Women in Parliaments: World Classification

Women
in national parliaments

Situation as of 30 November 2012

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 2012. 190 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 our archive of statistical data on the percentage of women in national parliaments.

WORLD CLASSIFICATION
Rank	Country	Lower or single House				Upper House or Senate
Rank	Country	Elections	Seats*	Women	% W	Elections	Seats*	Women	% W
1	Rwanda	92 008	80	45	56.3%	92 011	26	10	38.5%
2	Andorra	42 011	28	14	50.0%	---	---	---	---
3	Cuba	12 008	586	265	45.2%	---	---	---	---
4	Sweden	92 010	349	156	44.7%	---	---	---	---
5	Seychelles	92 011	32	14	43.8%	---	---	---	---
6	Senegal	72 012	150	64	42.7%	---	---	---	---
7	Finland	42 011	200	85	42.5%	---	---	---	---
8	South Africa ¹	42 009	400	169	42.3%	42 009	53	17	32.1%
9	Nicaragua	112 011	92	37	40.2%	---	---	---	---
10	Iceland	42 009	63	25	39.7%	---	---	---	---
11	Norway	92 009	169	67	39.6%	---	---	---	---
12	Mozambique	102 009	250	98	39.2%	---	---	---	---
13	Denmark	92 011	179	70	39.1%	---	---	---	---
14	Netherlands	92 012	150	58	38.7%	52 011	75	27	36.0%
15	Costa Rica	22 010	57	22	38.6%	---	---	---	---
16	Timor-Leste	72 012	65	25	38.5%	---	---	---	---
17	Belgium	62 010	150	57	38.0%	62 010	71	29	40.8%
18	Argentina	102 011	257	96	37.4%	102 011	72	28	38.9%
19	Mexico	72 012	500	184	36.8%	72 012	128	42	32.8%
20	Spain	112 011	350	126	36.0%	112 011	266	91	34.2%
"	United Republic of Tanzania	102 010	350	126	36.0%	---	---	---	---
21	Uganda	22 011	386	135	35.0%	---	---	---	---
22	Angola	82 012	220	75	34.1%	---	---	---	---
23	Nepal	42 008	594	197	33.2%	---	---	---	---
24	Germany	92 009	620	204	32.9%	N.A.	69	19	27.5%
25	The F.Y.R. of Macedonia	62 011	123	40	32.5%	---	---	---	---
26	Serbia	52 012	250	81	32.4%	---	---	---	---
27	Ecuador	42 009	124	40	32.3%	---	---	---	---
28	New Zealand	112 011	121	39	32.2%	---	---	---	---
"	Slovenia	122 011	90	29	32.2%	112 007	40	1	2.5%
29	Algeria	52 012	462	146	31.6%	122 009	136	7	5.1%
30	Guyana	112 011	67	21	31.3%	---	---	---	---
31	Burundi	72 010	105	32	30.5%	72 010	41	19	46.3%
32	Switzerland	102 011	200	58	29.0%	102 011	46	9	19.6%
33	Portugal	62 011	230	66	28.7%	---	---	---	---
34	Trinidad and Tobago	52 010	42	12	28.6%	62 010	31	8	25.8%
35	Austria	92 008	183	51	27.9%	N.A.	61	19	31.1%
36	Ethiopia	52 010	547	152	27.8%	52 010	135	22	16.3%
37	Afghanistan	92 010	249	69	27.7%	12 011	102	28	27.5%
38	France	62 012	577	155	26.9%	92 011	347	77	22.2%
39	Lesotho	52 012	120	32	26.7%	62 012	33	9	27.3%
"	Tunisia	102 011	217	58	26.7%	---	---	---	---
40	Belarus	92 012	109	29	26.6%	82 012	57	20	35.1%
41	South Sudan	82 011	332	88	26.5%	82 011	50	5	10.0%
42	El Salvador	32 012	84	22	26.2%	---	---	---	---
43	Bolivia	122 009	130	33	25.4%	122 009	36	17	47.2%
44	Iraq	32 010	325	82	25.2%	---	---	---	---
45	Lao People's Democratic Republic	42 011	132	33	25.0%	---	---	---	---
46	Australia	82 010	150	37	24.7%	82 010	76	29	38.2%
"	Canada	52 011	308	76	24.7%	N.A.	103	39	37.9%
47	Sudan	42 010	354	87	24.6%	52 010	28	5	17.9%
48	Lithuania	102 012	139	34	24.5%	---	---	---	---
49	Namibia	112 009	78	19	24.4%	112 010	26	7	26.9%
"	Viet Nam	52 011	500	122	24.4%	---	---	---	---
50	Kazakhstan	12 012	107	26	24.3%	82 011	47	2	4.3%
51	Liechtenstein	22 009	25	6	24.0%	---	---	---	---
52	Croatia	122 011	151	36	23.8%	---	---	---	---
53	Poland	102 011	460	109	23.7%	102 011	100	13	13.0%
54	Singapore	52 011	98	23	23.5%	---	---	---	---
55	Kyrgyzstan	102 010	120	28	23.3%	---	---	---	---
56	Latvia	92 011	100	23	23.0%	---	---	---	---
57	Bulgaria	72 009	240	55	22.9%	---	---	---	---
"	Philippines	52 010	284	65	22.9%	52 010	23	3	13.0%
58	Pakistan	22 008	342	77	22.5%	32 012	104	17	16.3%
"	United Kingdom	52 010	650	146	22.5%	N.A.	760	172	22.6%
59	Malawi	52 009	193	43	22.3%	---	---	---	---
60	Mauritania	112 006	95	21	22.1%	112 009	56	8	14.3%
61	Czech Republic	52 010	200	44	22.0%	102 012	81	14	17.3%
"	Eritrea	21 994	150	33	22.0%	---	---	---	---
"	Uzbekistan	122 009	150	33	22.0%	12 010	100	15	15.0%
62	Luxembourg	62 009	60	13	21.7%	---	---	---	---
63	Peru	42 011	130	28	21.5%	---	---	---	---
64	Bosnia and Herzegovina	102 010	42	9	21.4%	62 011	15	2	13.3%
"	Italy	42 008	630	135	21.4%	42 008	321	61	19.0%
65	China	32 008	2978	635	21.3%	---	---	---	---
66	Greece	62 012	300	63	21.0%	---	---	---	---
67	Cape Verde	22 011	72	15	20.8%	---	---	---	---
"	Dominican Republic	52 010	183	38	20.8%	52 010	32	3	9.4%
"	Estonia	32 011	101	21	20.8%	---	---	---	---
68	Cambodia	72 008	123	25	20.3%	12 012	61	9	14.8%
69	Israel	22 009	120	24	20.0%	---	---	---	---
70	Republic of Moldova	112 010	101	20	19.8%	---	---	---	---
71	Bangladesh	122 008	350	69	19.7%	---	---	---	---
72	Honduras	112 009	128	25	19.5%	---	---	---	---
73	Monaco	22 008	21	4	19.0%	---	---	---	---
"	Tajikistan	22 010	63	12	19.0%	32 010	34	5	14.7%
74	Mauritius	52 010	69	13	18.8%	---	---	---	---
75	Slovakia	32 012	150	28	18.7%	---	---	---	---
76	Indonesia	42 009	560	104	18.6%	---	---	---	---
77	Sao Tome and Principe	82 010	55	10	18.2%	---	---	---	---
78	United States of America	112 012	434	78	18.0%	112 012	100	20	20.0%
79	Madagascar	102 010	366	64	17.5%	102 010	164	20	12.2%
"	United Arab Emirates	92 011	40	7	17.5%	---	---	---	---
80	Saint Vincent and the Grenadines	122 010	23	4	17.4%	---	---	---	---
81	Montenegro	102 012	81	14	17.3%	---	---	---	---
82	Morocco	112 011	395	67	17.0%	102 009	270	6	2.2%
"	Venezuela	92 010	165	28	17.0%	---	---	---	---
83	Turkmenistan	122 008	125	21	16.8%	---	---	---	---
84	Saint Lucia	112 011	18	3	16.7%	12 012	11	2	18.2%
"	San Marino	112 012	60	10	16.7%	---	---	---	---
85	Libya	72 012	200	33	16.5%	---	---	---	---
86	Azerbaijan	112 010	125	20	16.0%	---	---	---	---
87	Gabon	122 011	114	18	15.8%	12 009	102	18	17.6%
"	Thailand	72 011	500	79	15.8%	42 011	149	23	15.4%
88	Albania	62 009	140	22	15.7%	---	---	---	---
"	Republic of Korea	42 012	300	47	15.7%	---	---	---	---
89	Democratic People's Republic of Korea	32 009	687	107	15.6%	---	---	---	---
90	Burkina Faso	52 007	111	17	15.3%	---	---	---	---
91	Ireland	22 011	166	25	15.1%	42 011	60	18	30.0%
92	Zimbabwe	32 008	214	32	15.0%	32 008	99	24	24.2%
93	Chad	22 011	188	28	14.9%	---	---	---	---
94	Chile	122 009	120	17	14.2%	122 009	38	5	13.2%
"	Turkey	62 011	550	78	14.2%	---	---	---	---
95	Guinea-Bissau	112 008	100	14	14.0%	---	---	---	---
96	Cameroon	72 007	180	25	13.9%	---	---	---	---
97	Djibouti	22 008	65	9	13.8%	---	---	---	---
"	Somalia	82 012	275	38	13.8%	---	---	---	---
98	Russian Federation	122 011	450	61	13.6%	N.A.	169	8	4.7%
"	Swaziland	92 008	66	9	13.6%	102 008	30	12	40.0%
99	Grenada	72 008	15	2	13.3%	82 008	13	3	23.1%
"	Guatemala	92 011	158	21	13.3%	---	---	---	---
"	Niger	12 011	113	15	13.3%	---	---	---	---
100	Bahamas	52 012	38	5	13.2%	52 012	16	4	25.0%
101	Jamaica	122 011	63	8	12.7%	92 007	21	5	23.8%
"	Mongolia	62 012	71	9	12.7%	---	---	---	---
102	Central African Republic	12 011	104	13	12.5%	---	---	---	---
"	Dominica	122 009	32	4	12.5%	---	---	---	---
"	Paraguay	42 008	80	10	12.5%	42 008	45	7	15.6%
103	Sierra Leone	112 012	121	15	12.4%	---	---	---	---
104	Colombia	32 010	165	20	12.1%	32 010	100	16	16.0%
"	Uruguay	102 009	99	12	12.1%	102 009	31	4	12.9%
105	Georgia	102 012	150	18	12.0%	---	---	---	---
"	Syrian Arab Republic	52 012	250	30	12.0%	---	---	---	---
106	Suriname	52 010	51	6	11.8%	---	---	---	---
107	Zambia	92 011	157	18	11.5%	---	---	---	---
108	Romania	112 008	330	37	11.2%	112 008	136	8	5.9%
109	Togo	102 007	81	9	11.1%	---	---	---	---
110	Cote d'Ivoire	122 011	254	28	11.0%	---	---	---	---
"	India	42 009	545	60	11.0%	12 012	245	26	10.6%
"	Liberia	102 011	73	8	11.0%	102 011	30	4	13.3%
111	Jordan	112 010	120	13	10.8%	102 011	60	7	11.7%
112	Armenia	52 012	131	14	10.7%	---	---	---	---
"	Cyprus	52 011	56	6	10.7%	---	---	---	---
113	Japan	82 009	479	51	10.6%	72 010	242	45	18.6%
114	Antigua and Barbuda	32 009	19	2	10.5%	42 009	17	5	29.4%
115	Malaysia	32 008	221	23	10.4%	N.A.	66	15	22.7%
116	Mali	72 007	147	15	10.2%	---	---	---	---
117	Bahrain	102 010	40	4	10.0%	112 010	40	11	27.5%
"	Barbados	12 008	30	3	10.0%	22 008	21	7	33.3%
"	Equatorial Guinea	52 008	100	10	10.0%	---	---	---	---
118	Kenya	122 007	224	22	9.8%	---	---	---	---
119	Ukraine	102 012	445	42	9.4%	---	---	---	---
120	Democratic Republic of the Congo	112 011	492	44	8.9%	12 007	108	5	4.6%
121	Hungary	42 010	386	34	8.8%	---	---	---	---
122	Kiribati	102 011	46	4	8.7%	---	---	---	---
"	Malta	32 008	69	6	8.7%	---	---	---	---
123	Brazil	102 010	513	44	8.6%	102 010	81	13	16.0%
124	Bhutan	32 008	47	4	8.5%	122 007	25	6	24.0%
"	Panama	52 009	71	6	8.5%	---	---	---	---
125	Benin	42 011	83	7	8.4%	---	---	---	---
126	Ghana	122 008	230	19	8.3%	---	---	---	---
127	Botswana	102 009	63	5	7.9%	---	---	---	---
128	Gambia	32 012	53	4	7.5%	---	---	---	---
129	Congo	72 012	136	10	7.4%	102 011	72	10	13.9%
130	Nigeria	42 011	352	24	6.8%	42 011	109	7	6.4%
131	Saint Kitts and Nevis	12 010	15	1	6.7%	---	---	---	---
"	Tuvalu	92 010	15	1	6.7%	---	---	---	---
132	Maldives	52 009	77	5	6.5%	---	---	---	---
133	Kuwait	62 012	63	4	6.3%	---	---	---	---
134	Myanmar	112 010	431	26	6.0%	112 010	224	4	1.8%
135	Sri Lanka	42 010	225	13	5.8%	---	---	---	---
136	Haiti	112 010	95	4	4.2%	112 010	30	1	3.3%
137	Samoa	32 011	49	2	4.1%	---	---	---	---
138	Tonga	112 010	28	1	3.6%	---	---	---	---
139	Belize	32 012	32	1	3.1%	32 012	13	5	38.5%
"	Iran (Islamic Republic of)	52 012	290	9	3.1%	---	---	---	---
"	Lebanon	62 009	128	4	3.1%	---	---	---	---
140	Comoros	122 009	33	1	3.0%	---	---	---	---
"	Marshall Islands	112 011	33	1	3.0%	---	---	---	---
141	Papua New Guinea	62 012	111	3	2.7%	---	---	---	---
142	Egypt	112 011	508	10	2.0%	12 012	180	5	2.8%
"	Solomon Islands	82 010	50	1	2.0%	---	---	---	---
143	Oman	102 011	84	1	1.2%	102 011	83	15	18.1%
144	Yemen	42 003	301	1	0.3%	42 001	111	2	1.8%
145	Micronesia (Federated States of)	32 011	14	0	0.0%	---	---	---	---
"	Nauru	62 010	18	0	0.0%	---	---	---	---
"	Palau	112 012	16	0	0.0%	112 012	13	3	23.1%
"	Qatar	72 010	35	0	0.0%	---	---	---	---
"	Saudi Arabia	22 009	150	0	0.0%	---	---	---	---
"	Vanuatu	102 012	52	0	0.0%	---	---	---	---

* 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 all percentages given are therefore calculated on the basis of the 54 permanent seats.