Spain's labor force, female (% of total labor force) was 47.16% in 2025, the latest year in the World Bank's World Development Indicators. That is up 1.22 percentage points from 45.94% in 2015.
Key figures
| Value | Year | |
|---|---|---|
| Latest | 47.16% | 2025 |
| Five years earlier | 46.3% | 2020 |
| Ten years earlier | 45.94% | 2015 |
| Highest | 47.16% | 2025 |
| Lowest | 34.48% | 1990 |
| Average since 2016 | 46.55% | 2016–2025 |
| First recorded | 34.48% | 1990 |
What the numbers say
In 2025, Spain's labor force, female (% of total labor force) rose 0.02 percentage points on 2024 (from 47.14% to 47.16%).
Across the 30 yearly changes before that (1995 to 2024), the average change was +0.33 percentage points and a typical year strayed about 0.33 percentage points from that (the standard deviation). This year's change was 0.9 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 1.16 percentage points in 2002 and the biggest yearly fall was 0.61 percentage points in 2001. 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 0.13 percentage points a year. A straight line explains 91% 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.
A straight-line projection, tested first
Extending that straight line gives about 47.49% for 2028. We show this only because the same method, fitted on earlier years, predicted 2023 to 2025 better than "no change" would have: its average miss was 0.21%, against 0.53% for assuming no change. Treat it as a continuation of the recent pattern, not a forecast of events: it cannot see a recession, a policy change or a revision to the data.
See how a linear trend forecast works and the guide on forecasting without fooling yourself.
How it compares
In 2025, Spain had the 59th 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 | |
|---|---|---|
| Spain | 47.16% | 2025 |
| World | 40.18% | 2025 |
| Europe & Central Asia | 45.54% | 2025 |
| High income | 45.05% | 2025 |
Closest to Spain in the 2025 ranking
- Armenia — 56th of 182: 47.18%
- Netherlands — 57th of 182: 47.16%
- Switzerland — 58th of 182: 47.16%
- Turkmenistan — 60th of 182: 47.13%
- Slovak Republic — 61st of 182: 47.11%
- Norway — 62nd of 182: 47.1%
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 | 47.16 |
| 2024 | 47.14 |
| 2023 | 46.98 |
| 2022 | 46.56 |
| 2021 | 46.71 |
| 2020 | 46.3 |
| 2019 | 46.31 |
| 2018 | 46.15 |
| 2017 | 46.16 |
| 2016 | 46.09 |
| 2015 |
Labor force, female (% of total labor force) in nearby economies
- Albania — 46.58% (2025)
- Armenia — 47.18% (2025)
- Austria — 46.8% (2025)
- Azerbaijan — 49.86% (2025)
- Belarus — 49.15% (2025)
- Belgium — 46.78% (2025)
- Bosnia and Herzegovina — 42.44% (2025)
- Bulgaria — 46.79% (2025)
- Channel Islands — 44.51% (2025)
- Croatia — 47.48% (2025)
More social protection & labor data for Spain
- Net migration — 96,630 (2025)
- Refugees under the mandate of the UNHCR by country or territory of asylum — 511,079 (2025)
- Unemployment, total (% of total labor force) (national estimate) — 10.5% (2025)
- Unemployment, female (% of female labor force) (national estimate) — 11.89% (2025)
- Unemployment, male (% of male labor force) (national estimate) — 9.26% (2025)
- Labor force participation rate for ages 15-24, female (%) (national estimate) — 31.87% (2025)
- Labor force participation rate for ages 15-24, male (%) (national estimate) — 35.49% (2025)
- Labor force participation rate for ages 15-24, total (%) (national estimate) — 33.74% (2025)
Reading data like this
Questions people ask
- What is Spain's labor force, female (% of total labor force)?
- 47.16% in 2025, according to the World Bank (World Development Indicators).
- How has it changed since 1990?
- It is up 12.68 percentage points from 34.48% in 1990. The highest value was 47.16% in 2025 and the lowest 34.48% in 1990.
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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