Share of female workers by sector in China
China: Share of female workers by sector was 18.68 in 2025. ▼ Falling
Latest (2025)
18.68
Change on year
down 2.5%
World rank
77th
of 186 countries
All-time high
54.4
in 1991
All-time low
18.68
in 2025
Years of data
35
1991–2025
Share of female workers by sector in China, 1991–2025
Source: Our World in Data.
Analysis
China recorded 18.68 for share of female workers by sector in 2025. That is the lowest value across all 35 years on record.
The figure is down 2.5% on the previous year and down 22.6% over ten years.
Over the whole period, share of female workers by sector in China peaked at 54.4 in 1991 and was at its lowest, 18.68, in 2025.
That places China 77th out of 186 countries with data for 2025, putting it in the middle of the range.
The long-run direction has been consistently falling across the 35 years of available data.
Share of female workers by sector in China, year by year
| Year | Value | Change |
|---|---|---|
| 1991 | 54.4 | — |
| 1992 | 53.43 | -1.8% |
| 1993 | 51.21 | -4.2% |
| 1994 | 48.91 | -4.5% |
| 1995 | 46.59 | -4.7% |
| 1996 | 44.79 | -3.8% |
| 1997 | 44.45 | -0.8% |
| 1998 | 44.7 | +0.6% |
| 1999 | 45.46 | +1.7% |
| 2000 | 45.81 | +0.8% |
| 2001 | 46.07 | +0.6% |
| 2002 | 46.38 | +0.7% |
| 2003 | 45.61 | -1.7% |
| 2004 | 43.14 | -5.4% |
| 2005 | 40.99 | -5.0% |
| 2006 | 38.73 | -5.5% |
| 2007 | 36.97 | -4.6% |
| 2008 | 35.82 | -3.1% |
| 2009 | 34.35 | -4.1% |
| 2010 | 33.01 | -3.9% |
| 2011 | 31.03 | -6.0% |
| 2012 | 29.9 | -3.7% |
| 2013 | 27.46 | -8.2% |
| 2014 | 25.4 | -7.5% |
| 2015 | 24.15 | -4.9% |
| 2016 | 23.35 | -3.3% |
| 2017 | 22.72 | -2.7% |
| 2018 | 21.86 | -3.8% |
| 2019 | 20.85 | -4.6% |
| 2020 | 19.84 | -4.8% |
| 2021 | 19.55 | -1.5% |
| 2022 | 21.04 | +7.6% |
| 2023 | 19.72 | -6.3% |
| 2024 | 19.17 | -2.8% |
| 2025 | 18.68 | -2.5% |
China compared with similar countries
- China's 18.68 is above the median for upper middle income countries, which is 11.64, 1.6× the median. (53 countries reporting)
- China's 18.68 is above the median for East Asia & Pacific, which is 15.42, 1.2× the median. (29 countries reporting)
Averages by decade
| Decade | Average | Lowest | Highest | Years |
|---|---|---|---|---|
| 1990s | 48.22 | 44.45 | 54.4 | 9 |
| 2000s | 41.39 | 34.35 | 46.38 | 10 |
| 2010s | 25.97 | 20.85 | 33.01 | 10 |
| 2020s | 19.67 | 18.68 | 21.04 | 6 |
Countries ranked near China
More gender data for China
- Child population (UN estimates and projections) 169,741 (2030)
- Child population (UN estimates and projections) (0-14), annual growth -5.36 % change on previous year (2030)
- Population 1.23 million (2030)
- Working-age population (UN estimates and projections) 1.23 million (2030)
- Population (UN estimates and projections), annual growth rate 0.4481 % change on previous year (2030)
- Age population, age 00, female, interpolated 4.15 million (2025)
- Age population, age 00, male, interpolated 4.56 million (2025)
- Age population, age 01, female, interpolated 4.18 million (2025)
- Age population, age 01, male, interpolated 4.62 million (2025)
- Age population, age 02, female, interpolated 4.32 million (2025)
Frequently asked questions
- What is share of female workers by sector in China?
- Share of female workers by sector in China was 18.68 in 2025, according to Our World in Data.
- What is the highest share of female workers by sector recorded in China?
- The highest recorded value was 54.4 in 1991.
- What is the lowest share of female workers by sector recorded in China?
- The lowest recorded value was 18.68 in 2025.
- How does China rank for share of female workers by sector?
- China ranks 77th out of 186 countries with data for 2025.
- Is share of female workers by sector rising or falling in China?
- Over the last ten years it is down 22.6%. The long-run trend across the full record is falling.
- Where does this China data come from?
- The figures come from Our World in Data, published as part of Share of female workers by sector. Statizoid updates them automatically from the source API.
Download this data
CSV · JSON — 35 observations, free to reuse under CC BY 4.0 (Our World in Data).