Afghanistan’s female labor force participation rate has fallen to just 5.1%, as restrictions on women, population growth, and large-scale returns from neighboring countries deepen pressure on the country’s fragile job market, according to a new brief from the International Labour Organization (ILO).
The ILO estimates Afghanistan now has the second-lowest female labor force participation rate in the world, highlighting a widening economic divide five years after the Taliban took control of the country in August 2021.
Overall employment has recovered from its 2022 low, rising 14% to nearly 8.5 million jobs in 2026. But population growth has outpaced those gains. The ILO puts the employment-to-population ratio at 32.5%, down 4.3 percentage points from its 2020 level.
Male employment now stands about 22% above its 2020 level. Female employment, meanwhile, plunged in 2022 to less than one-third of its 2020 level and has recorded only a limited recovery since then.
The labor market has also had to absorb more than 5.5 million Afghans returning from Pakistan and Iran since September 2023. Many have entered communities already struggling with poverty, underemployment, and limited opportunities to earn a living.
The ILO also warned that the Middle East crisis could increase pressure through higher energy costs and inflation.
More than 70% of Afghan employment is in economic activities the ILO considers at least moderately exposed to those risks.
“Afghanistan cannot build a resilient labour market while such a large share of its population remains excluded from economic activity,” said Tite Habiyakare, senior coordinator and head of the ILO Office for Afghanistan.
The ILO called for greater support for private businesses, labor-intensive industries, and small and medium-sized enterprises, as well as programs that expand employment opportunities for women, young people, returnees, and other vulnerable groups.
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