Visualizing Women’s Economic Rights Around the World

Visualizing Women’s Economic Rights in Each Country

In recent years, many economies have made women’s rights a priority by eliminating job restrictions, working to reduce the gender wage gap, or changing legislation related to marriage and parenthood.

Still, many laws continue to inhibit women’s ability to enter the workforce or start a business—and even to travel outside their homes in the same way as men. In fact, on average globally, women have just three-quarters of the economic rights of men.

This map uses data from the Women, Business and Law 2021 report by the World Bank, to visualize women’s economic rights around the world.

Legal Protections

According to the World Bank, only 10 countries offer full legal protections to women, and all of them are in the Northern Hemisphere.

In ranking countries, the institution considers indicators like equal remuneration, legal rights, and mobility. A score of 100 means that women are on equal legal standing with men across all areas measured.

Rank	Country/Territory	Score
1	Belgium	100.0
1	Canada	100.0
1	Denmark	100.0
1	France	100.0
1	Iceland	100.0
1	Ireland	100.0
1	Latvia	100.0
1	Luxembourg	100.0
1	Portugal	100.0
1	Sweden	100.0
2	Estonia	97.5
2	Finland	97.5
2	Germany	97.5
2	Greece	97.5
2	Italy	97.5
2	Netherlands	97.5
2	New Zealand	97.5
2	Spain	97.5
2	United Kingdom	97.5
3	Australia	96.9
3	Austria	96.9
3	Hungary	96.9
3	Norway	96.9
3	Slovenia	96.9
4	Peru	95.0
5	Paraguay	94.4
6	Croatia	93.8
6	Czech Republic	93.8
6	Lithuania	93.8
6	Poland	93.8
6	Serbia	93.8
7	Kosovo	91.9
7	Mauritius	91.9
8	Albania	91.3
8	Cyprus	91.3
8	Taiwan, China	91.3
8	United States	91.3
9	Bulgaria	90.6
9	Romania	90.6
10	Ecuador	89.4
10	Hong Kong, China	89.4
11	Bolivia	88.8
11	El Salvador	88.8
11	Malta	88.8
11	Mexico	88.8
11	Uruguay	88.8
12	Lao PDR	88.1
12	Montenegro	88.1
12	South Africa	88.1
13	Guyana	86.9
13	Zimbabwe	86.9
14	Cabo Verde	86.3
14	Dominican Republic	86.3
14	Namibia	86.3
14	Nicaragua	86.3
14	São Tomé and Príncipe	86.3
15	Georgia	85.6
15	Switzerland	85.6
16	Bosnia and Herzegovina	85.0
16	Brazil	85.0
16	Korea, Rep.	85.0
16	North Macedonia	85.0
16	Slovak Republic	85.0
16	Venezuela	85.0
17	Moldova	84.4
17	Togo	84.4
18	Liberia	83.8
18	Puerto Rico (US)	83.8
18	St. Lucia	83.8
19	Costa Rica	83.1
19	Côte d'Ivoire	83.1
19	Timor-Leste	83.1
20	Armenia	82.5
20	Fiji	82.5
20	Mongolia	82.5
20	Mozambique	82.5
20	Singapore	82.5
20	Turkey	82.5
20	United Arab Emirates	82.5
21	Colombia	81.9
21	Japan	81.9
21	Vietnam	81.9
22	Bahamas	81.3
22	Tanzania	81.3
22	Zambia	81.3
23	Grenada	80.6
23	Israel	80.6
23	Kenya	80.6
23	Nepal	80.6
23	Rwanda	80.6
24	Chile	80.0
24	Samoa	80.0
24	San Marino	80.0
24	Saudi Arabia	80.0
25	Belize	79.4
25	Burkina Faso	79.4
25	Panama	79.4
25	Ukraine	79.4
26	Azerbaijan	78.8
26	Congo, Dem. Rep.	78.8
26	Kiribati	78.8
26	Philippines	78.8
26	Tajikistan	78.8
27	Lesotho	78.1
27	Thailand	78.1
28	Benin	77.5
28	Malawi	77.5
29	Barbados	76.9
29	Central African Republic	76.9
29	Ethiopia	76.9
29	Kyrgyz Republic	76.9
30	Argentina	76.3
30	Guinea	76.3
30	Seychelles	76.3
31	Belarus	75.6
31	China	75.6
31	Morocco	75.6
32	Cambodia	75.0
32	Ghana	75.0
32	Honduras	75.0
32	Trinidad and Tobago	75.0
33	Gambia	74.4
33	India	74.4
33	Madagascar	74.4
34	Maldives	73.8
34	Suriname	73.8
35	Angola	73.1
35	Burundi	73.1
35	Russia	73.1
35	Uganda	73.1
36	Bhutan	71.9
37	St. Kitts and Nevis	71.3
38	Guatemala	70.6
38	Uzbekistan	70.6
39	South Sudan	70.0
40	Eritrea	69.4
40	Kazakhstan	69.4
40	Sierra Leone	69.4
41	Dijibouti	68.1
41	Jamaica	68.1
41	Marshall Islands	68.1
41	St. Vicent and the Grenadines	68.1
42	Tunisia	67.5
43	Senegal	66.9
44	Antigua and Barbuda	66.3
44	Chad	66.3
45	Sri Lanka	65.6
46	Comoros	65.0
47	Indonesia	64.4
48	Botswana	63.8
48	Haiti	63.8
48	Micronesia	63.8
49	Nigeria	63.1
50	Dominica	62.5
51	Mali	60.6
52	Cameroon	60.0
52	Papua New Guinea	60.0
53	Niger	59.4
54	Myanmar	58.8
54	Palau	58.8
54	Tonga	58.8
55	Vanuatu	58.1
56	Algeria	57.5
56	Gabon	57.5
57	Solomon Islands	56.9
58	Bahrain	55.6
58	Pakistan	55.6
59	Brunei Darussalam	53.1
60	Lebanon	52.5
61	Equatorial Guinea	51.9
62	Libya	50.0
62	Malaysia	50.0
63	Bangladesh	49.4
63	Congo, Rep.	49.4
64	Mauritania	48.1
65	Jordan	46.9
65	Somalia	46.9
66	Eswatini	46.3
67	Egypt	45.0
67	Iraq	45.0
68	Guinea-Bissau	42.5
69	Afghanistan	38.1
70	Syria	36.9
71	Oman	35.6
72	Iran	31.3
73	Qatar	29.4
73	Sudan	29.4
74	Kuwait	28.8
75	Yemen	26.9
76	West Bank and Gaza	26.3

According to the report, there are 20 economies in the world where women still have half or fewer of the legal economic rights of men.

Under Taliban rule, for example, women in Afghanistan have limited access to education and work. In the Gaza Strip, women must have the permission of a male guardian to travel.

Yet, some differences are also seen in developed countries.

In the U.S, women still earn an average of about 82 cents for each dollar earned by men, and the gap across many countries in Europe is similar. Meanwhile, women are represented in just 23% of seats in national parliaments globally, and make up just 13% of agricultural landholders.

The Shadow Pandemic

COVID-19 has exacerbated existing inequalities that disadvantage girls and women, including barriers to attend school and maintain jobs, according to the United Nations.

In fact, new research shows that the sectors that have been most affected by the pandemic so far are those with high levels of women workers, including the restaurant and hospitality business, as well as the travel sector.

While leaders debate recovery in a post-pandemic world, rights equality remains a central topic for social and economic development.