Bosnia and Herzegovina's labor force participation rate, female (% of female population ages 15+) (national estimate) was 41.57% in 2025, the latest year in the World Bank's World Development Indicators. That is up 8.14 percentage points from 33.42% in 2015.
Key figures
| Value | Year | |
|---|---|---|
| Latest | 41.57% | 2025 |
| Five years earlier | 36.71% | 2020 |
| Ten years earlier | 33.42% | 2015 |
| Highest | 42.44% | 2024 |
| Lowest | 28.65% | 2001 |
| Average since 2016 | 37.31% | 2016–2025 |
| First recorded | 28.65% | 2001 |
What the numbers say
In 2025, Bosnia and Herzegovina's labor force participation rate, female (% of female population ages 15+) (national estimate) fell 0.87 percentage points on 2024 (from 42.44% to 41.57%).
Across the 18 yearly changes before that (2007 to 2024), the average change was +0.66 percentage points and a typical year strayed about 1.38 percentage points from that (the standard deviation). This year's change was 1.1 standard deviations below that average, so it was larger than a typical year, though not out of the range seen before.
On record, the biggest yearly rise was 3.93 percentage points in 2021 and the biggest yearly fall was 1.37 percentage points in 2016. 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 the straight-line trend is upward, about 1.45 percentage points a year. A straight line explains 86% of the movement over 10 observed years.
Worked out from the yearly values above. How the checks work: standard deviation, z-scores and straight-line trends.
How it compares
In 2025, Bosnia and Herzegovina had the 77th highest value of the 83 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 | |
|---|---|---|
| Bosnia and Herzegovina | 41.57% | 2025 |
| Europe & Central Asia | 52.77% | 2025 |
Closest to Bosnia and Herzegovina in the 2025 ranking
- North Macedonia — 74th of 83: 42.89%
- Romania — 75th of 83: 42.01%
- Italy — 76th of 83: 41.59%
- Türkiye — 78th of 83: 36.16%
- Saudi Arabia — 79th of 83: 35.24%
- India — 80th of 83: 34.01%
What this measures
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.
All 21 values
| Year | Labor force participation rate, female (% of female population ages 15+) (national estimate) |
|---|---|
| 2025 | 41.57 |
| 2024 | 42.44 |
| 2023 | 42.17 |
| 2022 | 41.11 |
| 2021 | 40.64 |
| 2020 | 36.71 |
| 2019 | 32.79 |
| 2018 | 31.37 |
| 2017 | 32.28 |
| 2016 | 32.06 |
Labor force participation rate, female (% of female population ages 15+) (national estimate) in nearby economies
More social protection & labor data for Bosnia and Herzegovina
- Net migration — -6,994 (2025)
- Labor force participation rate for ages 15-24, female (%) (modeled ILO estimate) — 18.44% (2025)
- Labor force participation rate for ages 15-24, male (%) (modeled ILO estimate) — 32.97% (2025)
- Labor force participation rate for ages 15-24, total (%) (modeled ILO estimate) — 26% (2025)
- Labor force participation rate, female (% of female population ages 15-64) (modeled ILO estimate) — 52.5% (2025)
- Labor force participation rate, male (% of male population ages 15-64) (modeled ILO estimate) — 73.6% (2025)
- Labor force participation rate, total (% of total population ages 15-64) (modeled ILO estimate)
Reading data like this
Questions people ask
- What is Bosnia and Herzegovina's labor force participation rate, female (% of female population ages 15+) (national estimate)?
- 41.57% in 2025, according to the World Bank (World Development Indicators).
- How has it changed since 2001?
- It is up 12.92 percentage points from 28.65% in 2001. The highest value was 42.44% in 2024 and the lowest 28.65% in 2001.
- How does Bosnia and Herzegovina rank?
- 77th highest of 83 economies with data for 2025.
Source
World Bank, World Development Indicators, indicator SL.TLF.CACT.FE.NE.ZS, licensed CC BY 4.0. Original source: Labour Force Statistics database (LFS), International Labour Organization (ILO), uri: https://ilostat.ilo.org/data/bulk/, publisher: ILOSTAT, type: external database, date accessed: September 28, 2026 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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