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The participation divide
Women's access to paid work differs sharply across economies.
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THE STORY BEHIND THE CHART
The story behind the numbers
Labor-force participation includes women who are working and women actively seeking work. Differences reflect institutions, care responsibilities, education, economic conditions and measurement. Participation is broader than employment and does not indicate equal pay or access to leadership.
THE TAKEAWAY
Women's access to paid work differs sharply across economies.
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Women ages 15 and older. Participation includes both employment and active job search.
Data behind the visual
This selected comparison includes 32 economies with observations in 2025 shown in % of women ages 15+.
| Country | Value |
|---|---|
| Nigeria | 80.7% |
| Vietnam | 68.6% |
| Kenya | 63% |
| Netherlands | 62.7% |
| Australia | 62.5% |
| Norway | 62.1% |
| Sweden | 61.5% |
| Canada | 60.2% |
| China | 59.1% |
| Thailand | 59% |
| Ethiopia | 58.5% |
| United Kingdom | 57.3% |
| South Korea | 56.8% |
| United States | 56.3% |
| Japan | 55.9% |
| Germany | 55.3% |
| Indonesia | 53.7% |
| Brazil | 53.4% |
| United Arab Emirates | 53% |
| Argentina | 52.5% |
| Poland | 51.6% |
| France | 51.5% |
| Philippines | 50.5% |
| South Africa | 49.9% |
| Mexico | 47.5% |
| Italy | 40.8% |
| Bangladesh | 38.6% |
| Türkiye | 37.1% |
| Saudi Arabia | 33.6% |
| India | 32.4% |
| Pakistan | 24% |
| Egypt | 18.5% |
EXPLORE THE DATA
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