The data in the table below has been compiled by the Inter-Parliamentary Union on the basis of information provided by National Parliaments by 30 November 2005. 187 country 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	Rwanda	09 2003	80	39	48.8	09 2003	26	9	34.6
2	Sweden	09 2002	349	158	45.3	---	---	---	---
3	Norway	09 2005	169	64	37.9	---	---	---	---
4	Finland	03 2003	200	75	37.5	---	---	---	---
5	Denmark	02 2005	179	66	36.9	---	---	---	---
6	Netherlands	01 2003	150	55	36.7	06 2003	75	22	29.3
7	Cuba	01 2003	609	219	36.0	---	---	---	---
"	Spain	03 2004	350	126	36.0	03 2004	259	60	23.2
8	Costa Rica	02 2002	57	20	35.1	---	---	---	---
9	Mozambique	12 2004	250	87	34.8	---	---	---	---
10	Belgium	05 2003	150	52	34.7	05 2003	71	27	38.0
11	Austria	11 2002	183	62	33.9	N.A.	62	17	27.4
12	Iceland	05 2003	63	21	33.3	---	---	---	---
13	South Africa 1	04 2004	400	131	32.8	04 2004	54	18	33.3
14	New Zealand	09 2005	121	39	32.2	---	---	---	---
15	Germany	09 2005	614	195	31.8	N.A.	69	13	18.8
16	Iraq	01 2005	273	86	31.5	---	---	---	---
17	Guyana	03 2001	65	20	30.8	---	---	---	---
18	Burundi	07 2005	118	36	30.5	07 2005	52	17	32.7
19	Seychelles	12 2002	34	10	29.4	---	---	---	---
20	Belarus	10 2004	110	32	29.1	11 2004	58	18	31.0
21	Andorra	04 2005	28	8	28.6	---	---	---	---
22	Afghanistan	09 2005	249	68	27.3	09 2005	102	?	?
"	Viet Nam	05 2002	498	136	27.3	---	---	---	---
23	Namibia	11 2004	78	21	26.9	11 2004	26	7	26.9
24	Grenada	11 2003	15	4	26.7	11 2003	13	5	38.5
25	Timor-Leste 2	08 2001	87	22	25.3	---	---	---	---
26	Switzerland	10 2003	200	50	25.0	10 2003	46	11	23.9
27	Australia	10 2004	150	37	24.7	10 2004	76	27	35.5
28	Mexico	07 2003	500	121	24.2	07 2000	128	28	21.9
29	Liechtenstein	03 2005	25	6	24.0	---	---	---	---
30	Uganda	06 2001	305	73	23.9	---	---	---	---
31	Luxembourg	06 2004	60	14	23.3	---	---	---	---
32	Lao People's Democratic Rep.	02 2002	109	25	22.9	---	---	---	---
33	Tunisia	10 2004	189	43	22.8	07 2005	112	15	13.4
34	Saint Vincent & the Grenadines	03 2001	22	5	22.7	---	---	---	---
35	Bulgaria	06 2005	240	53	22.1	---	---	---	---
36	Eritrea	02 1994	150	33	22.0	---	---	---	---
"	Lithuania	10 2004	141	31	22.0	---	---	---	---
37	Republic of Moldova	03 2005	101	22	21.8	---	---	---	---
38	Croatia	11 2003	152	33	21.7	---	---	---	---
39	United Rep. of Tanzania	10 2000	295	63	21.4	---	---	---	---
40	Pakistan	10 2002	342	73	21.3	03 2003	100	18	18.0
"	Portugal	02 2005	230	49	21.3	---	---	---	---
41	Ethiopia	05 2005	546	116	21.2	10 2005	120	?	?
42	Canada	06 2004	308	65	21.1	N.A.	89	33	37.1
43	Latvia	10 2002	100	21	21.0	---	---	---	---
44	Monaco	02 2003	24	5	20.8	---	---	---	---
45	Nicaragua	11 2001	92	19	20.7	---	---	---	---
46	Poland	09 2005	460	94	20.4	09 2005	100	13	13.0
47	China	02 2003	2980	604	20.3	---	---	---	---
48	Dem. People's Rep. of Korea	08 2003	687	138	20.1	---	---	---	---
49	Bahamas	05 2002	40	8	20.0	05 2002	16	7	43.8
50	United Kingdom	05 2005	646	127	19.7	N.A.	707	126	17.8
51	Suriname	05 2005	51	10	19.6	---	---	---	---
52	Trinidad and Tobago	10 2002	36	7	19.4	10 2002	31	10	32.3
53	Guinea	06 2002	114	22	19.3	---	---	---	---
54	Bolivia	06 2002	130	25	19.2	06 2002	27	3	11.1
"	Senegal	04 2001	120	23	19.2	---	---	---	---
"	The F.Y.R. of Macedonia	09 2002	120	23	19.2	---	---	---	---
55	Estonia	03 2003	101	19	18.8	---	---	---	---
56	Peru	04 2001	120	22	18.3	---	---	---	---
57	Equatorial Guinea	04 2004	100	18	18.0	---	---	---	---
58	Tajikistan	02 2005	63	11	17.5	03 2005	34	8	23.5
"	Uzbekistan	12 2004	120	21	17.5	01 2005	100	15	15.0
59	Dominican Republic	05 2002	150	26	17.3	05 2002	32	2	6.3
60	Mauritius	07 2005	70	12	17.1	---	---	---	---
61	Czech Republic	06 2002	200	34	17.0	10 2004	81	10	12.3
62	Bosnia and Herzegovina	10 2002	42	7	16.7	10.2002	15	0	0.0
"	Panama	05 2004	78	13	16.7	---	---	---	---
"	San Marino	06 2001	60	10	16.7	---	---	---	---
"	Slovakia	09 2002	150	25	16.7	---	---	---	---
"	Zimbabwe	03 2005	150	25	16.7	11 2005	66	21	31.8
63	Cyprus	05 2001	56	9	16.1	---	---	---	---
64	Ecuador	10 2002	100	16	16.0	---	---	---	---
"	Singapore	11 2001	94	15	16.0	---	---	---	---
"	Turkmenistan	12 2004	50	8	16.0	---	---	---	---
65	Philippines	05 2004	236	36	15.3	05 2004	24	4	16.7
66	United States of America	11 2004	435	66	15.2	11 2004	100	14	14.0
67	Angola	09 1992	220	33	15.0	---	---	---	---
"	Israel	01 2003	120	18	15.0	---	---	---	---
68	Bangladesh 3	10 2001	345	51	14.8	---	---	---	---
69	Sudan	08 2005	450	66	14.7	08 2005	50	2	4.0
70	Sierra Leone	05 2002	124	18	14.5	---	---	---	---
71	Guinea-Bissau	03 2004	100	14	14.0	---	---	---	---
72	Malawi	04 2004	191	26	13.6	---	---	---	---
73	Republic of Korea	04 2004	299	40	13.4	---	---	---	---
74	Barbados	05 2003	30	4	13.3	05 2003	21	5	23.8
"	Ireland	05 2002	166	22	13.3	07 2002	60	10	16.7
75	Gambia	01 2002	53	7	13.2	---	---	---	---
76	Greece	03 2004	300	39	13.0	---	---	---	---
77	Dominica	05 2005	31	4	12.9	---	---	---	---
78	Zambia	12 2001	158	20	12.7	---	---	---	---
79	Chile	12 2001	120	15	12.5	12 2001	48	2	4.2
"	Liberia	10 2005	64	8	12.5	10 2005	30	5	16.7
80	Niger	11 2004	113	14	12.4	---	---	---	---
81	France	06 2002	574	70	12.2	09 2004	331	56	16.9
"	Slovenia	10 2004	90	11	12.2	12.2002	40	3	7.5
82	Colombia	03 2002	165	20	12.1	03 2002	102	9	8.8
83	Dem. Republic of the Congo	08 2003	500	60	12.0	08 2003	120	3	2.5
"	Maldives	01 2005	50	6	12.0	---	---	---	---
"	Syrian Arab Republic	03 2003	250	30	12.0	---	---	---	---
84	Burkina Faso	05 2002	111	13	11.7	---	---	---	---
"	Jamaica	10 2002	60	7	11.7	10 2002	21	4	19.0
"	Lesotho	05 2002	120	14	11.7	N.A.	33	12	36.4
85	Italy	05 2001	616	71	11.5	05 2001	321	26	8.1
86	Indonesia	04 2004	550	62	11.3	---	---	---	---
87	Romania	11 2004	331	37	11.2	11 2004	137	13	9.5
88	Botswana	10 2004	63	7	11.1	---	---	---	---
"	Cape Verde	01 2001	72	8	11.1	---	---	---	---
"	Saint Lucia	12 2001	18	2	11.1	12.2001	11	4	36.4
"	Uruguay	10 2004	99	11	11.1	10 2004	31	3	9.7
89	Ghana	12 2004	230	25	10.9	---	---	---	---
90	Djibouti	01 2003	65	7	10.8	---	---	---	---
"	Morocco	09 2002	325	35	10.8	10 2003	270	3	1.1
"	Swaziland	10 2003	65	7	10.8	10 2003	30	9	30.0
91	El Salvador	03 2003	84	9	10.7	---	---	---	---
92	Thailand	02 2005	500	53	10.6	03 2000	200	21	10.5
93	Antigua and Barbuda	03 2004	19	2	10.5	03 2004	17	3	17.6
94	Kazakhstan	09 2004	77	8	10.4	09 2004	39	3	7.7
95	Mali	07 2002	147	15	10.2	---	---	---	---
96	Paraguay	04 2003	80	8	10.0	04 2003	45	4	8.9
97	Cambodia	07 2003	123	12	9.8	03 1999	61	8	13.1
"	Russian Federation	12 2003	447	44	9.8	N.A.	178	6	3.4
98	Venezuela	07 2000	165	16	9.7	---	---	---	---
99	Georgia	03 2004	235	22	9.4	---	---	---	---
100	Gabon	12 2001	119	11	9.2	02 2003	91	14	15.4
"	Malta	04 2003	65	6	9.2	---	---	---	---
101	Hungary	04 2002	385	35	9.1	---	---	---	---
"	Malaysia	03 2004	219	20	9.1	03 2004	70	18	25.7
"	Sao Tome and Principe	03 2002	55	5	9.1	---	---	---	---
102	Japan	09 2005	480	43	9.0	07 2004	242	34	14.0
103	Cameroon	06 2002	180	16	8.9	---	---	---	---
104	Bhutan	N.A.	150	13	8.7	---	---	---	---
105	Brazil	10 2002	513	44	8.6	10 2002	81	10	12.3
106	Congo	05 2002	129	11	8.5	10 2005	60	8	13.3
"	Cote d'Ivoire	12 2000	223	19	8.5	---	---	---	---
"	Fiji	08 2001	71	6	8.5	08 2001	32	4	12.5
107	India	04 2004	543	45	8.3	06 2004	242	28	11.6
108	Guatemala	11 2003	158	13	8.2	---	---	---	---
109	Somalia	08 2004	275	22	8.0	---	---	---	---
110	Serbia and Montenegro 4	02 2003	126	10	7.9	---	---	---	---
111	Togo	10 2002	81	6	7.4	---	---	---	---
112	Benin	03 2003	83	6	7.2	---	---	---	---
113	Albania	07 2005	140	10	7.1	---	---	---	---
"	Kenya	12 2002	224	16	7.1	---	---	---	---
114	Madagascar	12 2002	160	11	6.9	03 2001	90	10	11.1
115	Belize	03 2003	30	2	6.7	03 2003	12	3	25.0
"	Mongolia	06 2004	75	5	6.7	---	---	---	---
116	Chad	04 2002	155	10	6.5	---	---	---	---
117	Nigeria	04 2003	360	23	6.4	04 2003	109	4	3.7
118	Algeria	05 2002	389	24	6.2	12 2003	144	4	2.8
119	Samoa	03 2001	49	3	6.1	---	---	---	---
120	Nepal	05 1999	205	12	5.9	06 2001	60	5	8.3
121	Jordan	06 2003	110	6	5.5	11 2003	55	7	12.7
122	Armenia	05 2003	131	7	5.3	---	---	---	---
"	Ukraine	03 2002	450	24	5.3	---	---	---	---
123	Sri Lanka	04 2004	225	11	4.9	---	---	---	---
124	Kiribati	05 2003	42	2	4.8	---	---	---	---
125	Lebanon	05 2005	128	6	4.7	---	---	---	---
"	Libyan Arab Jamahiriya	03 1997	760	36	4.7	---	---	---	---
126	Turkey	11 2002	550	24	4.4	---	---	---	---
127	Iran (Islamic Rep. of)	02 2004	290	12	4.1	---	---	---	---
128	Vanuatu	07 2004	52	2	3.8	---	---	---	---
129	Haiti	05 2000	83	3	3.6	05 2000	27	7	25.9
130	Tonga	03 2005	29	1	3.4	---	---	---	---
131	Kyrgyzstan	02 2005	63	2	3.2	---	---	---	---
132	Comoros	04 2004	33	1	3.0	---	---	---	---
"	Marshall Islands	11 2003	33	1	3.0	---	---	---	---
133	Egypt	11 2000	454	13	2.9	05 2004	264	18	6.8
134	Oman	10 2003	83	2	2.4	N.A.	58	9	15.5
135	Kuwait	07 2003	65	1	1.5	---	---	---	---
136	Papua New Guinea	06 2002	109	1	0.9	---	---	---	---
137	Yemen	04 2003	301	1	0.3	04 2001	111	2	1.8
138	Bahrain	10 2002	40	0	0.0	11 2002	40	6	15.0
"	Micronesia (Fed. States of)	03 2005	14	0	0.0	---	---	---	---
"	Nauru	10 2004	18	0	0.0	---	---	---	---
"	Palau	11 2004	16	0	0.0	11 2004	9	0	0.0
"	Saint Kitts and Nevis	10 2004	15	0	0.0	---	---	---	---
"	Saudi Arabia	04 2005	150	0	0.0	---	---	---	---
"	Solomon Islands	12 2001	50	0	0.0	---	---	---	---
"	Tuvalu	07 2002	15	0	0.0	---	---	---	---
"	United Arab Emirates	02 2003	40	0	0.0	---	---	---	---
?	Argentina	10 2005	257	?	?	10 2005	72	?	?
?	Azerbaijan	11 2005	124	?	?	---	---	---	---
?	Central African Republic	05 2005	105	?	?	---	---	---	0.0
?	Honduras	11 2005	128	?	?	---	---	---	---

* Figures correspond to the number of seats currently filled in Parliament 1 - 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 2 - Timor-Leste: The purpose of elections held on 30 August 2001 was to elect members of the Constituent Assembly of Timor-Leste. This body became the National Parliament on 20 May 2002, the date on which the country became independent, without any new elections 3 - Bangladesh: In 2004, the number of seats in parliament was raised from 300 to 345, with the addition of 45 reserved seats for women. These reserved seats were filled in September and October 2005, being allocated to political parties in proportion to their share of the national vote received in the 2001 election. 4 - Serbia and Montenegro: For the first time since Yugoslavia ceased to exist and the new State, Serbia and Montenegro, was created, indirect elections were held in the two assemblies of the two member states.