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Mapped: Where Women Hold the Most and Least Political Power

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Where Women Hold the Most and Least Political Power

View the medium or highest resolution version of this map to explore all countries.

From the right to vote, to owning property and assets, women’s legal and economic rights have come a long way.

International Women’s Day, held annually on March 8th is an opportunity to commemorate global improvements around gender equality. One big driver for this is women’s political participation—however, progress in this area has not been distributed evenly worldwide.

Women’s Political Power: Share of Ministers in Cabinets

In this map, we dig into how much political power women hold around the world. The Council on Foreign Relations pulls the latest data from UN Women and the Inter-Parliamentary Union (IPU) to examine the shares of women holding ministerial positions in 195 national cabinets.

Here are the top five countries with the highest percentages of women’s political power:

  • 🇪🇸 Spain: 66.7%
  • 🇫🇮 Finland: 61.1%
  • 🇳🇮 Nicaragua: 58.8%
  • 🇨🇴 Colombia: 57.9%
  • 🇦🇹 Austria: 57.1%

Even though women make up half the global population, they’re not always represented at higher levels of government. Only 14 countries have at least 50% women holding ministerial positions in the national cabinet.

CountryRegion% Women in National Cabinet
AfghanistanAsia-Pacific9.7
AlbaniaEurope53.3
AlgeriaMiddle East/North Africa15.2
AndorraEurope50.0
AngolaSub-Saharan Africa40.0
Antigua and BarbudaAmericas15.4
ArgentinaAmericas22.7
ArmeniaEurope7.1
AustraliaAsia-Pacific26.7
AustriaEurope57.1
AzerbaijanEurope3.0
BahamasAmericas6.7
BahrainMiddle East/North Africa4.4
BangladeshAsia-Pacific7.7
BarbadosAmericas26.1
BelarusEurope3.5
BelgiumEurope25.0
BelizeAmericas6.3
BeninSub-Saharan Africa20.8
BhutanAsia-Pacific10.0
BoliviaAmericas25.0
Bosnia and HerzegovinaEurope22.2
BotswanaSub-Saharan Africa21.1
BrazilAmericas9.1
BruneiAsia-Pacific0.0
BulgariaEurope36.8
Burkina FasoSub-Saharan Africa14.3
BurundiSub-Saharan Africa26.1
CambodiaAsia-Pacific9.4
CameroonSub-Saharan Africa14.9
CanadaAmericas50.0
Cape VerdeSub-Saharan Africa21.4
Central African RepublicSub-Saharan Africa20.0
ChadSub-Saharan Africa25.9
ChileAmericas33.3
ChinaAsia-Pacific6.5
ColombiaAmericas57.9
ComorosSub-Saharan Africa8.3
Costa RicaAmericas50.0
Cote d'IvoireSub-Saharan Africa12.8
CroatiaEurope20.0
CubaAmericas21.9
CyprusEurope15.4
Czech RepublicEurope28.6
Democratic Republic of CongoSub-Saharan Africa17.4
DenmarkEurope31.6
DjiboutiSub-Saharan Africa13.0
DominicaAmericas31.3
Dominican RepublicAmericas17.4
East TimorAsia-Pacific18.2
EcuadorAmericas37.9
EgyptMiddle East/North Africa24.2
El SalvadorAmericas47.1
Equatorial GuineaSub-Saharan Africa7.1
EritreaSub-Saharan Africa17.7
EstoniaEurope14.3
EswatiniSub-Saharan Africa31.6
EthiopiaSub-Saharan Africa47.6
FijiAsia-Pacific23.1
FinlandEurope61.1
FranceEurope52.9
GabonSub-Saharan Africa26.1
GambiaSub-Saharan Africa22.2
GeorgiaEurope45.5
GermanyEurope40.0
GhanaSub-Saharan Africa25.0
GreeceEurope11.1
GrenadaAmericas41.7
GuatemalaAmericas13.3
GuineaSub-Saharan Africa10.8
Guinea-BissauSub-Saharan Africa50.0
GuyanaAmericas40.0
HaitiAmericas-
HondurasAmericas33.3
HungaryEurope15.4
IcelandEurope40.0
IndiaAsia-Pacific12.5
IndonesiaAsia-Pacific14.3
IranMiddle East/North Africa6.5
IraqMiddle East/North Africa4.6
IrelandEurope26.7
IsraelMiddle East/North Africa16.7
ItalyEurope33.3
JamaicaAmericas23.5
JapanAsia-Pacific15.8
JordanMiddle East/North Africa13.8
KazakhstanRussia/Central Asia5.0
KenyaSub-Saharan Africa26.1
KiribatiAsia-Pacific0.0
KosovoEurope-
KuwaitMiddle East/North Africa21.4
KyrgyzstanRussia/Central Asia9.5
LaosAsia-Pacific11.1
LatviaEurope23.1
LebanonMiddle East/North Africa31.6
LesothoSub-Saharan Africa7.4
LiberiaSub-Saharan Africa22.2
LibyaMiddle East/North Africa-
LiechtensteinEurope40.0
LithuaniaEurope7.7
LuxembourgEurope29.4
MadagascarSub-Saharan Africa30.0
MalawiSub-Saharan Africa11.1
MalaysiaAsia-Pacific18.5
MaldivesAsia-Pacific25.9
MaliSub-Saharan Africa25.0
MaltaEurope11.8
Marshall IslandsAsia-Pacific10.0
MauritaniaSub-Saharan Africa20.0
MauritiusSub-Saharan Africa12.5
MexicoAmericas35.0
MicronesiaAsia-Pacific22.2
MoldovaEurope11.1
MonacoEurope20.0
MongoliaAsia-Pacific6.7
MontenegroEurope22.2
MoroccoMiddle East/North Africa15.8
MozambiqueSub-Saharan Africa42.9
MyanmarAsia-Pacific3.9
NamibiaSub-Saharan Africa14.8
NauruAsia-Pacific14.3
NepalAsia-Pacific10.5
NetherlandsEurope44.4
New ZealandAsia-Pacific30.0
NicaraguaAmericas58.8
NigerSub-Saharan Africa12.8
NigeriaSub-Saharan Africa10.3
North KoreaAsia and the Pacific-
North MacedoniaEurope21.7
NorwayEurope42.9
OmanMiddle East/North Africa11.1
PakistanAsia-Pacific12.0
PalauAsia-Pacific25.0
PanamaAmericas31.6
Papua New GuineaAsia-Pacific0.0
ParaguayAmericas29.4
PeruAmericas55.0
PhilippinesAsia-Pacific8.6
PolandEurope17.4
PortugalEurope42.1
QatarMiddle East/North Africa7.1
Republic of CongoSub-Saharan Africa21.2
RomaniaEurope17.7
RussiaRussia/Central Asia12.9
RwandaSub-Saharan Africa53.6
Saint Kitts and NevisAmericas11.1
Saint LuciaAmericas15.4
Saint Vincent and the GrenadinesAmericas0.0
SamoaAsia-Pacific16.7
San MarinoEurope10.0
Sao Tome and PrincipeSub-Saharan Africa33.3
Saudi ArabiaMiddle East/North Africa0.0
SenegalSub-Saharan Africa21.9
SerbiaEurope19.1
SeychellesSub-Saharan Africa45.5
Sierra LeoneSub-Saharan Africa17.2
SingaporeAsia-Pacific16.7
SlovakiaEurope26.7
SloveniaEurope23.5
Solomon IslandsAsia-Pacific5.0
SomaliaSub-Saharan Africa18.5
South AfricaSub-Saharan Africa48.3
South KoreaAsia-Pacific33.3
South SudanSub-Saharan Africa15.6
SpainEurope66.7
Sri LankaAsia-Pacific6.3
SudanSub-Saharan Africa20.0
SurinameAmericas17.7
SwedenEurope54.6
SwitzerlandEurope42.9
SyriaMiddle East/North Africa13.3
TaiwanAsia-Pacific-
TajikistanRussia/Central Asia5.9
TanzaniaSub-Saharan Africa21.7
ThailandAsia-Pacific0.0
TogoSub-Saharan Africa24.0
TongaAsia-Pacific8.3
Trinidad and TobagoAmericas33.3
TunisiaMiddle East/North Africa6.9
TurkeyEurope11.8
TurkmenistanRussia/Central Asia3.7
TuvaluAsia-Pacific0.0
UgandaSub-Saharan Africa33.3
UkraineEurope35.3
United Arab EmiratesMiddle East/North Africa16.7
United KingdomEurope30.4
United StatesAmericas17.4
UruguayAmericas33.3
UzbekistanRussia/Central Asia8.0
VanuatuAsia-Pacific0.0
VenezuelaAmericas23.5
VietnamAsia-Pacific0.0
YemenMiddle East/North Africa6.3
ZambiaSub-Saharan Africa32.3
ZimbabweSub-Saharan Africa20.8

On the flip side, nine countries have 0% women in their national cabinet, such as Saudi Arabia and Thailand.

The silver lining to this is that Saudi Arabia is actually improving in some areas of women’s economic rights in recent years, such as granting more freedom of movement to travel and prohibiting employment discrimination on the basis on gender.

The Most Powerful Women: Female Heads of State/Government

From Indira Gandhi to Margaret Thatcher, many women have held notable and influential leadership positions in the past, serving as tours de force for the global economy.

Presently, there are only 24 countries with a female head of state or government. Moldova’s Maia Sandu is the latest to rise into a Presidential role as of December 2020. Here’s who the rest are, and their titles.

CountryNameTitle
🇧🇩 BangladeshSheikh HasinaPrime Minister
🇧🇧 BarbadosMia MottleyPrime Minister
🇩🇰 DenmarkMette FrederiksenPrime Minister
🇪🇪 EstoniaKersti KaljulaidPresident
🇪🇪 EstoniaKaja KallasPrime Minister
🇪🇹 EthiopiaSahle-Work ZewdePresident
🇫🇮 FinlandSanna MarinPrime Minister
🇬🇦 GabonRose Christiane Ossouka RapondaPrime Minister
🇬🇪 GeorgiaSalomé ZourabichviliPresident
🇩🇪 GermanyAngela MerkelChancellor
🇬🇷 GreeceKaterina SakellaropoulouPresident
🇮🇸 IcelandKatrín JakobsdóttirPrime Minister
🇱🇹 LithuaniaIngrida ŠimonytėPrime Minister
🇲🇩 MoldovaMaia SanduPresident
🇳🇦 NamibiaSaara Kuugongelwa-AmadhilaPrime Minister
🇳🇵 NepalBidhya Devi BhandariPresident
🇳🇿 New ZealandJacinda ArdernPrime Minister
🇳🇴 NorwayErna SolbergPrime Minister
🇷🇸 SerbiaAna BrnabićPrime Minister
🇸🇬 SingaporeHalimah YacobPresident
🇸🇰 SlovakiaZuzana ČaputováPresident
🇹🇬 TogoVictoire Tomegah DogbéPrime Minister
🇹🇹 Trinidad and TobagoPaula-Mae WeekesPresident
🇹🇼 TaiwanTsai Ing-wenPresident

Last updated: Mar 2, 2021

As the chancellor of Germany, Angela Merkel holds the longest consecutive term of all female heads of state/government. With 15 years under her belt, Merkel is largely seen as a de facto leader of Europe. However, she intends to step down as chancellor after her term ends in September 2021.

Since 1946, Switzerland has had five total elected or appointed female heads of state or governments—the highest of any country. Simonette Sommaruga, the most recent female president of the nation, was only succeeded in the new year and dropped off this list.

Glass Ceiling in Politics?

While women have made strides in reaching their political potential worldwide, it’s interesting to note that they generally have a harder time ascending to office in larger countries compared to smaller economies.

For example, Estonia is the first country to have two female heads of state/government with both the president and prime minister positions being filled by women. On the flipside, many other countries have never had even one female head of state.

That said, shares of women holding seats in national legislatures are growing worldwide, which means that progress in these upper levels may be just around the corner.

“No country can ever truly flourish if it stifles the potential of its women and deprives itself of the contributions of half its citizens.”
—Michelle Obama

 

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Politics

How Much Do Americans Trust the Media?

Media trust among Americans has reached its lowest point since Trump won the 2016 presidential election.

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How Much Do Americans Trust the Media?

Media trust among Americans has reached its lowest point in six years.

Gallup began its survey on media trust in 1972, repeating it in 1974 and 1976. After a long period, the public opinion firm restarted the polls in 1997 and has asked Americans about their confidence level in the mass media—newspapers, TV, and radio—almost every year since then.

The above graphic illustrates Gallup’s latest poll results, conducted in September 2023.

Americans’ Trust in Mass Media, 1972-2023

Americans’ confidence in the mass media has sharply declined over the last few decades.

Trust in the mass media% Great deal/Fair amount% Not very much% None at all
197268246
197469218
197672224
1997533115
199855359
1999553411
2000513712
2001533314
2002543511
2003543511
2004443916
2005503712
2007473517
2008433521
2009453718
2010433621
2011443619
2012403921
2013443322
2014403624
2015403624
2016324127
2017412929
2018453024
2019413028
2020402733
2021362934
2022342838
2023322939

In 2016, the number of respondents trusting media outlets fell below the tally of those who didn’t trust the media at all. This is the first time that has happened in the poll’s history.

That year was marked by sharp criticism of the media from then-presidential candidate Donald Trump.

In 2017, the use of the term ‘fake news’ rose by 365% on social media, and the term was named the word of the year by dictionary publisher Collins.

The Lack of Faith in Institutions and Social Media

Although there’s no single reason to explain the decline of trust in the traditional media, some studies point to potential drivers.

According to Michael Schudson, a sociologist and historian of the news media and a professor at the Columbia Journalism School, in the 1970s, faith in institutions like the White House or Congress began to decline, consequently impacting confidence in the media.

“That may have been a necessary corrective to a sense of complacency that had been creeping in—among the public and the news media—that allowed perhaps too much trust: we accepted President Eisenhower’s lies about the U-2 spy plane, President Kennedy’s lies about the ‘missile gap,’ President Johnson’s lies about the war in Vietnam, President Nixon’s lies about Watergate,”
Michael Schudson – Columbia Journalism School

More recently, the internet and social media have significantly changed how people consume media. The rise of platforms such as X/Twitter and Facebook have also disrupted the traditional media status quo.

Partisans’ Trust in Mass Media

Historically, Democrats have expressed more confidence in the media than Republicans.

Democrats’ trust, however, has fallen 12 points over the past year to 58%, compared with 11% among Republicans and 29% among independents.

How-Much-Do-Americans-Trust-the-Media

According to Gallup, Republicans’ low confidence in the media has little room to worsen, but Democrat confidence could still deteriorate and bring the overall national reading down further.

The poll also shows that young Democrats have less confidence in the media than older Democrats, while Republicans are less varied in their views by age group.

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