Countries by Labor force, female (% of total labor force)

Moldova ranks first globally with women making up 55.36% of its total labor force, the only country where women form a clear majority of workers. At the other end, Afghanistan sits last at just 6.78%, a gap of nearly 49 percentage points. This spread across 186 countries reflects wide variation in how women participate in paid and self-employed work worldwide.

Labour category

Ranking 2025

Values shown in %.

Countries by Labor force, female (% of total labor force)
Rank	Country	%
1	Moldova	55.36
2	U.S. Virgin Islands	51.91
3	Mozambique	51.68
4	Burundi	51.61
5	Hong Kong	51.18
6	Macao	50.98
7	Bahamas	50.72
8	Azerbaijan	49.86
9	Latvia	49.80
10	Estonia	49.72
11	Portugal	49.68
12	Barbados	49.67
13	Zimbabwe	49.62
14	South Sudan	49.60
15	Sao Tome and Principe	49.45
16	Benin	49.43
17	Angola	49.38
18	Belarus	49.15
19	Lithuania	49.01
20	Tanzania	49.01
21	DR Congo	48.88
22	Vietnam	48.82
23	Eswatini	48.78
24	Russia	48.78
25	Sierra Leone	48.75
26	Togo	48.70
27	Cambodia	48.66
28	Madagascar	48.65
29	Republic of Congo	48.65
30	Gambia	48.54
31	Nigeria	48.40
32	France	48.40
33	Malawi	48.35
34	Central African Republic	48.32
35	Kazakhstan	48.30
36	Namibia	48.30
37	Israel	48.26
38	Georgia	48.18
39	Uganda	48.17
40	North Korea	48.17
41	Finland	48.12
42	Solomon Islands	48.00
43	United Kingdom	47.79
44	Guinea-Bissau	47.71
45	Australia	47.68
46	Eritrea	47.68
47	Papua New Guinea	47.67
48	Ghana	47.63
49	New Zealand	47.57
50	Liberia	47.51
51	Croatia	47.48
52	Sweden	47.47
53	Ukraine	47.42
54	Kenya	47.39
55	Denmark	47.36
56	Serbia	47.28
57	Canada	47.23
58	Armenia	47.18
59	Netherlands	47.16
60	Switzerland	47.16
61	Spain	47.16
62	Turkmenistan	47.13
63	Slovakia	47.11
64	Norway	47.10
65	Hungary	47.08
66	Tonga	46.88
67	Ireland	46.87
68	Rwanda	46.84
69	Austria	46.80
70	Bulgaria	46.79
71	Belgium	46.78
72	Botswana	46.71
73	Laos	46.65
74	Albania	46.58
75	South Africa	46.57
76	Montenegro	46.57
77	Bolivia	46.55
78	Luxembourg	46.53
79	Burkina Faso	46.52
80	Haiti	46.50
81	Germany	46.49
82	Zambia	46.32
83	Saint Lucia	46.27
84	New Caledonia	46.25
85	Jamaica	46.11
86	Poland	46.09
87	Puerto Rico	46.09
88	Vanuatu	46.05
89	Uruguay	45.89
90	Timor-Leste	45.88
91	Thailand	45.84
92	United States	45.63
93	Iceland	45.61
94	Cyprus	45.56
95	Japan	45.43
96	China	45.38
97	Slovenia	45.33
98	Peru	45.21
99	Czechia	45.20
100	Guam	45.15
101	Niger	44.96
102	Guyana	44.94
103	Greece	44.70
104	South Korea	44.36
105	French Polynesia	44.26
106	Singapore	44.05
107	Cameroon	43.91
108	Mongolia	43.87
109	Lesotho	43.83
110	Cabo Verde	43.63
111	Brazil	43.37
112	Côte d'Ivoire	43.36
113	Ethiopia	43.07
114	Argentina	43.05
115	Chile	42.90
116	Saint Vincent and the Grenadines	42.83
117	Comoros	42.68
118	North Macedonia	42.68
119	Italy	42.56
120	Bosnia and Herzegovina	42.44
121	El Salvador	42.43
122	Romania	42.41
123	Paraguay	42.23
124	Trinidad and Tobago	42.12
125	Suriname	42.05
126	Dominican Republic	41.99
127	Malta	41.92
128	Panama	41.77
129	Philippines	41.62
130	Colombia	41.60
131	Guinea	41.58
132	Ecuador	41.04
133	Costa Rica	40.68
134	Mauritius	40.60
135	Bhutan	40.38
136	Mexico	40.25
137	Chad	40.01
138	Equatorial Guinea	40.00
139	Gabon	39.98
140	Nicaragua	39.88
141	Indonesia	39.61
142	Kyrgyzstan	39.60
143	Brunei	39.53
144	Belize	39.18
145	Mali	39.12
146	Cuba	39.10
147	Myanmar	37.71
148	Nepal	37.60
149	Malaysia	37.09
150	Venezuela	36.62
151	Senegal	36.58
152	Samoa	36.40
153	Uzbekistan	35.93
154	Honduras	35.02
155	Türkiye	34.42
156	Fiji	34.23
157	Bangladesh	34.02
158	Libya	33.95
159	Sri Lanka	33.44
160	Mauritania	33.42
161	Guatemala	32.73
162	Djibouti	31.03
163	Somalia	30.86
164	Tunisia	30.00
165	Tajikistan	29.56
166	India	28.31
167	Lebanon	26.81
168	Kuwait	23.63
169	Maldives	23.23
170	Pakistan	22.78
171	United Arab Emirates	22.69
172	Morocco	22.35
173	Palestine	21.46
174	Bahrain	21.28
175	Egypt	20.64
176	Sudan	19.69
177	Jordan	19.32
178	Saudi Arabia	18.90
179	Qatar	18.01
180	Syria	17.38
181	Algeria	17.00
182	Iran	16.89
183	Oman	14.86
184	Iraq	13.26
185	Yemen	7.00
186	Afghanistan	6.78

Analysis

This metric measures female labor force as a percentage of the total labor force across 186 countries. Per the source definition: 'Female labor force as a percentage of the total show the extent to which women are active in the labor force. Labor force comprises people ages 15 and older who supply labor for the production of goods and services during a specified period.' The unit is percentage share, and a higher value indicates greater female participation. Data comes from the World Bank World Development Indicators (indicator code SL.TLF.TOTL.FE.ZS) for reference year 2025. Coverage is strong: 186 countries are included, all with data from the last 7 years, and 100% of datapoints are classified as official. The viability check identified 27 extreme outliers using a 3-standard-deviation threshold, and the ranking spans a range from 6.78% to 55.36%, a spread of 716.3%.

The top of the ranking is led by Moldova (rank 1, 55.36%), the only country where women represent more than half the labor force. Sub-Saharan African nations feature prominently in the top tier: Mozambique (rank 3, 51.68%), Burundi (rank 4, 51.61%), Zimbabwe (rank 13, 49.62%), South Sudan (rank 14, 49.60%), and several others appear in the top 30. Eastern European and former Soviet states also cluster near the top, including Latvia (rank 9, 49.80%), Estonia (rank 10, 49.72%), Belarus (rank 18, 49.15%), Lithuania (rank 19, 49.01%), and Russia (rank 24, 48.78%). Hong Kong SAR (rank 5, 51.18%) and Macao SAR (rank 6, 50.98%) represent the highest-ranking East Asian economies in this metric.

The middle of the ranking, roughly ranks 80 through 140, includes most large high-income and upper-middle-income economies. The United States ranks 92nd at 45.63%, Japan 95th at 45.43%, China 96th at 45.38%, and Brazil 111th at 43.37%. A notable anomaly appears at the lower-middle section: Niger (rank 101, 44.96%) ranks higher than South Korea (rank 104, 44.36%), Singapore (rank 106, 44.05%), and Italy (rank 119, 42.56%). The bottom of the ranking is dominated by Middle Eastern and North African countries. Yemen sits last at 7.00% (rank 185) and Afghanistan at 6.78% (rank 186). Other low-ranked countries include Iraq (rank 184, 13.26%), Oman (rank 183, 14.86%), Iran (rank 182, 16.89%), and Algeria (rank 181, 17.00%).

This metric captures share of the labor force rather than absolute participation rates, which means a country with declining male employment could show a rising female share without any increase in female employment. The indicator counts people aged 15 and older who supply labor, but it does not distinguish between full-time, part-time, formal, or informal employment. Countries with large informal sectors may undercount female workers, particularly in subsistence agriculture. Reporting methods and survey frequency vary across countries, which can affect comparability. The 27 extreme outliers flagged in the viability check warrant particular scrutiny, as some values may reflect measurement differences rather than true labor market conditions.

Methodology

Metric: Female labor force as a percentage of total labor force. Source: World Bank World Development Indicators, indicator code SL.TLF.TOTL.FE.ZS, data year 2025. Definition (verbatim from source): 'Female labor force as a percentage of the total show the extent to which women are active in the labor force. Labor force comprises people ages 15 and older who supply labor for the production of goods and services during a specified period.' Unit: percent. Higher values indicate greater female share. Country count: 186. Coverage: 186/186 countries have data from the last 7 years (100%). Data quality: 100% of datapoints are classified as official, exceeding the 70% threshold. Outliers: 27 extreme outliers were identified using a 3-standard-deviation threshold. Volatility: average year-over-year change of 0.9%, well below the 50% concern threshold. Value range: 6.78% (Afghanistan) to 55.36% (Moldova), a spread of 716.3%. Rankings reflect the most recently available data as of 2025; 181 of 186 countries (97.3%) have data from the latest reference year.

Sources

World Bank