Gender income gap in South America
South America: Gender income gap was 62.22 in 2026. ▲ Rising
Gender income gap in South America, 2004–2026
Source: International Labour Organization.
Analysis
In 2026, gender income gap in South America stood at 62.22.
That represents a change of up 0.2% on the previous year and up 7.5% over ten years.
Over the whole period, gender income gap in South America peaked at 62.47 in 2023 and was at its lowest, 49.15, in 2004.
South America ranks 20th of 87 groups on this measure, in the top quarter.
The long-run direction has been consistently rising across the 23 years of available data.
Gender income gap in South America, year by year
| Year | Value | Change |
|---|---|---|
| 2004 | 49.15 | — |
| 2005 | 49.75 | +1.2% |
| 2006 | 50.62 | +1.7% |
| 2007 | 51.33 | +1.4% |
| 2008 | 51.09 | -0.5% |
| 2009 | 53.31 | +4.4% |
| 2010 | 53.53 | +0.4% |
| 2011 | 53.3 | -0.4% |
| 2012 | 54.67 | +2.6% |
| 2013 | 54.85 | +0.3% |
| 2014 | 55.83 | +1.8% |
| 2015 | 56.16 | +0.6% |
| 2016 | 57.85 | +3.0% |
| 2017 | 58.94 | +1.9% |
| 2018 | 58.96 | +0.0% |
| 2019 | 59.5 | +0.9% |
| 2020 | 59.66 | +0.3% |
| 2021 | 59.5 | -0.3% |
| 2022 | 61.59 | +3.5% |
| 2023 | 62.47 | +1.4% |
| 2024 | 62.23 | -0.4% |
| 2025 | 62.08 | -0.2% |
| 2026 | 62.22 | +0.2% |
Averages by decade
| Decade | Average | Lowest | Highest | Years |
|---|---|---|---|---|
| 2000s | 50.88 | 49.15 | 53.31 | 6 |
| 2010s | 56.36 | 53.3 | 59.5 | 10 |
| 2020s | 61.39 | 59.5 | 62.47 | 7 |
More gender data for South America
- Child population (UN estimates and projections) 85,918 (2030)
- Child population (UN estimates and projections) (0-14), annual growth -1.25 % change on previous year (2030)
- Inactivity rate (ILO modelled estimates) 36.64 (2027)
- Number of seats held by women in national parliaments 667 (2026)
- Proportion of seats held by women in national parliaments 31.7% (2026)
- Proportion of women aged 15-49 years with anaemia 21.8% (2023)
- Proportion of women aged 15-49 years with anaemia, pregnant 25.2% (2023)
- Proportion of women aged 15-49 years with anaemia, non-pregnant 21.7% (2023)
- Proportion of women in managerial positions - 13th ICLS 38.6% (2025)
- Ratio for female members of parliaments (Ratio of the proportion of) 0.6% (2026)
Frequently asked questions
- What is gender income gap in South America?
- Gender income gap in South America was 62.22 in 2026, according to International Labour Organization.
- What is the highest gender income gap recorded in South America?
- The highest recorded value was 62.47 in 2023.
- What is the lowest gender income gap recorded in South America?
- The lowest recorded value was 49.15 in 2004.
- How does South America rank for gender income gap?
- South America ranks 20th out of 87 groups with data for 2026.
- Is gender income gap rising or falling in South America?
- Over the last ten years it is up 7.5%. The long-run trend across the full record is rising.
- Where does this South America data come from?
- The figures come from International Labour Organization, published as part of Gender income gap (ILO modelled estimates). Statizoid updates them automatically from the source API.
Download this data
CSV · JSON — 23 observations, free to reuse under ILO Terms of Use (attribution required).
About this data
Imputed observations are not based on national data, are subject to high uncertainty and should not be used for country comparisons or rankings. The gender income gap, expressed as a percentage, is calculated as the ratio of women's total labour income to men's total labour income. This indicator reflects gender disparities in work earnings. For example, a value of less than 100 indicates that women earn less than men, with 100 implying parity between men and women. For more information, refer to the ILO Modelled Estimates (ILOEST) database description.