western Africa	74.754
9	Angola`AGO`Middle Africa	74.695
10	Uganda`UGA`Eastern Africa	74.672
11	Cambodia`KHM`South-eastern Asia	73.711
12	Eritrea`ERI`Eastern Africa	72.622
13	Liberia`LBR`Western Africa	71.703
14	South Sudan`SSD`Eastern Africa	71.344
15	Bolivia`BOL`South America	71.057
16	Moldova`MDA`Eastern Europe	70.665
17	Iceland`ISL`Northern Europe	69.148
18	Vietnam`VNM`South-eastern Asia	69.107
19	Niger`NER`Western Africa	67.799
20	Burkina Faso`BFA`Western Africa	67.668
21	Bahamas`BHS`Caribbean	66.863
22	New Zealand`NZL`Australia and New Zealand	65.596
23	Bhutan`BTN`Southern Asia	64.902
24	Peru`PER`South America	64.845
25	Central African Republic`CAF`Middle Africa	64.799
26	Singapore`SGP`South-eastern Asia	64.409
27	Macau`MAC`Eastern Asia	64.072
28	Kazakhstan`KAZ`Central Asia	64.068
29	Republic of the Congo`COG`Middle Africa	64.018
30	Kenya`KEN`Eastern Africa	62.668
31	Switzerland`CHE`Western Europe	62.631
32	Norway`NOR`Northern Europe	62.182
33	Haiti`HTI`Caribbean	62.099
34	Netherlands`NLD`Western Europe	61.894
35	Australia`AUS`Australia and New Zealand	61.516
36	Timor-Leste`TLS`South-eastern Asia	61.212
37	China`CHN`Eastern Asia	61.182
38	Azerbaijan`AZE`Western Asia	61.174
39	Sweden`SWE`Northern Europe	60.704
40	Canada`CAN`Northern America	60.634
41	Qatar`QAT`Western Asia	60.582
42	DR Congo`COD`Middle Africa	60.480
43	Saint Lucia`LCA`Caribbean	60.375
44	Laos`LAO`South-eastern Asia	60.323
45	Zimbabwe`ZWE`Eastern Africa	60.120
46	Paraguay`PRY`South America	59.850
47	Israel`ISR`Western Asia	59.696
48	Cyprus`CYP`Western Asia	59.534
49	Thailand`THA`South-eastern Asia	59.180
50	Barbados`BRB`Caribbean	58.963
51	Botswana`BWA`Southern Africa	58.943
52	Malawi`MWI`Eastern Africa	58.786
53	Jamaica`JAM`Caribbean	58.395
54	Guinea-Bissau`GNB`Western Africa	58.375
55	Denmark`DNK`Northern Europe	58.161
56	Belarus`BLR`Eastern Europe	58.024
57	United Kingdom`GBR`Northern Europe	58.020
58	Ireland`IRL`Northern Europe	57.851
59	Côte d’Ivoire`CIV`Western Africa	57.846
60	Estonia`EST`Northern Europe	57.777
61	Ethiopia`ETH`Eastern Africa	57.555
62	Lithuania`LTU`Northern Europe	57.369
63	Cameroon`CMR`Middle Africa	57.093
64	Luxembourg`LUX`Western Europe	56.929
65	Ghana`GHA`Western Africa	56.850
66	Saint Vincent and the Grenadines`VCT`Caribbean	56.463
67	Uruguay`URY`South America	56.034
68	Finland`FIN`Northern Europe	55.927
69	Togo`TGO`Western Africa	55.664
70	United States`USA`Northern America	55.632
71	Austria`AUT`Western Europe	55.350
72	Russia`RUS`Eastern Europe	55.132
73	Armenia`ARM`Western Asia	55.118
74	Germany`DEU`Western Europe	55.018
75	Brunei`BRN`South-eastern Asia	54.791
76	Vanuatu`VUT`Melanesia	54.624
77	Slovakia`SVK`Eastern Europe	54.620
78	Latvia`LVA`Northern Europe	54.167
79	Guam`GUM`Micronesia	54.128
80	Zambia`ZMB`Eastern Africa	54.123
81	Hong Kong`HKG`Eastern Asia	53.718
82	South Korea`KOR`Eastern Asia	53.650
83	Ecuador`ECU`South America	53.630
84	Slovenia`SVN`Southern Europe	53.467
85	Japan`JPN`Eastern Asia	53.460
86	Mongolia`MNG`Eastern Asia	53.158
87	Namibia`NAM`Southern Africa	53.111
88	Georgia`GEO`Western Asia	53.055
89	Mali`MLI`Western Africa	52.981
90	New Caledonia`NCL`Melanesia	52.953
91	Portugal`PRT`Southern Europe	52.886
92	Rwanda`RWA`Eastern Africa	52.580
93	Albania`ALB`Southern Europe	52.523
94	Brazil`BRA`South America	52.482
95	Malta`MLT`Southern Europe	52.216
96	Hungary`HUN`Eastern Europe	52.211
97	Spain`ESP`Southern Europe	52.177
98	Indonesia`IDN`South-eastern Asia	52.069
99	United States Virgin Islands`VIR`Caribbean	51.800
100	Colombia`COL`South America	51.679
101	France`FRA`Western Europe	51.605
102	Czechia`CZE`Eastern Europe	51.555
103	Sierra Leone`SLE`Western Africa	51.472
104	Malaysia`MYS`South-eastern Asia	51.371
105	Dominican Republic`DOM`Caribbean	51.060
106	Poland`POL`Eastern Europe	50.969
107	Equatorial Guinea`GNQ`Middle Africa	50.951
108	Channel Islands`CHI`Northern Europe	50.885
109	Papua New Guinea`PNG`Melanesia	50.567
110	United Arab Emirates`ARE`Western Asia	50.452
111	Argentina`ARG`South America	50.260
112	Costa Rica`CRI`Central America	50.251
113	Belgium`BEL`Western Europe	49.367
114	Bulgaria`BGR`Eastern Europe	49.193
115	Nicaragua`NIC`Central America	49.078
116	Serbia`SRB`Southern Europe	49.002
117	Panama`PAN`Central America	48.894
118	Trinidad and Tobago`TTO`Caribbean	48.879
119	French Polynesia`PYF`Polynesia	48.267
120	Lesotho`LSO`Southern Africa	48.252
121	Chad`TCD`Middle Africa	48.119
122	Honduras`HND`Central America	48.071
123	Ukraine`UKR`Eastern Europe	47.738
124	Cabo Verde`CPV`Western Africa	47.643
125	Kuwait`KWT`Western Asia	47.507
126	Comoros`COM`Eastern Africa	47.073
127	Eswatini`SWZ`Southern Africa	46.901
128	Belize`BLZ`Central America	46.813
129	Chile`CHL`South America	46.579
130	Croatia`HRV`Southern Europe	45.869
131	South Africa`ZAF`Southern Africa	45.413
132	El Salvador`SLV`Central America	45.217
133	Gambia`GMB`Western Africa	44.967
134	Mexico`MEX`Central America	44.615
135	Philippines`PHL`South-eastern Asia	44.203
136	Kyrgyzstan`KGZ`Central Asia	43.997
137	Suriname`SUR`South America	43.581
138	Greece`GRC`Southern Europe	43.261
139	Romania`ROU`Eastern Europe	42.751
140	Tonga`TON`Polynesia	42.596
141	Guatemala`GTM`Central America	42.496
142	Cuba`CUB`Caribbean	42.429
143	Bangladesh`BGD`Southern Asia	42.181
144	Guinea`GIN`Western Africa	41.989
145	Montenegro`MNE`Southern Europe	41.433
146	Bahrain`BHR`Western Asia	41.196
147	Myanmar`MMR`South-eastern Asia	41.042
148	North Macedonia`MKD`Southern Europe	40.931
149	Guyana`GUY`South America	40.752
150	Mauritius`MUS`Eastern Africa	40.560
151	Italy`ITA`Southern Europe	39.884
152	Gabon`GAB`Middle Africa	39.763
153	Uzbekistan`UZB`Central Asia	39.587
154	Maldives`MDV`Southern Asia	37.995
155	Turkmenistan`TKM`Central Asia	37.839
156	Senegal`SEN`Western Africa	37.707
157	Bosnia and Herzegovina`BIH`Southern Europe	37.416
158	Venezuela`VEN`South America	37.368
159	Fiji`FJI`Melanesia	36.550
160	Puerto Rico`PRI`Caribbean	35.600
161	Saudi Arabia`SAU`Western Asia	34.218
162	Samoa`WSM`Polynesia	33.491
163	Türkiye`TUR`Western Asia	32.774
164	Libya`LBY`Northern Africa	31.353
165	Sri Lanka`LKA`Southern Asia	31.329
166	Oman`OMN`Western Asia	29.564
167	India`IND`Southern Asia	27.724
168	Nepal`NPL`Southern Asia	27.256
169	Tunisia`TUN`Northern Africa	26.698
170	Mauritania`MRT`Western Africa	26.069
171	Pakistan`PAK`Southern Asia	24.365
172	Lebanon`LBN`Western Asia	23.882
173	São Tomé and Príncipe`STP`Middle Africa	22.936
174	Somalia`SOM`Eastern Africa	20.933
175	Morocco`MAR`Northern Africa	20.697
176	Tajikistan`TJK`Central Asia	20.592
177	Djibouti`DJI`Eastern Africa	18.537
178	Palestine`PSE`Western Asia	17.545
179	Sudan`SDN`Northern Africa	15.807
180	Egypt`EGY`Northern Africa	15.590
181	Afghanistan`AFG`Southern Asia	14.616
182	Jordan`JOR`Western Asia	13.964
183	Algeria`DZA`Northern Africa	13.433
184	Iran`IRN`Southern Asia	13.086
185	Syria`SYR`Western Asia	12.824
186	Iraq`IRQ`Western Asia	10.902
187	Yemen`YEM`Western Asia	4.875

02In 2021

At either end

The 5 countries at each end of the headline.

Highest

1Madagascar82.807
2Solomon Islands82.260
3Burundi80.488
4Tanzania80.425
5Mozambique76.785

Lowest

187Yemen4.875
186Iraq10.902
185Syria12.824
184Iran13.086
183Algeria13.433

A higher value is the better result. The middle country reads 52.482. “Shared” marks a value another country also holds.

032020 → 2021

Since 2020

What changed between 2020 and this one: who joined or left, and how far the headline moved.

+0 / −0countries joined / left
186values changed, of 187 in both
143 · 43rose · fell
1unchanged

Rose most

Saint Lucia49.331 → 60.375+11.044
Bolivia65.020 → 71.057+6.037
Ecuador48.241 → 53.630+5.389
Belize41.478 → 46.813+5.335
Peru59.864 → 64.845+4.981

Fell most

United Arab Emirates58.180 → 50.452−7.728
Panama55.932 → 48.894−7.038
Malawi63.125 → 58.786−4.339
Rwanda56.652 → 52.580−4.072
Myanmar44.726 → 41.042−3.684

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 2021.
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-2021-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) (2021). Female Labour Force Participation Rate, 2021 [data set], describing 2021. As held by Nations Inquiry, https://nationsinquiry.com/datasets/female-labour-participation/2021

0636 held

Other years

‹ The year before
Female Labour Force Participation Rate, 2020
187 countries
The year after ›
Female Labour Force Participation Rate, 2022
186 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