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Data

Proportion of labor force who are women

ILO

What you should know about this indicator

  • This data comes from the ILO Modelled Estimates series. The ILO combines countries' own reported estimates with statistically modeled estimates when observations are missing. This ensures that the data follows harmonized definitions and is comparable across countries and over time. It also allows the ILO to calculate regional and global aggregates for every year. You can read more about how the ILO produces these estimates in the Modelled Estimates documentation.
  • This data follows the standards of the . One important point is that employment encompasses work for pay or profit, including self-employment, and also the production of goods for own use (such as subsistence farming). Changes in the definition of employment imply changes in the identification of the unemployed and of those out of the labor force. Because definitions changed under the , data using those newer definitions are not fully comparable with data based on the 13th ICLS. You can read more about the definitions in this explainer by the ILO.

How is this data described by its producer - ILO?

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.

Statistical concept and methodology:

The standard definition of unemployed persons is those individuals without work, seeking work in a recent past period, and currently available for work, including people who have lost their jobs or voluntarily left work. In addition, persons who did not look for work but have an arrangement for a future job are also counted as unemployed. Still, some unemployment is unavoidable—at any time, some workers are temporarily unemployed between jobs as employers look for the right workers and workers search for better jobs. The labor force or the economically active portion of the population serves as the base for this indicator, not the total population.

Estimates are based on labor force participation rates and population data from International Labour Organization and United Nations Population Division. The labor force participation rates are part of the "ILO modeled estimates database," including nationally reported observations and imputed data for countries with missing data, primarily to capture regional and global trends with consistent country coverage. Country-reported microdata is based mainly on nationally representative labor force surveys, with other sources (e.g., household surveys and population censuses) considering differences in the data source, the scope of coverage, methodology, and other country-specific factors. Country analysis requires caution where limited nationally reported data are available. A series of models are also applied to impute missing observations and make projections. However, imputed observations are not based on national data, are subject to high uncertainty, and should not be used for country comparisons or rankings. For more information: https://ilostat.ilo.org/resources/concepts-and-definitions/ilo-modelled-estimates/

Notes from original source:

Given the exceptional situation, including the scarcity of relevant data, the ILO modeled estimates and projections from 2020 onwards are subject to substantial uncertainty.

Proportion of labor force who are women
ILO
Share of the working-age population (15+) who are female.
Source
World Development Indicators, World Bank, with data from ILO and United Nations Population Division (2025) – processed by Our World in Data
Last updated
September 8, 2025
Next expected update
September 2026
Date range
1990–2024
Unit
%

What you should know about this indicator

  • This data comes from the ILO Modelled Estimates series. The ILO combines countries' own reported estimates with statistically modeled estimates when observations are missing. This ensures that the data follows harmonized definitions and is comparable across countries and over time. It also allows the ILO to calculate regional and global aggregates for every year. You can read more about how the ILO produces these estimates in the Modelled Estimates documentation.
  • This data follows the standards of the . One important point is that employment encompasses work for pay or profit, including self-employment, and also the production of goods for own use (such as subsistence farming). Changes in the definition of employment imply changes in the identification of the unemployed and of those out of the labor force. Because definitions changed under the , data using those newer definitions are not fully comparable with data based on the 13th ICLS. You can read more about the definitions in this explainer by the ILO.

How is this data described by its producer - ILO?

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.

Statistical concept and methodology:

The standard definition of unemployed persons is those individuals without work, seeking work in a recent past period, and currently available for work, including people who have lost their jobs or voluntarily left work. In addition, persons who did not look for work but have an arrangement for a future job are also counted as unemployed. Still, some unemployment is unavoidable—at any time, some workers are temporarily unemployed between jobs as employers look for the right workers and workers search for better jobs. The labor force or the economically active portion of the population serves as the base for this indicator, not the total population.

Estimates are based on labor force participation rates and population data from International Labour Organization and United Nations Population Division. The labor force participation rates are part of the "ILO modeled estimates database," including nationally reported observations and imputed data for countries with missing data, primarily to capture regional and global trends with consistent country coverage. Country-reported microdata is based mainly on nationally representative labor force surveys, with other sources (e.g., household surveys and population censuses) considering differences in the data source, the scope of coverage, methodology, and other country-specific factors. Country analysis requires caution where limited nationally reported data are available. A series of models are also applied to impute missing observations and make projections. However, imputed observations are not based on national data, are subject to high uncertainty, and should not be used for country comparisons or rankings. For more information: https://ilostat.ilo.org/resources/concepts-and-definitions/ilo-modelled-estimates/

Notes from original source:

Given the exceptional situation, including the scarcity of relevant data, the ILO modeled estimates and projections from 2020 onwards are subject to substantial uncertainty.

Proportion of labor force who are women
ILO
Share of the working-age population (15+) who are female.
Source
World Development Indicators, World Bank, with data from ILO and United Nations Population Division (2025) – processed by Our World in Data
Last updated
September 8, 2025
Next expected update
September 2026
Date range
1990–2024
Unit
%

Sources and processing

This data is based on the following sources

World Development Indicators, World Bank, with data from ILO and United Nations Population Division – World Development Indicators

The World Development Indicators (WDI) is the primary World Bank collection of development indicators, compiled from officially-recognized international sources. It presents the most current and accurate global development data available, and includes national, regional and global estimates.

Retrieved on
September 8, 2025
Retrieved from
https://data.worldbank.org/indicator/SL.TLF.TOTL.FE.ZS
Citation
This is the citation of the original data obtained from the source, prior to any processing or adaptation by Our World in Data. To cite data downloaded from this page, please use the suggested citation given in Reuse This Work below.
World Bank, World Development Indicators database. Estimates are based on data obtained from International Labour Organization and United Nations Population Division. Indicator SL.TLF.TOTL.FE.ZS (https://data.worldbank.org/indicator/SL.TLF.TOTL.FE.ZS). World Development Indicators - World Bank (2025). Accessed on 2025-09-08.

The World Development Indicators (WDI) is the primary World Bank collection of development indicators, compiled from officially-recognized international sources. It presents the most current and accurate global development data available, and includes national, regional and global estimates.

Retrieved on
September 8, 2025
Retrieved from
https://data.worldbank.org/indicator/SL.TLF.TOTL.FE.ZS
Citation
This is the citation of the original data obtained from the source, prior to any processing or adaptation by Our World in Data. To cite data downloaded from this page, please use the suggested citation given in Reuse This Work below.
World Bank, World Development Indicators database. Estimates are based on data obtained from International Labour Organization and United Nations Population Division. Indicator SL.TLF.TOTL.FE.ZS (https://data.worldbank.org/indicator/SL.TLF.TOTL.FE.ZS). World Development Indicators - World Bank (2025). Accessed on 2025-09-08.

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Citations

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To cite this page overall, including any descriptions, FAQs or explanations of the data authored by Our World in Data, please use the following citation:

“Data Page: Proportion of labor force who are women”. Our World in Data (2025). Data adapted from World Development Indicators, World Bank, with data from ILO and United Nations Population Division. Retrieved from https://auto-epoch.owid.pages.dev:8789/20250926-154625/grapher/proportion-of-labor-force-who-are-women.html [online resource] (archived on September 26, 2025).

How to cite this data

In-line citationIf you have limited space (e.g. in data visualizations), you can use this abbreviated in-line citation:

World Development Indicators, World Bank, with data from ILO and United Nations Population Division (2025) – processed by Our World in Data

Full citation

World Development Indicators, World Bank, with data from ILO and United Nations Population Division (2025) – processed by Our World in Data. “Proportion of labor force who are women – ILO” [dataset]. World Development Indicators, World Bank, with data from ILO and United Nations Population Division, “World Development Indicators 122” [original data]. Retrieved November 1, 2025 from https://auto-epoch.owid.pages.dev:8789/20250926-154625/grapher/proportion-of-labor-force-who-are-women.html (archived on September 26, 2025).