Over the past 23 years, there were constantly more men than women living on the planet. Of the 8.06 billion people living on the Earth in 2023, 4.05 billion were men and 4.01 billion were women. One-quarter of the world's total population in 2024 was below 15 years.
Worldwide, the male population is slightly higher than the female population, although this varies by country. As of 2023, Hong Kong has the highest share of women worldwide with almost 55 percent. Moldova followed behind with 54 percent. Among the countries with the largest share of women in the total population, several were former Soviet-states or were located in Eastern Europe. By contrast, Qatar, the United Arab Emirates, and Oman had some of the highest proportions of men in their populations.
Alaska had the highest male to female ratio in the United States in 2020, with ***** men for every 100 women. The male to female ratio was lowest in the District of Columbia, with **** men for every 100 women. The final frontier Alaska, which was purchased from the Russian Empire in 1867, is the largest state in the U.S. and one of the newest states, having been admitted to the U.S. in 1959. Although oil production dominates the economy, Alaska has a very high poverty rate and consistently has the highest unemployment rate in the country. It’s a man’s world Alaska is one of 10 states in the U.S. that has more men than women. The male to female ratio in the United States as a whole is about even, but as the population ages, there tend to be more females than males. Even though the sex ratio in the U.S. is almost one to one, a little more than ** percent of all females participated in the labor force in 2021, compared with **** percent of men.
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Population, female (% of total population) in World was reported at 49.71 % in 2023, according to the World Bank collection of development indicators, compiled from officially recognized sources. World - Population, female (% of total) - actual values, historical data, forecasts and projections were sourced from the World Bank on May of 2025.
In terms of population size, the sex ratio in the United States favors females, although the gender gap is remaining stable. In 2010, there were around 5.17 million more women, with the difference projected to decrease to around 3 million by 2027.
Gender ratios by U.S. state In the United States, the resident population was estimated to be around 331.89 million in 2021. The gender distribution of the nation has remained steady for several years, with women accounting for approximately 51.1 percent of the population since 2013. Females outnumbered males in the majority of states across the country in 2020, and there were eleven states where the gender ratio favored men.
Metro areas by population National differences between male and female populations can also be analyzed by metropolitan areas. In general, a metropolitan area is a region with a main city at its center and adjacent communities that are all connected by social and economic factors. The largest metro areas in the U.S. are New York, Los Angeles, and Chicago. In 2019, there were more women than men in all three of those areas, but Jackson, Missouri was the metro area with the highest share of female population.
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The average for 2022 based on 9 countries was 1.28 percent. The highest value was in Qatar: 1.79 percent and the lowest value was in Iran: 1 percent. The indicator is available from 1970 to 2023. Below is a chart for all countries where data are available.
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Estonia EE: Sex Ratio at Birth: Male Births per Female Births data was reported at 1.060 Ratio in 2017. This records an increase from the previous number of 1.058 Ratio for 2016. Estonia EE: Sex Ratio at Birth: Male Births per Female Births data is updated yearly, averaging 1.058 Ratio from Dec 1962 (Median) to 2017, with 21 observations. The data reached an all-time high of 1.068 Ratio in 1962 and a record low of 1.052 Ratio in 2012. Estonia EE: Sex Ratio at Birth: Male Births per Female Births data remains active status in CEIC and is reported by World Bank. The data is categorized under Global Database’s Estonia – Table EE.World Bank.WDI: Population and Urbanization Statistics. Sex ratio at birth refers to male births per female births. The data are 5 year averages.; ; United Nations Population Division. World Population Prospects: 2017 Revision.; Weighted average;
The Second World War had a sever impact on gender ratios across European countries, particularly in the Soviet Union. While the United States had a balanced gender ratio of one man for every woman, in the Soviet Union the ratio was below 5:4 in favor of women, and in Soviet Russia this figure was closer to 4:3.
As young men were disproportionately killed during the war, this had long-term implications for demographic development, where the generation who would have typically started families in the 1940s was severely depleted in many countries.
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The average for 2023 based on 47 countries was 51.06 percent. The highest value was in Moldova: 53.98 percent and the lowest value was in Malta: 48.11 percent. The indicator is available from 1960 to 2023. Below is a chart for all countries where data are available.
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Sex ratio at birth (male births per female births) in United States was reported at 1.049 in 2023, according to the World Bank collection of development indicators, compiled from officially recognized sources. United States - Sex ratio at birth (male births per female births) - actual values, historical data, forecasts and projections were sourced from the World Bank on June of 2025.
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The average for 2021 based on 66 countries was 0.99 percent. The highest value was in Senegal: 1.16 percent and the lowest value was in Chad: 0.8 percent. The indicator is available from 1970 to 2022. Below is a chart for all countries where data are available.
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Population, female (% of total population) in United States was reported at 49.75 % in 2023, according to the World Bank collection of development indicators, compiled from officially recognized sources. United States - Population, female (% of total) - actual values, historical data, forecasts and projections were sourced from the World Bank on June of 2025.
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Sex ratio at birth (male births per female births) in World was reported at 1.0556 in 2023, according to the World Bank collection of development indicators, compiled from officially recognized sources. World - Sex ratio at birth (male births per female births) - actual values, historical data, forecasts and projections were sourced from the World Bank on June of 2025.
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Kenya KE: Sex Ratio at Birth: Male Births per Female Births data was reported at 1.030 Ratio in 2017. This stayed constant from the previous number of 1.030 Ratio for 2016. Kenya KE: Sex Ratio at Birth: Male Births per Female Births data is updated yearly, averaging 1.030 Ratio from Dec 1962 (Median) to 2017, with 21 observations. The data reached an all-time high of 1.030 Ratio in 2017 and a record low of 1.030 Ratio in 2017. Kenya KE: Sex Ratio at Birth: Male Births per Female Births data remains active status in CEIC and is reported by World Bank. The data is categorized under Global Database’s Kenya – Table KE.World Bank.WDI: Population and Urbanization Statistics. Sex ratio at birth refers to male births per female births. The data are 5 year averages.; ; United Nations Population Division. World Population Prospects: 2017 Revision.; Weighted average;
The Second World War severely altered the demographic composition of many countries, particularly in terms of gender ratios across certain age groups. For age groups below 14 years, there is little observable impact of the war on gender ratios, however, some countries see a drastic change across older generations, particularly in the Soviet Union. For men in their twenties (i.e. those in their late-teens or early-twenties when the war began), the ratio drops from 98 men per 100 women in the 15-19 age group, to 68 men per 100 women in the 25-29 group.
In addition to the Second World War, these figures are affected by trends in nature and other historical events. For example, women tend to have higher overall life expectancies than men, which typically sees gender ratios widen among older generations. The impact of the First World War is also most-observable in France's gender ratios for those aged in their fifties. Additionally, the gap in ratios remains high for the Soviet Union across older age groups due to the impact of the First World War and the famine of the early 1930s, however the figures for Russia itself are even lower as it was disproportionately affected by the Russian Revolution and famine of the 1920s.
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Jordan JO: Sex Ratio at Birth: Male Births per Female Births data was reported at 1.054 Ratio in 2016. This stayed constant from the previous number of 1.054 Ratio for 2015. Jordan JO: Sex Ratio at Birth: Male Births per Female Births data is updated yearly, averaging 1.054 Ratio from Dec 1962 (Median) to 2016, with 20 observations. The data reached an all-time high of 1.054 Ratio in 2016 and a record low of 1.054 Ratio in 2016. Jordan JO: Sex Ratio at Birth: Male Births per Female Births data remains active status in CEIC and is reported by World Bank. The data is categorized under Global Database’s Jordan – Table JO.World Bank: Population and Urbanization Statistics. Sex ratio at birth refers to male births per female births. The data are 5 year averages.; ; United Nations Population Division. World Population Prospects: 2017 Revision.; Weighted average;
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Latvia: Ratio of female to male students in secondary school: The latest value from 2020 is 1 percent, unchanged from 1 percent in 2019. In comparison, the world average is 1.01 percent, based on data from 111 countries. Historically, the average for Latvia from 1991 to 2020 is 1.01 percent. The minimum value, 0.97 percent, was reached in 2011 while the maximum of 1.08 percent was recorded in 1996.
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Sex ratio at birth (male births per female births) in European Union was reported at 1.0559 in 2023, according to the World Bank collection of development indicators, compiled from officially recognized sources. European Union - Sex ratio at birth (male births per female births) - actual values, historical data, forecasts and projections were sourced from the World Bank on June of 2025.
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Morocco MA: Sex Ratio at Birth: Male Births per Female Births data was reported at 1.060 Ratio in 2017. This stayed constant from the previous number of 1.060 Ratio for 2016. Morocco MA: Sex Ratio at Birth: Male Births per Female Births data is updated yearly, averaging 1.059 Ratio from Dec 1962 (Median) to 2017, with 21 observations. The data reached an all-time high of 1.062 Ratio in 2002 and a record low of 1.050 Ratio in 1982. Morocco MA: Sex Ratio at Birth: Male Births per Female Births data remains active status in CEIC and is reported by World Bank. The data is categorized under Global Database’s Morocco – Table MA.World Bank: Population and Urbanization Statistics. Sex ratio at birth refers to male births per female births. The data are 5 year averages.; ; United Nations Population Division. World Population Prospects: 2017 Revision.; Weighted average;
Worldwide, the male population is slightly higher than the female population. As of 2023, the country with the highest percentage of men was Qatar with only slightly more than one quarter of the total population being women. The United Arab Emirates followed with 36 percent. Different factors can influence the gender distribution in a population, such as life expectancy, the sex ratio at birth, and immigration. For instance, in Qatar the large share of male is due to the high immigration flows of male labor in the country.
Over the past 23 years, there were constantly more men than women living on the planet. Of the 8.06 billion people living on the Earth in 2023, 4.05 billion were men and 4.01 billion were women. One-quarter of the world's total population in 2024 was below 15 years.