Revealed: Countries ranked by the percentage of the workforce who are women, 2024

Despina WilsonSpecial ReportsFebruary 1, 2024

Women today are more determined than ever before, and they are greatly benefitting from the flexibility provided to them in the workplace. However, despite all the progress that has been made, women are still not being given equal opportunities. This is the finding of the latest report published by CEOWORLD magazine. The unequal playing field between men and women is not only unfair, but it also has a significant economic cost as it impacts productivity and slows down growth.

The report also reveals that the barriers that prevent women from joining the workforce, such as tax distortions, discrimination, and social and cultural factors, are actually more costly than previously thought. On the other hand, the benefits of closing the gender gaps are even greater than we had anticipated. Therefore, policymakers should take urgent action to eliminate these barriers and ensure equal opportunities for all.

Have you ever wondered which countries have the highest percentage of women in their workforce? CEOWORLD magazine has created a report that ranks 195 countries based on the percentage of their female workforce. As per the report, the world average for women in the workforce in 2024 was 50.6%. The United States has a percentage of 56.7% of women in its workforce, which is just 6.1% higher than the world average, and ranks the US at 60th out of 195 countries. Keep reading to find out how other countries fare when it comes to the percentage of their workforce who are women.

Which country has the highest percentage of women in the workforce?

Burundi has the highest percentage of women in the workforce, with 78.25% of the formal and non-formal workforce being female. On the other hand, Iraq has the lowest percentage of women in the workforce, with only 10.76% of the workforce being female. This leaves men to work most of the country’s jobs. Although the government of Iraq has made some efforts to improve women’s rights, there are still various barriers that hinder women from having equal rights and being able to work. Female labor force participation rate as a share of the female population in the world:

Countries ranked by the percentage of the workforce who are women, 2024

Rank	Country	Region	Female labor force participation	Population	GDP (USD million)	GDP Per Capita
1	Burundi	Eastern Africa	78.25	12,837,740	3,190	246
2	Cambodia	Southeastern Asia	77.12	17,091,464	30,943	1,916
3	Madagascar	Eastern Africa	75.56	26,923,353	15,763	530
4	Angola	Central Africa	74.72	33,086,278	93,796	2,550
5	Uganda	Eastern Africa	74.53	45,562,000	52,390	1,163
6	Togo	Western Africa	72.67	8,095,498	9,111	1,004
7	Bolivia	South America	71.84	12,006,031	46,796	3,858
8	Moldova	Southeastern Europe (Balkans)	71.50	2,512,758	16,000	6,411
9	Taiwan	Eastern Asia	70.63	23,399,654	751,930	32,339
10	Saint Kitts and Nevis	Caribbean	70.36	47,195	1,069	18,082
11	Bahamas	Caribbean	69.99	397,360	13,876	34,371
12	Germany	Central Europe	69.48	84,607,016	4,429,838	52,824
13	Monaco	Western Europe	68.02	39,050	8,596	234,317
14	Vietnam	Southeastern Asia	67.86	100,300,000	433,356	4,316
15	Cameroon	Central Africa	67.19	28,088,845	49,262	1,722
16	New Zealand	Australasia	66.89	5,223,100	249,415	48,072
17	Macau (China)	Eastern Asia	66.8	681,300	38,480	54,296
18	Peru	South America	66.73	33,396,698	264,636	7,669
19	Antigua and Barbuda	Caribbean	66.24	100,772	1,949	19,068
20	Belarus	Eastern Europe	65.78	9,200,617	68,864	7,477
21	Seychelles	Eastern Africa	64.28	100,447	2,085	20,890
22	Sweden	Northern Europe	63.67	10,558,012	597,110	55,216
23	Netherlands	Western Europe	63.57	17,590,000	1,092,748	61,770
24	Singapore	Southeastern Asia	63.36	5,917,600	497,347	87,884
25	Kazakhstan	Central Asia	63.3	20,000,000	259,292	12,968
26	Malawi	Eastern Africa	63.22	21,507,723	13,176	580
27	China	Eastern Asia	63	1,409,670,000	17,700,899	12,541
28	Kenya	Eastern Africa	62.84	51,526,000	112,749	2,188
29	Armenia	West Asia	62.80	2,981,200	24,540	8,283
30	Norway	Northern Europe	62.53	5,533,582	546,768	99,266
31	Australia	Australasia	62.31	26,461,912	1,687,713	63,487
32	Azerbaijan	West Asia	61.9	10,151,517	77,392	7,530
33	Qatar	West Asia	61.73	2,656,032	235,500	81,968
34	Niger	Western Africa	61.56	25,369,415	17,073	631
35	Switzerland	Western Europe	61.48	8,931,306	905,684	102,865
36	Canada	North America	61.47	40,528,396	2,117,805	53,247
37	Laos	Southeastern Asia	61.46	7,443,000	14,244	1,879
38	Israel	West Asia	61.14	9,827,000	521,688	53,196
39	DR Congo	Central Africa	60.28	95,370,000	67,512	675
40	Botswana	Southern Africa	60.05	2,410,338	20,756	7,758
41	Zimbabwe	Eastern Africa	60.01	15,178,979	32,424	2,006
42	Thailand	Southeastern Asia	59.85	68,263,022	512,193	7,298
43	Cyprus	West Asia	59.63	918,100	32,032	34,791
44	Denmark	Northern Europe	59.42	5,959,464	420,800	71,402
45	Ireland	Western Europe	59.39	5,281,600	589,569	112,248
46	Palau	Micronesia	59.21	16,733	267	15,113
47	Paraguay	South America	59.06	6,109,644	44,142	5,843
48	Barbados	Caribbean	59.02	267,800	6,220	21,442
49	United Kingdom	Western Europe	58.45	67,026,292	3,332,059	48,912
50	Eritrea	Eastern Africa	58.28	3,748,902	2,255	644
51	Guinea	Western Africa	58.28	13,261,638	23,205	1,543
52	Fiji	Melanesia	58.16	893,468	5,511	6,025
53	Luxembourg	Western Europe	57.98	660,809	89,095	135,605
54	Saint Lucia	Caribbean	57.9	178,696	2,469	13,572
55	Eswatini	Southern Africa	57.60	1,223,362	4,648	3,995
56	Guyana	South America	57.60	743,699	16,329	20,565
57	Grenada	Caribbean	57.54	112,579	1,306	11,437
58	Ethiopia	Eastern Africa	57.36	107,334,000	155,804	1,473
59	Cuba	Caribbean	57.3	11,089,511	107,528	56,495
60	United States	North America	56.78	335,893,238	26,949,643	80,412
61	Nauru	Micronesia	56.78	11,680	150	11,757
62	Finland	Northern Europe	56.68	5,572,545	305,689	54,507
63	Benin	Western Africa	56.62	12,606,998	19,940	1,449
64	Austria	Central Europe	56.55	9,154,514	526,182	58,013
65	Gabon	Central Africa	56.19	2,233,272	19,319	8,832
66	Slovakia	Central Europe	56.17	5,426,468	133,044	24,471
67	Malta	Southern Europe	56.13	519,562	20,311	38,715
68	Ivory Coast	Caribbean	56.03	29,389,150	79,430	2,728
69	Georgia	Eastern Europe	55.94	3,736,400	30,023	8,165
70	Samoa	Polynesia	55.85	205,557	939	4,638
71	Lithuania	Northern Europe	55.8	2,869,660	79,427	28,482
72	São Tomé and Príncipe	Central Africa	55.65	214,610	674	2,905
73	Latvia	Northern Europe	55.61	1,874,700	46,668	24,929
74	Gambia	Western Africa	55.57	2,417,471	2,388	903
75	Russia	Eastern Europe	55.53	146,424,729	1,862,470	13,006
76	Namibia	Southern Africa	55.41	2,641,857	12,647	4,786
77	Jamaica	Eastern Asia	55.37	2,825,544	18,761	6,831
78	Malaysia	Southeastern Asia	55.35	33,379,500	430,895	13,034
79	United Arab Emirates	West Asia	55.31	9,282,410	509,179	50,602
80	Ghana	Western Africa	55.04	30,832,019	76,628	2,329
81	Rwanda	Eastern Africa	54.75	13,246,394	13,927	1,032
82	Portugal	Southern Europe	54.7	10,467,366	276,432	26,879
83	Liechtenstein	Central Europe	54.66	39,724	6,608	184,083
84	Brunei	Southeastern Asia	54.65	445,400	15,153	34,384
85	Uruguay	South America	54.41	3,444,263	76,244	21,378
86	San Marino	Southern Europe	54.24	33,889	1,998	58,541
87	Slovenia	Southeastern Europe (Balkans)	54.24	2,120,937	68,394	32,350
88	Japan	West Asia	54.2	124,240,000	4,230,862	33,950
89	Zambia	Eastern Africa	54.16	19,610,769	29,536	1,486
90	South Sudan	Eastern Africa	53.80	13,249,924	6,267	417
91	Somalia	Eastern Africa	53.77	18,143,379	11,515	717
92	Brazil	South America	53.74	203,062,512	2,126,809	10,413
93	Hungary	Central Europe	53.68	9,597,085	203,829	21,075
94	Ecuador	South America	53.56	16,938,986	118,686	6,500
95	Mongolia	Eastern Asia	53.48	3,457,548	18,782	5,348
96	Spain	Southern Europe	53.18	48,345,223	1,582,054	33,090
97	Hong Kong (China)	Eastern Asia	52.91	7,498,100	385,546	51,168
98	Albania	Southeastern Europe (Balkans)	52.87	2,761,785	23,032	8,057
99	South Korea	Eastern Asia	52.69	51,439,038	1,709,232	33,147
100	France	Western Europe	52.52	68,373,000	3,049,016	46,315
101	Indonesia	Southeastern Asia	52.49	279,118,866	1,417,387	5,109
102	Kyrgyzstan	Central Asia	52.48	7,100,000	12,681	1,830
103	Solomon Islands	Melanesia	52.31	734,887	1,690	2,285
104	Czech Republic	Central Europe	52.16	10,882,235	335,243	30,475
105	Nigeria	Western Africa	52.14	216,783,400	390,002	1,755
106	Argentina	South America	52.07	46,654,581	621,833	13,297
107	Sierra Leone	Western Africa	51.57	8,494,260	3,519	415
108	Mali	Western Africa	51.54	22,395,489	21,309	913
109	Colombia	South America	51.10	52,215,503	363,835	6,976
110	Serbia	Southeastern Europe (Balkans)	50.96	6,641,197	75,015	11,301
111	Dominican Republic	Caribbean	50.86	10,760,028	120,629	11,249
112	South Africa	Southern Africa	50.81	62,027,503	380,906	6,191
113	Belgium	Western Europe	50.80	11,801,722	627,511	53,657
114	Bulgaria	Southeastern Europe (Balkans)	50.57	6,447,710	103,099	16,087
115	Cape Verde	Western Africa	50.53	491,233	2,598	4,503
116	Chile	South America	50.12	19,960,889	344,400	17,254
117	Poland	Central Europe	50.08	37,667,000	842,172	22,393
118	Costa Rica	Central America	50.07	5,262,225	85,590	16,213
119	Panama	Central America	49.71	4,337,406	82,348	18,493
120	Honduras	Central America	49.62	9,745,149	33,992	3,245
121	Lesotho	Southern Africa	48.92	2,306,000	2,373	1,110
122	Greece	Southeastern Europe (Balkans)	48.85	10,413,982	242,385	23,173
123	India	Southern Asia	48.69	1,392,329,000	3,732,224	2,612
124	Belize	Central America	48.56	441,471	3,218	7,142
125	Ukraine	Eastern Europe	47.76	41,130,432	173,413	5,225
126	Papua New Guinea	Melanesia	47.68	11,781,559	31,692	2,581
127	Suriname	South America	47.67	616,500	3,539	5,667
128	Trinidad and Tobago	Caribbean	47.27	1,365,805	27,887	19,622
129	Venezuela	South America	47.25	28,302,000	92,210	3,474
130	Myanmar	Southeastern Asia	47.14	55,770,232	74,861	1,381
131	Croatia	Southeastern Europe (Balkans)	46.84	3,855,641	80,185	20,877
132	Kuwait	West Asia	46.82	4,670,713	159,687	32,215
133	El Salvador	Central America	46.37	6,884,888	35,339	5,558
134	Saint Vincent and the Grenadines	Caribbean	45.63	110,872	1,039	9,360
135	Mozambique	Eastern Africa	45.62	32,419,747	21,936	647
136	Dominica	Caribbean	45.6	67,408	697	9,356
137	Equatorial Guinea	Central Africa	45.40	1,558,160	10,041	6,502
138	Mexico	North America	45.02	129,406,736	1,811,468	13,804
139	Estonia	Northern Europe	44.87	1,365,884	41,799	30,998
140	Guinea-Bissau	Western Africa	44.87	1,781,308	1,991	1,028
141	Nicaragua	Central America	44.5	6,733,763	17,353	2,599
142	Montenegro	Southeastern Europe (Balkans)	44.41	616,695	7,058	11,338
143	Philippines	Southeastern Asia	44.05	112,892,781	435,675	3,859
144	Micronesia	Micronesia	43.54	105,754	458	4,358
145	Liberia	Western Africa	43.50	5,248,621	4,347	800
146	Tonga	Polynesia	42.96	100,179	547	5,488
147	Bahrain	West Asia	42.54	1,577,059	44,994	28,464
148	Romania	Southeastern Europe (Balkans)	42.29	19,051,562	350,414	18,413
149	North Macedonia	Southeastern Europe (Balkans)	42.21	1,832,696	15,801	7,672
150	Comoros	Eastern Africa	41.13	758,316	1,364	1,377
151	Bosnia and Herzegovina	Southeastern Europe (Balkans)	41.11	3,277,082	26,945	7,778
152	Central African Republic	Central Africa	40.7	5,633,412	2,760	539
153	Italy	Southern Europe	40.69	58,919,345	2,186,082	37,146
154	Libya	Northern Africa	40.69	6,931,061	40,194	5,872
155	Kiribati	Micronesia	40.62	121,388	297	2,381
156	Mauritania	Western Africa	40.34	4,475,683	10,357	2,338
157	Uzbekistan	Central Asia	39.91	36,599,764	90,392	2,509
158	Haiti	Caribbean	39.28	11,743,017	25,986	2,125
159	Iceland	Northern Europe	38.76	396,960	30,570	78,837
160	Burkina Faso	Western Africa	37.95	22,185,654	20,785	888
161	Vanuatu	Melanesia	37.90	301,295	1,166	3,492
162	Senegal	Western Africa	37.47	18,275,743	31,141	1,715
163	Mauritius	Eastern Africa	37.33	1,261,041	14,819	11,752
164	Guatemala	Central America	36.81	17,602,431	102,765	5,407
165	Chad	Central Africa	36.8	17,414,717	12,596	703
166	Turkey	West Asia	35.11	85,279,553	1,154,600	13,384
167	Oman	West Asia	34.97	5,113,071	108,282	21,266
168	Saudi Arabia	West Asia	34.45	32,175,224	1,069,437	32,586
169	Syria	West Asia	33.6	22,923,000	11,800	537
170	Bhutan	Southern Asia	33.48	770,276	2,686	3,500
171	Turkmenistan	Central Asia	32.82	7,057,841	81,822	12,934
172	Sudan	Northern Africa	31.4	41,984,500	25,569	534
173	Sri Lanka	Southern Asia	30.95	22,037,000	88,309	3,342
174	Lebanon	West Asia	29.35	5,490,000	37,945	3,283
175	Republic of the Congo	Central Africa	28.9	6,106,869	14,407	2,858
176	Bangladesh	Southern Asia	28.34	169,828,911	446,349	2,621
177	Tunisia	Northern Africa	28.12	11,850,232	51,271	4,191
178	Nepal	Southern Asia	27.91	29,164,578	41,339	1,353
179	Timor Leste (East Timor)	Southeastern Asia	27.91	1,354,662	2,023	1,497
180	Palestine	West Asia	27.2	5,483,450	18,109	3,464
181	Maldives	Southern Asia	26.69	382,751	6,977	17,559
182	North Korea	Eastern Asia	25.46	25,660,000	48,350	654
183	Tajikistan	Central Asia	23.46	10,077,600	11,816	1,180
184	Afghanistan	Southern Asia	23.32	34,262,840	14,939	443
185	Pakistan	Southern Asia	21.86	241,499,431	340,636	1,471
186	Morocco	Northern Africa	20.9	37,022,000	147,343	3,980
187	Tuvalu	Polynesia	20.03	10,679	63	5,773
188	Tanzania	Eastern Africa	18.84	61,741,120	84,033	1,327
189	Djibouti	Eastern Africa	18.2	1,001,454	3,873	3,761
190	Yemen	West Asia	17.33	31,888,698	21,045	618
191	Algeria	Northern Africa	17.13	45,400,000	224,107	4,875
192	Jordan	West Asia	16.90	11,302,000	50,022	4,851
193	Egypt	Northern Africa	15.34	104,462,545	398,397	3,770
194	Iran	West Asia	13.57	84,038,000	366,438	4,234
195	Iraq	West Asia	10.76	43,324,000	297,695	5,883

Definition: Labor force participation rate is the proportion of the population ages 15 and older that is economically active: all people who supply labor for the production of goods and services during a specified period.

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Despina Wilson

I am a senior editor and data journalist at CEOWORLD magazine. My job involves using infographics to report on news topics related to business and policy, with a global perspective. I hold a master's degree in journalism and have worked for newspapers and reporting projects in both the US and the UK, giving me a unique transatlantic perspective. I believe that data can enhance coverage of all news topics. As a contributor, I plan cover a wide range of issues, such as gender equality, climate change, labor, and immigration, using relevant statistics and insightful visualizations.

Email: despina@ceoworld.biz

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Revealed: Countries ranked by the percentage of the workforce who are women, 2024

Countries ranked by the percentage of the workforce who are women, 2024

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