Lao PDR's labor force, female (% of total labor force) was 46.65% in 2025, the latest year in the World Bank's World Development Indicators. That is down 0.13 percentage points from 46.78% in 2015.
Key figures
| Value | Year | |
|---|---|---|
| Latest | 46.65% | 2025 |
| Five years earlier | 46.66% | 2020 |
| Ten years earlier | 46.78% | 2015 |
| Highest | 48.51% | 1990 |
| Lowest | 46.54% | 2022 |
| Average since 2016 | 46.69% | 2016–2025 |
| First recorded | 48.51% | 1990 |
What the numbers say
In 2025, Lao PDR's labor force, female (% of total labor force) rose 0.01 percentage points on 2024 (from 46.64% to 46.65%).
Across the 30 yearly changes before that (1995 to 2024), the average change was −0.05 percentage points and a typical year strayed about 0.06 percentage points from that (the standard deviation). This year's change was 1.0 standard deviations above 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 0.06 percentage points in 2021 and the biggest yearly fall was 0.17 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 the straight-line trend is downward, about 0.03 percentage points a year. A straight line explains 64% 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, Lao PDR had the 71st 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 | |
|---|---|---|
| Lao PDR | 46.65% | 2025 |
| World | 40.18% | 2025 |
| East Asia & Pacific | 44.56% | 2025 |
| Lower middle income | 33.32% | 2025 |
Closest to Lao PDR in the 2025 ranking
- Bulgaria — 68th of 182: 46.79%
- Belgium — 69th of 182: 46.78%
- Botswana — 70th of 182: 46.71%
- Albania — 72nd of 182: 46.58%
- South Africa — 73rd of 182: 46.57%
- Montenegro — 74th of 182: 46.57%
What this measures
Female labor force as a percentage of the total show the extent to which women are active in the labor force. Labor force comprises people ages 15 and older who supply labor for the production of goods and services during a specified period.
Regional and income-group figures are computed by the World Bank as a weighted average.
All 36 values
| Year | Labor force, female (% of total labor force) |
|---|---|
| 2025 | 46.65 |
| 2024 | 46.64 |
| 2023 | 46.59 |
| 2022 | 46.54 |
| 2021 | 46.71 |
| 2020 | 46.66 |
| 2019 | 46.72 |
| 2018 | 46.78 |
| 2017 | 46.84 |
| 2016 | 46.8 |
| 2015 |
Labor force, female (% of total labor force) in nearby economies
- Australia — 47.68% (2025)
- Brunei Darussalam — 39.53% (2025)
- Cambodia — 48.66% (2025)
- China — 45.38% (2025)
- Fiji — 34.23% (2025)
- French Polynesia — 44.26% (2025)
- Guam — 45.15% (2025)
- Hong Kong SAR, China — 51.18% (2025)
- Indonesia — 39.61% (2025)
- Japan — 45.43% (2025)
More social protection & labor data for Lao PDR
- Net migration — -10,645 (2025)
- Refugees under the mandate of the UNHCR by country or territory of origin — 6,489 (2025)
- Labor force participation rate for ages 15-24, female (%) (modeled ILO estimate) — 53.33% (2025)
- Labor force participation rate for ages 15-24, male (%) (modeled ILO estimate) — 54.97% (2025)
- Labor force participation rate for ages 15-24, total (%) (modeled ILO estimate) — 54.16% (2025)
- Labor force participation rate, female (% of female population ages 15-64) (modeled ILO estimate) — 64.68% (2025)
- Labor force participation rate, male (% of male population ages 15-64) (modeled ILO estimate) — 72.68% (2025)
Reading data like this
Questions people ask
- What is Lao PDR's labor force, female (% of total labor force)?
- 46.65% in 2025, according to the World Bank (World Development Indicators).
- How has it changed since 1990?
- It is down 1.85 percentage points from 48.51% in 1990. The highest value was 48.51% in 1990 and the lowest 46.54% in 2022.
- How does Lao PDR rank?
- 71st highest of 182 economies with data for 2025.
- Is the latest change in labor force, female (% of total labor force) unusual for Lao PDR?
- In 2025, Lao PDR's labor force, female (% of total labor force) rose 0.01 percentage points on 2024 (from 46.64% to 46.65%). Across the 30 yearly changes before that (1995 to 2024), the average change was −0.05 percentage points and a typical year strayed about 0.06 percentage points from that (the standard deviation). This year's change was 1.0 standard deviations above that average, so it was larger than a typical year, though not out of the range seen before.
Source
World Bank, World Development Indicators, indicator SL.TLF.TOTL.FE.ZS, licensed CC BY 4.0. Original source: International Labour Organization (ILO), type: estimates based on external database; United Nations (UN), publisher: UN Population Division; 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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