More than a half of productive potential of women aged 15-64 in the Western Balkan economies remains untapped. The activity rate of women in Western Balkans in 2020 stood at 49.6%, while for men this rate was 70.5%.
The average Western Balkans’ women’s participation rate in 2020 was around 18 percentage points lower than European Union (EU)-27 average rate, compared to a difference of only 7.7 percentage points for men.
| Men (%) | Women (%) | Gender gap (pps) | |||||||
| Economy | 2018 | 2019 | 2020 | 2018 | 2019 | 2020 | 2018 | 2019 | 2020 |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| EU-27 | 78.7 | 78.9 | 78.2 | 67.5 | 67.9 | 67.5 | 11.2 | 11.0 | 10.7 |
| Albania | 76.9 | 77.6 | 77.1 | 59.7 | 61.6 | 61.2 | 17.2 | 16.0 | 15.9 |
| Bosnia & Herzegovina | 66.4 | 66.4 | 70.4 | 41.8 | 44.4 | 46.1 | 24.6 | 22.0 | 24.3 |
| North Macedonia | 78.3 | 77.3 | 76.7 | 52.2 | 54.8 | 54.0 | 26.1 | 22.5 | 22.7 |
| Montenegro | 72.3 | 73.3 | 68.3 | 57.2 | 59.1 | 54.7 | 15.1 | 14.2 | 13.6 |
| Serbia | 75.1 | 75.0 | 74.6 | 60.6 | 61.3 | 60.8 | 14.5 | 13.7 | 13.8 |
| Kosovo* | 63.3 | 59.7 | 56.0 | 18.4 | 21.1 | 20.8 | 44.9 | 38.6 | 35.2 |
| WB average | 72.1 | 71.6 | 70.5 | 48.3 | 50.4 | 49.6 | 23.7 | 21.2 | 20.9 |
| Economy | 2018 | 2019 | 2020 |
|---|---|---|---|
| EU-27 | 78.7 | 78.9 | 78.2 |
| Albania | 76.9 | 77.6 | 77.1 |
| Bosnia & Herzegovina | 66.4 | 66.4 | 70.4 |
| North Macedonia | 78.3 | 77.3 | 76.7 |
| Montenegro | 72.3 | 73.3 | 68.3 |
| Serbia | 75.1 | 75.0 | 74.6 |
| Kosovo* | 63.3 | 59.7 | 56.0 |
| WB average | 72.1 | 71.6 | 70.5 |
Source:
EUPSR Social Scoreboard 2021, and author's calculations
| Inactive | Unemployed | Employed | |
|---|---|---|---|
| Women | |||
| EU-27 | 32,4 | 5,0 | 62,6 |
| WB average | 50,6 | 8,2 | 41,2 |
| Albania | 39,2 | 7,4 | 53,5 |
| Bosnia & Herzegovina | 55,9 | 8,9 | 35,2 |
| North Macedonia | 46,3 | 9,8 | 43,9 |
| Montenegro | 43,0 | 9,5 | 47,5 |
| Serbia | 39,1 | 7,2 | 53,7 |
| Kosovo* | 79,9 | 6,7 | 13,4 |
| Man | |||
| EU-27 | 21,4 | 5,4 | 73,2 |
| WB average | 28,6 | 16,7 | 54,7 |
| Albania | 22,8 | 9,6 | 67,6 |
| Bosnia & Herzegovina | 32,3 | 10,5 | 57,2 |
| North Macedonia | 22,6 | 14,3 | 63,2 |
| Montenegro | 28,7 | 11,5 | 59,8 |
| Serbia | 25,1 | 8,1 | 66,8 |
| Kosovo* | 40,3 | 46,2 | 13,4 |
Source:
Author’s calculations based on data from WB Statistics Bureaus, and EUROSTAT 2022
| Q1.18 | Q2.18 | Q3.18 | Q4.18 | Q1.19 | Q2.19 | Q3.19 | Q4.19 | Q1.20 | Q2.20 | Q3.20 | Q4.20 | Q1.21 | Q2.21 | Q3. 21 | |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| EU-27 | 11,1 | 11,2 | 11,5 | 11,1 | 10,9 | 11,0 | 11,2 | 11,1 | 10,6 | 10,9 | 10,9 | 10,5 | 10,5 | 10,3 | 10,1 |
| Albania | 17,1 | 17,1 | 18,1 | 16,3 | 16,4 | 15,9 | 15,7 | 15,8 | 15,7 | 15,0 | 16,1 | 16,7 | 18,6 | 16,4 | 14,2 |
| Bosnia & Herzegovina | 25,4 | 24,8 | 22,8 | 24,3 | 24,9 | 24,1 | 25,3 | ||||||||
| North Macedonia | 24,9 | 26,2 | 27,1 | 26,2 | 24,2 | 22,2 | 21,2 | 22,2 | 23,3 | 21,5 | 21,8 | 24,0 | 23,4 | 23,3 | 23,8 |
| Montenegro | 13,4 | 16,3 | 16,3 | 14,2 | 13,0 | 15,5 | 15,6 | 12,5 | 11,0 | 12,1 | 16,1 | 14,8 | 10,6 | 12,7 | 15,1 |
| Serbia | 15,0 | 14,5 | 14,8 | 13,4 | 12,3 | 13,7 | 14,7 | 13,8 | 11,5 | 13,6 | 14,8 | 15,3 | 14,6 | 13,9 | 14,9 |
| Kosovo* | 44,8 | 45,7 | 45,4 | 43,4 | 38,1 | 39,0 | 39,2 | 37,8 | 36,8 | 31,2 | 37,4 | 35,3 | 33,8 | ||
| WB average | 23,0 | 24,0 | 24,3 | 22,7 | 20,8 | 21,3 | 21,3 | 20,4 | 20,6 | 19,7 | 21,5 | 21,7 | 21,0 | 18,1 | 18,7 |
Source:
Respective Statistics Bureaus of Western Balkan economies, 2022
| Men | Women | WB Men's average | WB Women's average | |
|---|---|---|---|---|
| EU-27 | -0,1 | 0,8 | -1,5 | 1,3 |
| Albania | 0,3 | 1,1 | -1,5 | 1,3 |
| Bosnia & Herzegovina | 4,8 | 4,6 | -1,5 | 1,3 |
| North Macedonia | -1,2 | 1,4 | -1,5 | 1,3 |
| Montenegro | -8,0 | -5,7 | -1,5 | 1,3 |
| Serbia | 2,1 | 2,2 | -1,5 | 1,3 |
| Kosovo* | -6,8 | 4,3 | -1,5 | 1,3 |
Source:
Respective Statistics Bureaus of Western Balkan economies and Eurostat, 2022. *2021 average calculated as the average rate of the first three quarters of 2021
