As of December 2024, women constituted 63.8 percent of the Rwandan parliament (lower or single house). This makes it the country with the highest share of women in parliament worldwide. Cuba had the second-highest share of female MPs with 55.7 percent, followed by Nicaragua. The European country with the highest percentage of women in their parliament was Andorra with 50 percent.

Between 1990 and 2019, the share of women in the Danish Parliament, Folketinget increased somewhat, but necer reached more than ** percent. However, after the parliamentary election in the fall of 2022, the share increased to ** percent, the highest in history. Generally, the share of female candidates in the parliamentary elections has been significantly lower than the share of men. Folketinget consists of *** members. *** of these mandates derive from Danish political parties, while four mandates come from Greenland and the Faroe Islands.

As of August 2023, all five Nordic countries had a share of around ** percent of women on their parliaments. Iceland was the Nordic country with the highest share of women in the parliament, slightly edging Sweden and Finland at ** percent. Denmark had the lowest share of female parliamentarians. Although there has generally been more male prime ministers than female prime ministers in the Nordic countries, in August 2023, two of five of the prime ministers were women.

Argentina AR: Proportion of Seats Held by Women in National Parliaments data was reported at 42.412 % in 2024. This records a decrease from the previous number of 43.191 % for 2023. Argentina AR: Proportion of Seats Held by Women in National Parliaments data is updated yearly, averaging 37.354 % from Dec 1997 (Median) to 2024, with 25 observations. The data reached an all-time high of 44.747 % in 2022 and a record low of 26.459 % in 2000. Argentina AR: Proportion of Seats Held by Women in National Parliaments data remains active status in CEIC and is reported by World Bank. The data is categorized under Global Database’s Argentina – Table AR.World Bank.WDI: Governance: Policy and Institutions. Women in parliaments are the percentage of parliamentary seats in a single or lower chamber held by women.;Inter-Parliamentary Union (IPU) (www.ipu.org). For the year of 1998, the data is as of August 10, 1998.;Weighted average;Relevance to gender indicator: Women are vastly underrepresented in decision making positions in government, although there is some evidence of recent improvement. Gender parity in parliamentary representation is still far from being realized. Without representation at this level, it is difficult for women to influence policy. This is the Sustainable Development Goal indicator 5.5.1 (a). [https://unstats.un.org/sdgs/metadata/].

Ghana GH: Proportion of Seats Held by Women in National Parliaments data was reported at 12.700 % in 2017. This records an increase from the previous number of 10.900 % for 2016. Ghana GH: Proportion of Seats Held by Women in National Parliaments data is updated yearly, averaging 9.000 % from Dec 1997 (Median) to 2017, with 19 observations. The data reached an all-time high of 12.700 % in 2017 and a record low of 7.900 % in 2008. Ghana GH: Proportion of Seats Held by Women in National Parliaments data remains active status in CEIC and is reported by World Bank. The data is categorized under Global Database’s Ghana – Table GH.World Bank: Policy and Institutions. Women in parliaments are the percentage of parliamentary seats in a single or lower chamber held by women.; ; Inter-Parliamentary Union (IPU) (www.ipu.org).; Weighted average; General cut off date is end-December. Relevance to gender indicator: Women are vastly underrepresented in decision making positions in government, although there is some evidence of recent improvement. Gender parity in parliamentary representation is still far from being realized. Without representation at this level, it is difficult for women to influence policy.

Vietnam VN: Proportion of Seats Held by Women in National Parliaments data was reported at 26.700 % in 2017. This stayed constant from the previous number of 26.700 % for 2016. Vietnam VN: Proportion of Seats Held by Women in National Parliaments data is updated yearly, averaging 26.000 % from Dec 1990 (Median) to 2017, with 22 observations. The data reached an all-time high of 27.300 % in 2006 and a record low of 17.700 % in 1990. Vietnam VN: Proportion of Seats Held by Women in National Parliaments data remains active status in CEIC and is reported by World Bank. The data is categorized under Global Database’s Vietnam – Table VN.World Bank.WDI: Policy and Institutions. Women in parliaments are the percentage of parliamentary seats in a single or lower chamber held by women.; ; Inter-Parliamentary Union (IPU) (www.ipu.org).; Weighted average; General cut off date is end-December. Relevance to gender indicator: Women are vastly underrepresented in decision making positions in government, although there is some evidence of recent improvement. Gender parity in parliamentary representation is still far from being realized. Without representation at this level, it is difficult for women to influence policy.

Number and proportion of persons elected to national Parliament and of ministers appointed to federal Cabinet by gender, Canada, provinces and territories.

As of June 2024, Cuba led the ranking of countries with the largest share of women in Parliament in Latin America and the Caribbean, with **** percent. It was followed closely by Nicaragua, where **** percent of the MPs (members of parliament) were female. Women in politics In the history of democracy in Latin America and the Caribbean, there have been little more than a dozen females leading the executive power. Some of the most recent and notorious ones have been Dilma Rousseff in Brazil, Cristina Fernández de Kirchner in Argentina, Michelle Bachelet in Chile, Laura Chinchilla in Costa Rica or Xiomara Castro in Honduras. Castro has been the most recently elected female president in Latin America, making Honduras one of the only ** countries in the world where the de facto highest position of executive power was held by a woman as of August of 2023. Still a long way to go The share of seats held by women in parliament in Latin America and the Caribbean region is above the global average, and it is actually the second largest one in the world, surpassed only by Australia and New Zealand. Moreover, Cuba, Nicaragua, Mexico, Bolivia, and Costa Rica have a higher percentage of females in parliament than countries such as Norway, Switzerland, Belgium, or France. This feat notwithstanding, Latin America and the Caribbean still struggles with a rather improvable performance in the gender gap index, especially when it comes to political empowerment. Even countries which seem to do better regarding gender equality, such as Cuba and Argentina have a low score in the category of political empowerment, which across all countries in the region tends to be remarkably lower than the score of the other categories: economic participation and opportunity, health and survival, and educational attainment.

South Africa ZA: Proportion of Seats Held by Women in National Parliaments data was reported at 42.000 % in 2018. This records an increase from the previous number of 41.800 % for 2017. South Africa ZA: Proportion of Seats Held by Women in National Parliaments data is updated yearly, averaging 32.900 % from Mar 1991 (Median) to 2018, with 22 observations. The data reached an all-time high of 44.500 % in 2011 and a record low of 2.800 % in 1991. South Africa ZA: Proportion of Seats Held by Women in National Parliaments data remains active status in CEIC and is reported by World Bank. The data is categorized under Global Database’s South Africa – Table ZA.World Bank: Policy and Institutions. Women in parliaments are the percentage of parliamentary seats in a single or lower chamber held by women.; ; Inter-Parliamentary Union (IPU) (www.ipu.org).; Weighted average; General cut off date is end-December. Relevance to gender indicator: Women are vastly underrepresented in decision making positions in government, although there is some evidence of recent improvement. Gender parity in parliamentary representation is still far from being realized. Without representation at this level, it is difficult for women to influence policy.

This dashboard is part of SDGs Today. Please see sdgstoday.org.Women’s full and effective participation and equal opportunities for leadership at all levels of decision-making in political, economic, and public life are vital to meeting SDG 5. The Inter-Parliamentary Union (IPU) tracks monthly rankings of the percentage of women in parliament from January 2019 onwards through Parline, a free resource with over 600 data points provided directly by national parliaments on their structure, composition, working methods, and activities. Parline is produced in cooperation with national parliaments, who provide and validate the data through a network of Parline Correspondents. Figures correspond to the number of seats filled in Parliament at the given time. For monthly rankings from 1997 to 2018, please see the IPU archive site.

Laos LA: Proportion of Seats Held by Women in National Parliaments data was reported at 27.500 % in 2017. This stayed constant from the previous number of 27.500 % for 2016. Laos LA: Proportion of Seats Held by Women in National Parliaments data is updated yearly, averaging 25.000 % from Dec 1990 (Median) to 2017, with 21 observations. The data reached an all-time high of 27.500 % in 2017 and a record low of 6.300 % in 1990. Laos LA: Proportion of Seats Held by Women in National Parliaments data remains active status in CEIC and is reported by World Bank. The data is categorized under Global Database’s Laos – Table LA.World Bank: Policy and Institutions. Women in parliaments are the percentage of parliamentary seats in a single or lower chamber held by women.; ; Inter-Parliamentary Union (IPU) (www.ipu.org).; Weighted average; General cut off date is end-December. Relevance to gender indicator: Women are vastly underrepresented in decision making positions in government, although there is some evidence of recent improvement. Gender parity in parliamentary representation is still far from being realized. Without representation at this level, it is difficult for women to influence policy.

Chad: Women in parliament, percent: The latest value from 2024 is 26.11 percent, an increase from 25.89 percent in 2023. In comparison, the world average is 25.88 percent, based on data from 177 countries. Historically, the average for Chad from 1997 to 2024 is 11.61 percent. The minimum value, 2.4 percent, was reached in 1997 while the maximum of 32.26 percent was recorded in 2021.

Series Name: Ratio for female members of parliaments (Ratio of the proportion of women in parliament in the proportion of women in the national population with the age of eligibility as a lower bound boundary) Upper ChamberSeries Code: SG_DMK_PARLMP_UCRelease Version: 2020.Q2.G.03 This dataset is the part of the Global SDG Indicator Database compiled through the UN System in preparation for the Secretary-General's annual report on Progress towards the Sustainable Development Goals.Indicator 16.7.1: Proportions of positions in national and local institutions, including (a) the legislatures; (b) the public service; and (c) the judiciary, compared to national distributions, by sex, age, persons with disabilities and population groupsTarget 16.7: Ensure responsive, inclusive, participatory and representative decision-making at all levelsGoal 16: Promote peaceful and inclusive societies for sustainable development, provide access to justice for all and build effective, accountable and inclusive institutions at all levelsFor more information on the compilation methodology of this dataset, see https://unstats.un.org/sdgs/metadata/

Series Name: Proportion of seats held by women in national parliaments (percent of total number of seats)Series Code: SG_GEN_PARLRelease Version: 2020.Q2.G.03 This dataset is the part of the Global SDG Indicator Database compiled through the UN System in preparation for the Secretary-General's annual report on Progress towards the Sustainable Development Goals.Indicator 5.5.1: Proportion of seats held by women in (a) national parliaments and (b) local governmentsTarget 5.5: Ensure women’s full and effective participation and equal opportunities for leadership at all levels of decision-making in political, economic and public lifeGoal 5: Achieve gender equality and empower all women and girlsFor more information on the compilation methodology of this dataset, see https://unstats.un.org/sdgs/metadata/

United States US: Proportion of Seats Held by Women in National Parliaments data was reported at 19.400 % in 2017. This stayed constant from the previous number of 19.400 % for 2016. United States US: Proportion of Seats Held by Women in National Parliaments data is updated yearly, averaging 16.800 % from Sep 1990 (Median) to 2017, with 21 observations. The data reached an all-time high of 19.400 % in 2017 and a record low of 6.600 % in 1990. United States US: Proportion of Seats Held by Women in National Parliaments data remains active status in CEIC and is reported by World Bank. The data is categorized under Global Database’s United States – Table US.World Bank.WDI: Policy and Institutions. Women in parliaments are the percentage of parliamentary seats in a single or lower chamber held by women.; ; Inter-Parliamentary Union (IPU) (www.ipu.org).; Weighted average; General cut off date is end-December. Relevance to gender indicator: Women are vastly underrepresented in decision making positions in government, although there is some evidence of recent improvement. Gender parity in parliamentary representation is still far from being realized. Without representation at this level, it is difficult for women to influence policy.

Around the world more than a quarter of the seats in parliaments are held by women. At the regional level, the Americas have the highest female representation in parliament, where women hold 36 percent of seats. Europe has the second-highest proportion of women in parliament, with women holding 32 percent of seats, while North Africa and the Middle East have the lowest proportion of women in parliament, with women holding 17 percent of seats only.

this graph was created in PowerBi,Loocker and OurDataWorld :

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Women have gained the right to vote and sit in parliament almost everywhere.

How much progress has been made toward women’s political equality? How far do we still have to go?

In this article, I show global data on women’s political rights and representation.

In the 18th and 19th centuries, women did not have the right to vote or sit in parliaments, and only very few — of royal descent — led their countries.

Women became much better represented in the later 20th century, gaining the right to vote and seats in parliaments in almost all countries, and making it to their country’s highest political office more frequently.

However, the data also shows that this progress has been uneven and limited: women still do not have the right to vote in a handful of countries; women parliamentarians continue to be a small minority in most countries; and women political leaders remain rare.

Let’s look at how far we have come and what remains to be done.

Women have gained the right to vote in almost all countries A fundamental political right is choosing one’s political representatives in elections. Until recently, women did not have this right to vote in countries’ elections.

Using data from political scientist Svend-Erik Skaaning and colleagues, the chart shows that neither women nor men had the universal right to vote almost anywhere until the middle of the 19th century.

Then a gap in political participation opened: men gained voting rights in some countries, while women remained mostly excluded. New Zealand became the first exception to this, where women gained the universal right to vote in 1893.

The gap between women and men further opened in the early 20th century, as women gained the right to vote in more countries, but men’s voting rights spread even farther. By the beginning of World War II, men had the right to vote in 1 out of 3 countries, while women only had the right to vote in 1 out of 6 countries.

The gap rapidly closed in the decades after World War II, when the voting-rights discrimination against women ended in many countries, and both women and men gained the right to vote in many others.

Today there are no countries that formally discriminate between men and women regarding the right to vote. In 2006, Kuwait was the last country that extended the right to vote to women. The corresponding area in the chart therefore disappears in recent years.

However, six countries and territories still have no right to vote for women or men: Brunei, Gaza, Qatar, Saudi Arabia, Somalia, and the United Arab Emirates.

When it comes to voting rights, what is needed is more of a general expansion of rights rather than ending discrimination against women.

On this map, you can see the voting rights in each country. You can explore how each country changed over time by moving the time slider.

This feature layer is part of SDGs Today. Please see sdgstoday.org.Women’s full and effective participation and equal opportunities for leadership at all levels of decision-making in political, economic, and public life are vital to meeting SDG 5. The Inter-Parliamentary Union (IPU) tracks monthly rankings of the percentage of women in parliament from January 2019 onwards through Parline, a free resource with over 600 data points provided directly by national parliaments on their structure, composition, working methods, and activities. Parline is produced in cooperation with national parliaments, who provide and validate the data through a network of Parline Correspondents. Figures correspond to the number of seats filled in Parliament at the given time. For monthly rankings from 1997 to 2018, please see the IPU archive site.

This scatter chart displays female population (people) against proportion of seats held by women in national parliaments (%) in Africa. The data is about countries.

Portugal: Women in parliament, percent: The latest value from 2024 is 32.61 percent, a decline from 36.09 percent in 2023. In comparison, the world average is 25.88 percent, based on data from 177 countries. Historically, the average for Portugal from 1997 to 2024 is 27.7 percent. The minimum value, 13.04 percent, was reached in 1997 while the maximum of 40 percent was recorded in 2020.