Where women’s labour force participation changed in West Africa

Benin and Ghana moved in different directions

Benin’s estimate rose by about 18.1 percentage points between 1990 and 2025. Ghana’s fell by about 14.8 points. Benin was below Ghana in 2005 and above it by 2010. Source 1

Côte d’Ivoire gained over the full period

Côte d’Ivoire rose from 47.77% in 1990 to 59.45% in 2025. It reached 61.42% in 2011 and was below 57% between 2018 and 2020. The full series shows how different reference years give a different view of change. Source 1

Participation includes people seeking work

A woman actively looking for work and available to start can count in the labour force even while unemployed. To examine access to paid work, compare the participation estimate with employment and unemployment figures for the same age and sex groups. Source 2

The estimates reconcile inputs across countries

The ILO uses labour force surveys and other inputs to produce estimates with consistent concepts and fill gaps in coverage. For country-level interpretation, check the original survey, its reference period and the work activities it captured. Source 2

Sources

• ILO modelled estimates via World Bank WDI
• Publisher metadata and indicator definition
• World Bank API, country and year records