United Arab Emirates: Ratio of female to male labor force participation rate (%) (national estimate)

Key figures

Over five years it is down 6.02 percentage points from 69.51% in 2020. Since 1975 it is up 52.62 percentage points from 10.88% in 1975. The World Bank has no value for 35 of the years in between; the chart leaves those gaps open rather than joining across them.

What the numbers say

In 2025, United Arab Emirates' ratio of female to male labor force participation rate (%) (national estimate) rose 3.52 percentage points on 2024 (from 59.97% to 63.5%).

Across the 9 yearly changes before that (2009 to 2024), the average change was +0.62 percentage points and a typical year strayed about 5.34 percentage points from that (the standard deviation). This year's change was 0.5 standard deviations above 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 6.92 percentage points in 2020 and the biggest yearly fall was 11.29 percentage points in 2021. 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 19% 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.

How it compares

In 2025, United Arab Emirates had the 73rd 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 United Arab Emirates in the 2025 ranking

• Ecuador — 70th of 83: 67.51%
• Bosnia and Herzegovina — 71st of 83: 66.23%
• Costa Rica — 72nd of 83: 65.13%
• El Salvador — 74th of 83: 63.26%
• Mexico — 75th of 83: 61.1%
• Guatemala — 76th of 83: 56.55%

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 16 values

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

• Algeria — 25.63% (2017)
• Bahrain — 50.08% (2015)
• Egypt, Arab Rep. — 33.58% (2024)
• Iran, Islamic Rep. — 20.93% (2024)
• Israel — 90.83% (2025)
• Jordan — 28.64% (2024)
• Kuwait — 56.8% (2016)
• Malta — 79.62% (2025)

More social protection & labor data for United Arab Emirates

• Net migration — 158,634 (2025)
• Refugees under the mandate of the UNHCR by country or territory of asylum — 1,377 (2025)
• Labor force participation rate for ages 15-24, female (%) (modeled ILO estimate) — 26.7% (2025)
• Labor force participation rate for ages 15-24, male (%) (modeled ILO estimate) — 61.6% (2025)
• Labor force participation rate for ages 15-24, total (%) (modeled ILO estimate) — 47.31% (2025)
• Labor force participation rate, female (% of female population ages 15-64) (modeled ILO estimate) — 54.34% (2025)
• Labor force participation rate, male (% of male population ages 15-64) (modeled ILO estimate)

Reading data like this

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Questions people ask

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

63.5% in 2025, according to the World Bank (World Development Indicators).

How has it changed since 1975?

It is up 52.62 percentage points from 10.88% in 1975. The highest value was 69.51% in 2020 and the lowest 10.88% in 1975.

How does United Arab Emirates rank?

73rd 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 United Arab Emirates?

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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