Women's labour force participation in Japan
The ILO estimates that 55.9% of women aged 15 and over in Japan were in the labour force in 2025. The value for 2025 is the highest in the series, which starts in 1991.
Japan, 2025
55.9%
Change from 2024
+0.3percentage points
World, 2025
48.7%
Median of OECD (38 countries), 2025
55.6%
Position in 2025
75th of 181
Women's labour force participation in Japan over time
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Japan
World
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The chart loads when you scroll to it. The table below shows the same data.
The chart shows a calculation from the published values. The table below keeps the published values.
% of women aged 15 and over. Source: ILO, ILOSTAT (ILO Modelled Estimates). Gaps mean no published value; points are not joined across missing years. Dashed lines are projections.
| Period | Japan | World |
|---|---|---|
| 2025 | 55.9% | 48.7% |
| 2024 | 55.6% | 48.9% |
| 2023 | 54.8% | 48.8% |
| 2022 | 54.2% | 48.3% |
| 2021 | 53.5% | 47.9% |
| 2020 | 53.1% | 47.0% |
| 2019 | 53.2% | 48.3% |
| 2018 | 52.4% | 48.3% |
| 2017 | 51.0% | 48.4% |
| 2016 | 50.2% | 48.5% |
Flags: f Projection . A dash means no value was published.
In short
- That is a change of +0.3 percentage points from 55.6% in 2024.
- Since 2015, when it was 49.4%, the figure has changed by +6.5 percentage points.
- Among the 181 countries with data for 2025, Japan has the 75th highest value.
- The figure for the world in 2025 was 48.7%.
More for Japan
All statistics for Japan
Labour force participation
63.4%
2025 · ILOSTAT
Monthly unemployment rate (seasonally adjusted)
2.4%
September 2026 · Eurostat
Monthly youth unemployment
3.5%
September 2026 · Eurostat
ILO estimate of the unemployment rate
2.5%
2025 · ILOSTAT
ILO estimate of youth unemployment
3.9%
2025 · ILOSTAT
Employment-to-population ratio
61.9%
2025 · ILOSTAT