Social Protection & Labor · Bhutan
Yearly data from 1990 to 2025, from the World Bank.
Bhutan's ratio of female to male labor force participation rate (%) (modeled ILO estimate) was 78.99% in 2025, the latest year in the World Bank's World Development Indicators. That is up 0.4 percentage points from 78.59% in 2015.
| Value | Year | |
|---|---|---|
| Latest | 78.99% | 2025 |
| Five years earlier | 87.61% | 2020 |
| Ten years earlier | 78.59% | 2015 |
| Highest | 96.28% | 2012 |
| Lowest | 64.58% | 1990 |
| Average since 2016 | 80.78% | 2016–2025 |
| First recorded | 64.58% | 1990 |
Over five years it is down 8.62 percentage points from 87.61% in 2020. Since 1990 it is up 14.41 percentage points from 64.58% in 1990.
In 2025, Bhutan's ratio of female to male labor force participation rate (%) (modeled ILO estimate) rose 0.3 percentage points on 2024 (from 78.69% to 78.99%).
Across the 30 yearly changes before that (1995 to 2024), the average change was +0.39 percentage points and a typical year strayed about 4.95 percentage points from that (the standard deviation). This year's change was 0.0 standard deviations below that average, so it was an ordinary year: it sits within the range of normal year-to-year movement.
On record, the biggest yearly rise was 9.3 percentage points in 2012 and the biggest yearly fall was 16.51 percentage points in 2022. The numbers show how large and when, not why; for the cause, look at what happened in that country in those years.
From 2016 to 2025 there is no clear straight-line trend: a straight line explains 2% of the movement over 10 observed years, so the value is moving around more than it is heading anywhere.
Worked out from the yearly values above. How the checks work: standard deviation, z-scores and straight-line trends.
In 2025, Bhutan had the 96th highest value of the 182 economies reporting that year. Higher is not always better: for some indicators the lowest value is the one to aim for. See the full ranking.
| Value | Year | |
|---|---|---|
| Bhutan | 78.99% | 2025 |
| World | 69.62% | 2025 |
| South Asia | 42.63% | 2025 |
| Lower middle income | 53.66% | 2025 |
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.
Limitations: Data on the labor force are compiled by the ILO from labor force surveys, censuses, and establishment censuses and surveys. For some countries a combination of these sources is used. Labor force surveys are the most comprehensive source for internationally comparable labor force data. They can cover all non-institutionalized civilians, all branches and sectors of the economy, and all categories of workers, including people holding multiple jobs. By contrast, labor force data from population censuses are often based on a limited number of questions on the economic characteristics of individuals, with little scope to probe.
Regional and income-group figures are computed by the World Bank as a weighted average.
| Year | Ratio of female to male labor force participation rate (%) (modeled ILO estimate) |
|---|---|
| 2025 | 78.99 |
| 2024 | 78.69 |
| 2023 | 78.47 |
| 2022 | 72.82 |
| 2021 | 89.33 |
| 2020 | 87.61 |
| 2019 | 85.15 |
| 2018 | 79.1 |
| 2017 | 78.92 |
| 2016 | 78.75 |
| 2015 | 78.59 |
| 2014 | 77.21 |
| 2013 | 81.69 |
| 2012 | 96.28 |
| 2011 | 86.99 |
| 2010 | 87.72 |
| 2009 | 89.75 |
| 2008 | 88.98 |
| 2007 | 88.06 |
| 2006 | 87.12 |
| 2005 | 85.92 |
| 2004 | 84 |
| 2003 | 81.63 |
| 2002 | 79.28 |
| 2001 | 76.98 |
| 2000 | 74.79 |
| 1999 | 72.77 |
| 1998 | 71.17 |
| 1997 | 69.96 |
| 1996 | 68.88 |
| 1995 | 67.89 |
| 1994 | 67 |
| 1993 | 66.24 |
| 1992 | 65.55 |
| 1991 | 65 |
| 1990 | 64.58 |
Every indicator for Bhutan is on the Bhutan data page.
World Bank, World Development Indicators, indicator SL.TLF.CACT.FM.ZS, licensed CC BY 4.0. Original source: ILO Modelled Estimates database (ILOEST), International Labour Organization (ILO), uri: https://ilostat.ilo.org/data/bulk/, publisher: ILOSTAT, type: estimates based on external database; Staff estimates, World Bank (WB) Figures are fetched from the World Bank API and refreshed monthly; see the series on data.worldbank.org. The full definition and method are in the World Bank's metadata glossary. Comparisons use the same World Bank release.
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