The data in the table below has been compiled by the Inter-Parliamentary Union on the basis of information provided by National Parliaments by 25 December 1999. 178 countries are classified by descending order of the percentage of women in the lower or single House. Comparative data on the world and regional averages as well as data concerning the two regional parliamentary assemblies elected by direct suffrage can be found on separate pages. You can use the PARLINE database to view detailed results of parliamentary elections by country.
New: you can now consult an archive of statistical data on women in National Parliaments.

Rank	Country	Lower or single House				Upper House or Senate
		Elections	Seats	Women	% W	Elections	Seats	Women	% W
1	Sweden	09 1998	349	149	42.7	?	---	---	---	---
2	Denmark	03 1998	179	67	37.4	?	---	---	---	---
3	Finland	03 1999	200	74	37.0	?	---	---	---	---
4	Norway	09 1997	165	60	36.4	?	---	---	---	---
5	Netherlands	05 1998	150	54	36.0	?	05 1999	75	20	26.7
6	Iceland	05 1999	63	22	34.9	?	---	---	---	---
7	Germany	09 1998	669	207	30.9	?	1999*	69	13	18.8
8	South Africa	06 1999	400	120	30.0	?	06 1999	54	17	31.5
9	New Zealand	11 1999	120	35	29.2	?	---	---	---	---
10	Cuba	01 1998	601	166	27.6	?	---	---	---	---
11	Viet Nam	07 1997	450	117	26.0	?	---	---	---	---
12	Seychelles	03 1998	34	8	23.5	?	---	---	---	---
13	Belgium	06 1999	150	35	23.3	?	06 1999	71	20	28.2
14	Switzerland	10 1999	200	45	22.5	?	10 1999	46	?	?
15	Australia	10 1998	147	33	22.4	?	10 1998	76	22	28.9
16	Monaco	02 1998	18	4	22.2	?	---	---	---	---
"	Namibia	12 1994	72	16	22.2	?	11 1999	26	2	7.7
17	China	1997-98	2979	650	21.8	?	---	---	---	---
18	Spain	03 1996	348	75	21.6	?	03 1996	257	34	13.2
19	Lao People's Democratic Rep.	12 1997	99	21	21.2	?	---	---	---	---
20	Canada	06 1997	301	62	20.6	?	1999	105	32	30.5
21	Dem. People's Rep. of Korea	07 1998	687	138	20.1	?	---	---	---	---
22	Costa Rica	02 1998	57	11	19.3	?	---	---	---	---
23	Portugal	10 1999	230	43	18.7	?	---	---	---	---
24	Guyana	12 1997	65	12	18.5	?	---	---	---	---
25	United Kingdom	05 1997	659	121	18.4	?	1999*	1165	103	8.8
26	Mexico	07 1997	500	91	18.2	?	07 1997	128	22	17.2
27	Uganda	06 1996	279	50	17.9	?	---	---	---	---
28	Estonia	03 1999	101	18	17.8	?	---	---	---	---
29	Lithuania	10 1996	137	24	17.5	?	---	---	---	---
30	Ecuador	05 1998	121	21	17.4	?	---	---	---	---
31	Rwanda	11 1994	70	12	17.1	?	---	---	---	---
32	Latvia	10 1998	100	17	17.0	?	---	---	---	---
33	El Salvador	03 1997	84	14	16.7	?	---	---	---	---
"	Luxembourg	06 1999	60	10	16.7	?	---	---	---	---
34	United Rep. of Tanzania	10 1995	275	45	16.4	?	---	---	---	---
35	Dominican Republic	05 1998	149	24	16.1	?	05 1998	30	2	6.7
36	Suriname	05 1996	51	8	15.7	?	---	---	---	---
37	Angola	09 1992	220	34	15.5	?	---	---	---	---
38	Bahamas	03 1997	40	6	15.0	?	03 1997	16	5	31.3
"	Czech Republic	06 1998	200	30	15.0	?	11 1998	81	9	11.1
39	Eritrea	02 1994	150	22	14.7	?	---	---	---	---
40	Zimbabwe	04 1995	150	21	14.0	?	---	---	---	---
41	Jamaica	12 1997	60	8	13.3	?	12 1997	21	5	23.8
"	Saint Kitts and Nevis	07 1995	15	2	13.3	?	---	---	---	---
"	San Marino	05 1998	60	8	13.3	?	---	---	---	---
"	United States of America	11 1998	435	58	13.3	?	11 1998	100	9	9.0
42	Poland	09 1997	460	60	13.0	?	09 1997	100	11	11.0
43	Slovakia	09 1998	150	19	12.7	?	---	---	---	---
44	Philippines	05 1998	217	27	12.4	?	05 1998	23	4	17.4
45	Mali	07 1997	147	18	12.2	?	---	---	---	---
46	Senegal	05 1998	140	17	12.1	?	01 1999	60	11	18.3
"	Uruguay	10 1999	99	12	12.1	?	10 1999	31	3	9.7
"	Venezuela	11 1998	206	25	12.1	?	11 1998	57	5	8.8
47	Azerbaijan	11 1995	125	15	12.0	?	---	---	---	---
"	Congo	01 1998	75	9	12.0	?	---	---	---	---
"	Ireland	06 1997	166	20	12.0	?	08 1997	60	11	18.3
48	Colombia	03 1998	161	19	11.8	?	03 1998	102	13	12.7
49	Israel	05 1999	120	14	11.7	?	---	---	---	---
50	Bolivia	06 1997	130	15	11.5	?	06 1997	27	1	3.7
"	Tunisia	10 1999	182	21	11.5	?	---	---	---	---
51	Fiji	05 1999	71	8	11.3	?	06 1999	32	8	25.0
52	Cape Verde	12 1995	72	8	11.1	?	---	---	---	---
"	Italy	04 1996	630	70	11.1	?	04 1996	326	26	8.0
"	Saint Lucia	05 1997	18	2	11.1	?	05 1997	11	2	18.2
"	Trinidad and Tobago	11 1995	36	4	11.1	?	11 1995	31	9	29.0
53	France	05 1997	577	63	10.9	?	09 1998	321	19	5.9
54	Bulgaria	04 1997	240	26	10.8	?	---	---	---	---
"	Chile	12 1997	120	13	10.8	?	12 1997	48	2	4.2
"	Kazakhstan	10 1999	74	8	10.8	?	09 1999	47	?	?
"	Peru	04 1995	120	13	10.8	?	---	---	---	---
55	Barbados	01 1999	28	3	10.7	?	01 1999	21	7	33.3
56	Syrian Arab Republic	11 1998	250	26	10.4	?	---	---	---	---
57	Zambia	11 1996	158	16	10.1	?	---	---	---	---
58	Nicaragua	10 1996	93	9	9.7	?	---	---	---	---
59	Dominica	06 1995	32	3	9.4	?	---	---	---	---
"	Honduras	11 1997	128	12	9.4	?	---	---	---	---
60	Malta	09 1998	65	6	9.2	?	---	---	---	---
61	Bangladesh	06 1996	330	30	9.1	?	---	---	---	---
"	Sao Tome and Principe	11 1998	55	5	9.1	?	---	---	---	---
62	Ghana	12 1996	200	18	9.0	?	---	---	---	---
63	Republic of Moldova	03 1998	101	9	8.9	?	---	---	---	---
64	Guinea	06 1995	114	10	8.8	?	---	---	---	---
"	Sierra Leone	02 1996	80	7	8.8	?	---	---	---	---
65	India	09 1999	545	46	8.4	?	03 1998	220	19	8.6
66	Gabon	12 1996	120	10	8.3	?	01 1997	91	10	11.0
"	Hungary	05 1998	386	32	8.3	?	---	---	---	---
"	Malawi	06 1999	193	16	8.3	?	---	---	---	---
67	Cambodia	07 1998	122	10	8.2	?	1999	61	?	?
"	Samoa	04 1996	49	4	8.2	?	---	---	---	---
68	Burkina Faso	05 1997	111	9	8.1	?	12 1995	176	21	11.9
69	Côte d'Ivoire	11 1995	175	14	8.0	?	---	---	---	---
"	Madagascar	05 1998	150	12	8.0	?	---	---	---	---
70	Croatia	10 1995	127	10	7.9	?	04 1997	68	4	5.9
"	Mongolia	06 1996	76	6	7.9	?	---	---	---	---
71	Slovenia	11 1996	90	7	7.8	?	---	---	---	---
"	Ukraine	03 1998	450	35	7.8	?	---	---	---	---
72	Mauritius	12 1995	66	5	7.6	?	---	---	---	---
73	The F.Y.R. of Macedonia	10 1998	120	9	7.5	?	---	---	---	---
74	Central African Republic	11 1998	109	8	7.3	?	---	---	---	---
"	Romania	11 1996	343	25	7.3	?	11 1996	143	2	1.4
75	Andorra	02 1997	28	2	7.1	?	---	---	---	---
"	Guatemala	11 1999	113	8	7.1	?	---	---	---	---
76	Belize	08 1998	29	2	6.9	?	08 1998	8	3	37.5
77	Iraq	03 1996	250	16	6.4	?	---	---	---	---
78	Greece	09 1996	300	19	6.3	?	---	---	---	---
79	Benin	03 1999	83	5	6.0	?	---	---	---	---
"	Burundi	06 1993	117	7	6.0	?	---	---	---	---
80	Nepal	05 1999	205	12	5.9	?	06 1997	60	5	8.3
81	Brazil	10 1998	513	29	5.7	?	10 1998	81	6	7.4
82	Cameroon	05 1997	180	10	5.6	?	---	---	---	---
"	Thailand	11 1996	393	22	5.6	?	03 1996	262	21	8.0
83	Cyprus	05 1996	56	3	5.4	?	---	---	---	---
84	Albania	06 1997	155	8	5.2	?	---	---	---	---
85	Yugoslavia	11 1996	138	7	5.1	?	03 1998	40	4	10.0
86	Equatorial Guinea	03 1999	80	4	5.0	?	---	---	---	---
87	Iran (Islamic Rep. of)	03 1996	266	13	4.9	?	---	---	---	---
"	Kiribati	09 1998	41	2	4.9	?	---	---	---	---
"	Sri Lanka	08 1994	225	11	4.9	?	---	---	---	---
88	Saint Vincent & the Grenadines	06 1998	21	1	4.8	?	---	---	---	---
89	Japan	10 1996	500	23	4.6	?	07 1998	252	43	17.1
90	Singapore	01 1997	93	4	4.3	?	---	---	---	---
91	Turkey	04 1999	550	23	4.2	?	---	---	---	---
92	Liechtenstein	02 1997	25	1	4.0	?	---	---	---	---
93	Lesotho	05 1998	79	3	3.8	?	05 1998	33	9	27.3
"	Mauritania	10 1996	79	3	3.8	?	04 1998	56	0	0.0
94	Republic of Korea	04 1996	299	11	3.7	?	---	---	---	---
95	Haiti	06 1995	83	3	3.6	?	04 1997	27	?	?
"	Kenya	12 1997	224	8	3.6	?	---	---	---	---
96	Algeria	06 1997	380	12	3.2	?	12 1997	144	8	5.6
97	Armenia	05 1999	131	4	3.1	?	---	---	---	---
"	Swaziland	10 1998	65	2	3.1	?	10 1998	30	4	13.3
98	Tajikistan	02 1995	181	5	2.8	?	---	---	---	---
99	Paraguay	05 1998	80	2	2.5	?	05 1998	45	8	17.8
100	Chad	01 1997	125	3	2.4	?	---	---	---	---
101	Lebanon	08 1996	128	3	2.3	?	---	---	---	---
102	Bhutan	1997*	150	3	2.0	?	---	---	---	---
"	Egypt	11 1995	454	9	2.0	?	---	---	---	---
"	Ethiopia	05 1995	543	11	2.0	?	05 1995	108	?	?
"	Gambia	01 1997	49	1	2.0	?	---	---	---	---
"	Solomon Islands	08 1997	49	1	2.0	?	---	---	---	---
103	Papua New Guinea	06 1997	109	2	1.8	?	---	---	---	---
104	Kyrgyzstan	02 1995	70	1	1.4	?	02 1995	35	4	11.4
105	Yemen	04 1997	301	2	0.7	?	---	---	---	---
106	Morocco	11 1997	325	2	0.6	?	12 1997	270	2	0.7
107	Djibouti	12 1997	65	0	0.0	?	---	---	---	---
"	Jordan	11 1997	80	0	0.0	?	11 1997	40	3	7.5
"	Kuwait	07 1999	65	0	0.0	?	---	---	---	---
"	Micronesia (Fed. States of)	03 1999	14	0	0.0	?	---	---	---	---
"	Nauru	02 1997	18	0	0.0	?	---	---	---	---
"	Palau	11 1996	16	0	0.0	?	11 1996	14	1	7.1
"	Tuvalu	03 1998	12	0	0.0	?	---	---	---	---
"	United Arab Emirates	12 1997	40	0	0.0	?	---	---	---	---
"	Vanuatu	03 1998	52	0	0.0	?	---	---	---	---
?	Antigua and Barbuda	03 1999	19	?	?	?	03 1999	17	?	?
?	Argentina	10 1999	257	?	?	?	12 1998	72	4	5.6
?	Austria	10 1999	183	?	?	?	1999*	64	13	20.3
?	Belarus	11 1996	110	?	?	?	02 1997	63	19	30.2
?	Bosnia and Herzegovina	09 1998	42	?	?	?	09 1998	15	?	?
?	Botswana	10 1999	47	?	?	?	---	---	---	---
?	Georgia	10 1999	235	?	?	?	---	---	---	---
?	Grenada	01 1999	15	?	?	?	01 1999	13	?	?
?	Guinea-Bissau	11 1999	102	?	?	?	---	---	---	---
?	Indonesia	06 1999	500	?	?	?	---	---	---	---
?	Liberia	07 1997	64	?	?	?	07 1997	26	?	?
?	Libyan Arab Jamahiriya	03 1997	760	?	?	?	---	---	---	---
?	Malaysia	11 1999	192	?	?	?	03 1998	69	12	17.4
?	Maldives	11 1999	50	?	?	?	---	---	---	---
?	Marshall Islands	11 1999	33	?	?	?	---	---	---	---
?	Mozambique	12 1999	250	?	?	?	---	---	---	---
?	Niger	11 1999	83	?	?	?	---	---	---	---
?	Nigeria	02 1999	360	?	?	?	02 1999	109	3	2.8
?	Panama	05 1999	72	?	?	?	---	---	---	---
?	Russian Federation	12 1999	450	?	?	?	1999*	178	1	0.6
?	Togo	03 1999	81	?	?	?	---	---	---	---
?	Tonga	03 1999	30	?	?	?	---	---	---	---
?	Turkmenistan	12 1999	50	?	?	?	---	---	---	---
?	Uzbekistan	12 1999	250	?	?	?	---	---	---	---

South Africa: the figures on the distribution of seats do not include the 36 special rotating delegates appointed on an ad hoc basis, and the percentages given are therefore calculated on the basis of the 54 permanent seats

Venezuela: on 25 August 1999, the Constituent Assembly elected on 25 July adopted a dercree putting the bicameral Congress on indefinite recess