Comparative female labour force participation rates by educational attainment in South Asia, most recent available year (India, Pakistan, Bangladesh and Sri Lanka)
| Education level | Sri Lanka (FLFPR 2024) (%) | India (FLFPR 2023–24) (%) | Bangladesh (FLFPR 2024) (%) | Pakistan (Share of Employed women 2024–25) (%) |
|---|---|---|---|---|
| Illiterate/No education | <1 | 44.6 | 29.75 | 64.4 |
| Below Grade 5 (Primary) | 19.9 | 42.1 | 41.61 | 4.7 |
| Junior Secondary (Grade 6–10) | 26.2 | 33.0 | 42.69 | 10.0 |
| Secondary (ordinary level) | 24.5 | 25.4 | 42.69 | 5.4 |
| Higher secondary (advanced level) | 38.8 | 21.3 | 31.74 | 7.3 |
| Tertiary/Degree | 78.1 | 28.1 | 40.33 | 8.3 |
| Education level | Sri Lanka ( | India ( | Bangladesh ( | Pakistan (Share of Employed women 2024–25) (%) |
|---|---|---|---|---|
| Illiterate/No education | <1 | 44.6 | 29.75 | 64.4 |
| Below Grade 5 (Primary) | 19.9 | 42.1 | 41.61 | 4.7 |
| Junior Secondary (Grade 6–10) | 26.2 | 33.0 | 42.69 | 10.0 |
| Secondary (ordinary level) | 24.5 | 25.4 | 42.69 | 5.4 |
| Higher secondary (advanced level) | 38.8 | 21.3 | 31.74 | 7.3 |
| Tertiary/Degree | 78.1 | 28.1 | 40.33 | 8.3 |
FLFPR = female labour force participation rate. Sri Lanka data are from the Bangladesh Bureau of Statistics (2024); India data are from the National Statistics Office (NSO) (2024); and Bangladesh data are from the Bangladesh Bureau of Statistics (2024). Pakistan figures represent the educational distribution of employed women within total female employment, rather than education-specific labour force participation rates, due to data limitations in the Pakistan Bureau of Statistics (2025); these values are therefore not directly comparable in magnitude with FLFPR estimates reported for Sri Lanka, India, and Bangladesh. Education categories are harmonised as closely as possible across surveys; differences in reference years and survey methodologies may affect comparability
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