Key Takeaways

  • As a general trend: women’s workforce participation spikes in either very poor countries, or very rich ones.
  • The data for this map is sourced from 2025 estimates made by the International Labour Organization
  • It shows the share of working-age women (15–64) who are employed or looking for work in each country.

The Relationship Between Economic Development & Women Working, Explained

  • In low-income countries, women often work in subsistence agriculture, where labor is crucial for survival.
  • In middle-income countries, labour moves away from survival and towards industry. Societal norms may discourage women from working.
  • In high-income countries, education, childcare services, and a services-based economy broaden opportunities for women to work.

Dataset

Rank Country ISO Code Women Workforce Participation Rate (%)
1 North Korea PRK 87
2 Solomon Islands SLB 84
3 Madagascar MDG 84
4 Iceland ISL 84
5 Netherlands NLD 82
6 Sweden SWE 82
7 Nigeria NGA 82
8 Tanzania TZA 82
9 Burundi BDI 81
10 Estonia EST 81
11 Switzerland CHE 80
12 New Zealand NZL 80
13 Finland FIN 80
14 Cambodia KHM 79
15 Denmark DNK 79
16 Mozambique MOZ 78
17 Norway NOR 78
18 Uganda UGA 78
19 Canada CAN 78
20 Lithuania LTU 78
21 Australia AUS 77
22 Japan JPN 77
23 Belarus BLR 76
24 Germany DEU 76
25 Kazakhstan KAZ 76
26 Portugal PRT 76
27 Benin BEN 76
28 Cyprus CYP 76
29 Bahamas BHS 76
30 Eritrea ERI 75
31 Vietnam VNM 75
32 Bolivia BOL 75
33 Latvia LVA 74
34 Austria AUT 74
35 Barbados BRB 74
36 Angola AGO 74
37 Malta MLT 74
38 Hungary HUN 74
39 UK GBR 74
40 Ireland IRL 74
41 Liberia LBR 73
42 Slovenia SVN 73
43 Moldova MDA 73
44 Slovakia SVK 73
45 Israel ISR 73
46 Uruguay URY 71
47 Singapore SGP 71
48 France FRA 71
49 Russia RUS 71
50 Czechia CZE 71
51 Luxembourg LUX 71
52 Saint Lucia LCA 71
53 Spain ESP 71
54 Bulgaria BGR 70
55 Peru PER 70
56 China CHN 69
57 Poland POL 69
58 U.S. USA 69
59 Armenia ARM 69
60 Thailand THA 68
61 Azerbaijan AZE 68
62 Macao MAC 68
63 Botswana BWA 67
64 Congo COG 67
65 Belgium BEL 67
66 Taiwan TWN 67
67 Jamaica JAM 67
68 Croatia HRV 67
69 Guam GUM 67
70 Serbia SRB 66
71 Central African Republic CAF 66
72 Hong Kong HKG 66
73 Channel Islands CHI 65
74 Albania ALB 65
75 Qatar QAT 65
76 Saint Vincent and the Grenadines VCT 65
77 U.S. Virgin Islands VIR 65
78 Laos LAO 65
79 South Korea KOR 64
80 Malawi MWI 64
81 DRC COD 63
82 Ghana GHA 63
83 Paraguay PRY 63
84 Kenya KEN 63
85 Argentina ARG 62
86 Greece GRC 62
87 Haiti HTI 62
88 Georgia GEO 61
89 Chile CHL 61
90 Timor-Leste TLS 61
91 Brazil BRA 61
92 Niger NER 61
93 Zimbabwe ZWE 61
94 Rwanda RWA 60
95 Côte d’Ivoire CIV 60
96 New Caledonia NCL 60
97 Mali MLI 60
98 Bhutan BTN 59
99 Ethiopia ETH 59
100 Trinidad & Tobago TTO 59
101 Dominican Republic DOM 59
102 Panama PAN 59
103 Brunei Darussalam BRN 58
104 Italy ITA 58
105 South Africa ZAF 58
106 Colombia COL 58
107 Togo TGO 57
108 Romania ROU 57
109 Namibia NAM 57
110 Mongolia MNG 57
111 Kyrgyzstan KGZ 57
112 Cameroon CMR 57
113 Malaysia MYS 57
114 UAE ARE 56
115 Cabo Verde CPV 56
116 Guinea-Bissau GNB 56
117 Ecuador ECU 56
118 Vanuatu VUT 56
119 Indonesia IDN 55
120 North Macedonia MKD 54
121 Zambia ZMB 54
122 Equatorial Guinea GNQ 54
123 Montenegro MNE 53
124 Nicaragua NIC 53
125 Turkmenistan TKM 53
126 French Polynesia PYF 53
127 Bosnia & Herzegovina BIH 53
128 Sierra Leone SLE 52
129 Belize BLZ 52
130 Mexico MEX 52
131 Philippines PHL 52
132 Papua New Guinea PNG 51
133 Mauritius MUS 51
134 El Salvador SLV 51
135 Kuwait KWT 51
136 Costa Rica CRI 51
137 Lesotho LSO 51
138 Suriname SUR 51
139 Cuba CUB 49
140 Chad TCD 49
141 Eswatini SWZ 48
142 Bangladesh BGD 48
143 Gambia GMB 47
144 Bahrain BHR 45
145 Myanmar MMR 45
146 Puerto Rico PRI 45
147 Tonga TON 44
148 Guyana GUY 44
149 Comoros COM 44
150 Uzbekistan UZB 44
151 Maldives MDV 43
152 Gabon GAB 43
153 Guinea GIN 43
154 Türkiye TUR 42
155 Guatemala GTM 42
156 Burkina Faso BFA 42
157 Venezuela VEN 42
158 Honduras HND 41
159 Fiji FJI 41
160 Senegal SEN 38
161 Saudi Arabia SAU 36
162 Sri Lanka LKA 36
163 India IND 35
164 Libya LBY 35
165 Tajikistan TJK 33
166 Western Sahara ESH 33
167 Samoa WSM 33
168 Oman OMN 32
169 Tunisia TUN 30
170 Nepal NPL 30
171 Mauritania MRT 27
172 Pakistan PAK 26
173 Sao Tome and Principe STP 23
174 Somalia SOM 22
175 Morocco MAR 21
176 Djibouti DJI 20
177 Egypt EGY 16
178 Algeria DZA 15
179 Jordan JOR 15
180 Iran IRN 15
181 Syria SYR 14
182 Iraq IRQ 11
183 Afghanistan AFG 5
184 Yemen YEM 5
N/A World WRLD 55

Data sources

Figures rounded.

https://rshiny.ilo.org/dataexplorer15/?lang=en&segment=indicator&id=EAP_2WAP_SEX_AGE_RT_Ahttps://ilostat.ilo.org/methods/concepts-and-definitions/description-labour-force-statistics/#elementor-toc__heading-anchor-1
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This Map Shows Where Women Work

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