Female labour force participation in South America

12 countries in South America, 2025. Unit: % of women 15+. World ranking →

First in the ranking
72.9 %
Bolivia
Median country
52.7 %
half above, half below
World
48.9 %
World Bank aggregate
Range
37.1 to 72.9
Venezuela - Bolivia

How to read it

Across 12 countries in South America, the highest value is in Bolivia (72.9 %) and the lowest in Venezuela (37.1 %).

The median country is at 52.7 %: half are above, half below.

The labor force participation rate is the labor force as a percent of the population ages 15 and older. The labor force is the sum of all persons of working age who are employed and those who are unemployed.

Compare selected countries · on the world map

Source: ILO Modelled Estimates database (ILOEST), International Labour Organization (ILO), uri: https://ilostat.ilo.org/data/bulk/, publisher: ILOSTAT, type: external… · via World Bank WDI (SL.TLF.CACT.FE.ZS) · licence

Women in the labour force over time

%

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Ranking of countries

2025
In chart Share of the highest value
1Bolivia72.9
2Peru65.0
3Paraguay59.0
4Uruguay57.3
5Brazil53.4
6Chile52.9
7Argentina52.5
8Ecuador52.4
9Colombia51.6
10Guyana47.4
11Suriname44.9
12Venezuela37.1
World Bank, WDI · SL.TLF.CACT.FE.ZS · 2025 · CC BY 4.0 Source and licence

Tick a country in the table to add it to the chart above, up to six at a time. The ranking uses the latest year for which at least half of the countries have a value; countries without a value that year are not listed.