Iceland: Ratio of female to male labor force participation rate (%) (national estimate)

Key figures

What the numbers say

In 2025, Iceland's ratio of female to male labor force participation rate (%) (national estimate) rose 2.75 percentage points on 2024 (from 88.25% to 91%).

Across the 30 yearly changes before that (1995 to 2024), the average change was −0.04 percentage points and a typical year strayed about 1.11 percentage points from that (the standard deviation). This year's change was 2.5 standard deviations above that average, so it was unusually large compared with the rest of the record.

On record, the biggest yearly rise was 37.94 percentage points in 1980 and the biggest yearly fall was 38.12 percentage points in 1981. 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 downward, about 0.2 percentage points a year. A straight line explains 34% 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, Iceland had the 7th 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.

Closest to Iceland in the 2025 ranking

• Moldova — 3rd of 83: 92.76%
• Rwanda — 4th of 83: 92.01%
• Sweden — 5th of 83: 91.73%
• Israel — 7th of 83: 90.83%
• Tanzania — 8th of 83: 90.13%
• Finland — 9th of 83: 89.83%

What this measures

Ratio of female to male labor force participation rate is the proportion of female labor force participation relative to male labor force participation. 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.

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 46 values

Ratio of female to male labor force participation rate (%) (national estimate) in nearby economies

• Albania — 81.88% (2024)
• Armenia — 74.87% (2023)
• Austria — 86.23% (2025)
• Azerbaijan — 88.94% (2022)
• Belarus — 88.23% (2025)
• Belgium — 85.42% (2025)
• Bosnia and Herzegovina — 66.23% (2025)
• Bulgaria — 79.99% (2025)

More social protection & labor data for Iceland

• Net migration — 2,709 (2025)
• Labor force participation rate, total (% of total population ages 15+) (national estimate) — 75.62% (2025)
• Labor force participation rate, female (% of female population ages 15+) (national estimate) — 71.97% (2025)
• Labor force participation rate, male (% of male population ages 15+) (national estimate) — 79.09% (2025)
• Labor force participation rate for ages 15-24, female (%) (national estimate) — 83.98% (2025)
• Labor force participation rate for ages 15-24, male (%) (national estimate) — 81.49% (2025)
• Labor force participation rate for ages 15-24, total (%) (national estimate) — 82.69% (2025)

Reading data like this

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Questions people ask

What is Iceland's ratio of female to male labor force participation rate (%) (national estimate)?

91% in 2025, according to the World Bank (World Development Indicators).

How has it changed since 1960?

It is up 53.33 percentage points from 37.67% in 1960. The highest value was 109.47% in 1980 and the lowest 37.67% in 1960.

How does Iceland rank?

7th highest of 83 economies with data for 2025.

Is the latest change in ratio of female to male labor force participation rate (%) (national estimate) unusual for Iceland?

In 2025, Iceland's ratio of female to male labor force participation rate (%) (national estimate) rose 2.75 percentage points on 2024 (from 88.25% to 91%). Across the 30 yearly changes before that (1995 to 2024), the average change was −0.04 percentage points and a typical year strayed about 1.11 percentage points from that (the standard deviation). This year's change was 2.5 standard deviations above that average, so it was unusually large compared with the rest of the record.

Source

World Bank, World Development Indicators, indicator SL.TLF.CACT.FM.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: 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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