Mapped: Where Women Hold the Most and Least Political Power

Where Women Hold the Most and Least Political Power

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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.

Country	Region	% Women in National Cabinet
Afghanistan	Asia-Pacific	9.7
Albania	Europe	53.3
Algeria	Middle East/North Africa	15.2
Andorra	Europe	50.0
Angola	Sub-Saharan Africa	40.0
Antigua and Barbuda	Americas	15.4
Argentina	Americas	22.7
Armenia	Europe	7.1
Australia	Asia-Pacific	26.7
Austria	Europe	57.1
Azerbaijan	Europe	3.0
Bahamas	Americas	6.7
Bahrain	Middle East/North Africa	4.4
Bangladesh	Asia-Pacific	7.7
Barbados	Americas	26.1
Belarus	Europe	3.5
Belgium	Europe	25.0
Belize	Americas	6.3
Benin	Sub-Saharan Africa	20.8
Bhutan	Asia-Pacific	10.0
Bolivia	Americas	25.0
Bosnia and Herzegovina	Europe	22.2
Botswana	Sub-Saharan Africa	21.1
Brazil	Americas	9.1
Brunei	Asia-Pacific	0.0
Bulgaria	Europe	36.8
Burkina Faso	Sub-Saharan Africa	14.3
Burundi	Sub-Saharan Africa	26.1
Cambodia	Asia-Pacific	9.4
Cameroon	Sub-Saharan Africa	14.9
Canada	Americas	50.0
Cape Verde	Sub-Saharan Africa	21.4
Central African Republic	Sub-Saharan Africa	20.0
Chad	Sub-Saharan Africa	25.9
Chile	Americas	33.3
China	Asia-Pacific	6.5
Colombia	Americas	57.9
Comoros	Sub-Saharan Africa	8.3
Costa Rica	Americas	50.0
Cote d'Ivoire	Sub-Saharan Africa	12.8
Croatia	Europe	20.0
Cuba	Americas	21.9
Cyprus	Europe	15.4
Czech Republic	Europe	28.6
Democratic Republic of Congo	Sub-Saharan Africa	17.4
Denmark	Europe	31.6
Djibouti	Sub-Saharan Africa	13.0
Dominica	Americas	31.3
Dominican Republic	Americas	17.4
East Timor	Asia-Pacific	18.2
Ecuador	Americas	37.9
Egypt	Middle East/North Africa	24.2
El Salvador	Americas	47.1
Equatorial Guinea	Sub-Saharan Africa	7.1
Eritrea	Sub-Saharan Africa	17.7
Estonia	Europe	14.3
Eswatini	Sub-Saharan Africa	31.6
Ethiopia	Sub-Saharan Africa	47.6
Fiji	Asia-Pacific	23.1
Finland	Europe	61.1
France	Europe	52.9
Gabon	Sub-Saharan Africa	26.1
Gambia	Sub-Saharan Africa	22.2
Georgia	Europe	45.5
Germany	Europe	40.0
Ghana	Sub-Saharan Africa	25.0
Greece	Europe	11.1
Grenada	Americas	41.7
Guatemala	Americas	13.3
Guinea	Sub-Saharan Africa	10.8
Guinea-Bissau	Sub-Saharan Africa	50.0
Guyana	Americas	40.0
Haiti	Americas	-
Honduras	Americas	33.3
Hungary	Europe	15.4
Iceland	Europe	40.0
India	Asia-Pacific	12.5
Indonesia	Asia-Pacific	14.3
Iran	Middle East/North Africa	6.5
Iraq	Middle East/North Africa	4.6
Ireland	Europe	26.7
Israel	Middle East/North Africa	16.7
Italy	Europe	33.3
Jamaica	Americas	23.5
Japan	Asia-Pacific	15.8
Jordan	Middle East/North Africa	13.8
Kazakhstan	Russia/Central Asia	5.0
Kenya	Sub-Saharan Africa	26.1
Kiribati	Asia-Pacific	0.0
Kosovo	Europe	-
Kuwait	Middle East/North Africa	21.4
Kyrgyzstan	Russia/Central Asia	9.5
Laos	Asia-Pacific	11.1
Latvia	Europe	23.1
Lebanon	Middle East/North Africa	31.6
Lesotho	Sub-Saharan Africa	7.4
Liberia	Sub-Saharan Africa	22.2
Libya	Middle East/North Africa	-
Liechtenstein	Europe	40.0
Lithuania	Europe	7.7
Luxembourg	Europe	29.4
Madagascar	Sub-Saharan Africa	30.0
Malawi	Sub-Saharan Africa	11.1
Malaysia	Asia-Pacific	18.5
Maldives	Asia-Pacific	25.9
Mali	Sub-Saharan Africa	25.0
Malta	Europe	11.8
Marshall Islands	Asia-Pacific	10.0
Mauritania	Sub-Saharan Africa	20.0
Mauritius	Sub-Saharan Africa	12.5
Mexico	Americas	35.0
Micronesia	Asia-Pacific	22.2
Moldova	Europe	11.1
Monaco	Europe	20.0
Mongolia	Asia-Pacific	6.7
Montenegro	Europe	22.2
Morocco	Middle East/North Africa	15.8
Mozambique	Sub-Saharan Africa	42.9
Myanmar	Asia-Pacific	3.9
Namibia	Sub-Saharan Africa	14.8
Nauru	Asia-Pacific	14.3
Nepal	Asia-Pacific	10.5
Netherlands	Europe	44.4
New Zealand	Asia-Pacific	30.0
Nicaragua	Americas	58.8
Niger	Sub-Saharan Africa	12.8
Nigeria	Sub-Saharan Africa	10.3
North Korea	Asia and the Pacific	-
North Macedonia	Europe	21.7
Norway	Europe	42.9
Oman	Middle East/North Africa	11.1
Pakistan	Asia-Pacific	12.0
Palau	Asia-Pacific	25.0
Panama	Americas	31.6
Papua New Guinea	Asia-Pacific	0.0
Paraguay	Americas	29.4
Peru	Americas	55.0
Philippines	Asia-Pacific	8.6
Poland	Europe	17.4
Portugal	Europe	42.1
Qatar	Middle East/North Africa	7.1
Republic of Congo	Sub-Saharan Africa	21.2
Romania	Europe	17.7
Russia	Russia/Central Asia	12.9
Rwanda	Sub-Saharan Africa	53.6
Saint Kitts and Nevis	Americas	11.1
Saint Lucia	Americas	15.4
Saint Vincent and the Grenadines	Americas	0.0
Samoa	Asia-Pacific	16.7
San Marino	Europe	10.0
Sao Tome and Principe	Sub-Saharan Africa	33.3
Saudi Arabia	Middle East/North Africa	0.0
Senegal	Sub-Saharan Africa	21.9
Serbia	Europe	19.1
Seychelles	Sub-Saharan Africa	45.5
Sierra Leone	Sub-Saharan Africa	17.2
Singapore	Asia-Pacific	16.7
Slovakia	Europe	26.7
Slovenia	Europe	23.5
Solomon Islands	Asia-Pacific	5.0
Somalia	Sub-Saharan Africa	18.5
South Africa	Sub-Saharan Africa	48.3
South Korea	Asia-Pacific	33.3
South Sudan	Sub-Saharan Africa	15.6
Spain	Europe	66.7
Sri Lanka	Asia-Pacific	6.3
Sudan	Sub-Saharan Africa	20.0
Suriname	Americas	17.7
Sweden	Europe	54.6
Switzerland	Europe	42.9
Syria	Middle East/North Africa	13.3
Taiwan	Asia-Pacific	-
Tajikistan	Russia/Central Asia	5.9
Tanzania	Sub-Saharan Africa	21.7
Thailand	Asia-Pacific	0.0
Togo	Sub-Saharan Africa	24.0
Tonga	Asia-Pacific	8.3
Trinidad and Tobago	Americas	33.3
Tunisia	Middle East/North Africa	6.9
Turkey	Europe	11.8
Turkmenistan	Russia/Central Asia	3.7
Tuvalu	Asia-Pacific	0.0
Uganda	Sub-Saharan Africa	33.3
Ukraine	Europe	35.3
United Arab Emirates	Middle East/North Africa	16.7
United Kingdom	Europe	30.4
United States	Americas	17.4
Uruguay	Americas	33.3
Uzbekistan	Russia/Central Asia	8.0
Vanuatu	Asia-Pacific	0.0
Venezuela	Americas	23.5
Vietnam	Asia-Pacific	0.0
Yemen	Middle East/North Africa	6.3
Zambia	Sub-Saharan Africa	32.3
Zimbabwe	Sub-Saharan Africa	20.8

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.

Country	Name	Title
🇧🇩 Bangladesh	Sheikh Hasina	Prime Minister
🇧🇧 Barbados	Mia Mottley	Prime Minister
🇩🇰 Denmark	Mette Frederiksen	Prime Minister
🇪🇪 Estonia	Kersti Kaljulaid	President
🇪🇪 Estonia	Kaja Kallas	Prime Minister
🇪🇹 Ethiopia	Sahle-Work Zewde	President
🇫🇮 Finland	Sanna Marin	Prime Minister
🇬🇦 Gabon	Rose Christiane Ossouka Raponda	Prime Minister
🇬🇪 Georgia	Salomé Zourabichvili	President
🇩🇪 Germany	Angela Merkel	Chancellor
🇬🇷 Greece	Katerina Sakellaropoulou	President
🇮🇸 Iceland	Katrín Jakobsdóttir	Prime Minister
🇱🇹 Lithuania	Ingrida Šimonytė	Prime Minister
🇲🇩 Moldova	Maia Sandu	President
🇳🇦 Namibia	Saara Kuugongelwa-Amadhila	Prime Minister
🇳🇵 Nepal	Bidhya Devi Bhandari	President
🇳🇿 New Zealand	Jacinda Ardern	Prime Minister
🇳🇴 Norway	Erna Solberg	Prime Minister
🇷🇸 Serbia	Ana Brnabić	Prime Minister
🇸🇬 Singapore	Halimah Yacob	President
🇸🇰 Slovakia	Zuzana Čaputová	President
🇹🇬 Togo	Victoire Tomegah Dogbé	Prime Minister
🇹🇹 Trinidad and Tobago	Paula-Mae Weekes	President
🇹🇼 Taiwan	Tsai Ing-wen	President

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