Women in Parliaments: World Classification

Women
in national parliaments

Situation as of 31 May 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 31 May 2012. 189 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	9 2008	80	45	56.3%	9 2011	26	10	38.5%
2	Andorra	4 2011	28	14	50.0%	---	---	---	---
3	Cuba	1 2008	586	265	45.2%	---	---	---	---
4	Sweden	9 2010	349	156	44.7%	---	---	---	---
5	Seychelles	9 2011	32	14	43.8%	---	---	---	---
6	Finland	4 2011	200	85	42.5%	---	---	---	---
7	South Africa ¹	4 2009	400	169	42.3%	4 2009	53	17	32.1%
8	Netherlands	6 2010	150	61	40.7%	5 2011	75	27	36.0%
9	Nicaragua	11 2011	92	37	40.2%	---	---	---	---
10	Iceland	4 2009	63	25	39.7%	---	---	---	---
11	Norway	9 2009	169	67	39.6%	---	---	---	---
12	Mozambique	10 2009	250	98	39.2%	---	---	---	---
13	Denmark	9 2011	179	70	39.1%	---	---	---	---
14	Costa Rica	2 2010	57	22	38.6%	---	---	---	---
15	Angola	9 2008	220	84	38.2%	---	---	---	---
16	Belgium	6 2010	150	57	38.0%	6 2010	71	29	40.8%
17	Argentina	10 2011	257	96	37.4%	10 2011	72	28	38.9%
18	Spain	11 2011	350	126	36.0%	11 2011	263	88	33.5%
"	United Republic of Tanzania	10 2010	350	126	36.0%	---	---	---	---
19	Uganda	2 2011	386	135	35.0%	---	---	---	---
20	Nepal	4 2008	594	197	33.2%	---	---	---	---
21	Germany	9 2009	620	204	32.9%	N.A.	69	19	27.5%
22	Serbia	5 2012	250	81	32.4%	---	---	---	---
23	Ecuador	4 2009	124	40	32.3%	---	---	---	---
"	Timor-Leste	6 2007	65	21	32.3%	---	---	---	---
24	New Zealand	11 2011	121	39	32.2%	---	---	---	---
"	Slovenia	12 2011	90	29	32.2%	11 2007	40	1	2.5%
25	Belarus	9 2008	110	35	31.8%	7 2008	58	19	32.8%
26	Algeria	5 2012	462	146	31.6%	12 2009	136	7	5.1%
27	Guyana	11 2011	67	21	31.3%	---	---	---	---
28	The F.Y.R. of Macedonia	6 2011	123	38	30.9%	---	---	---	---
29	Burundi	7 2010	105	32	30.5%	7 2010	41	19	46.3%
30	Portugal	6 2011	230	66	28.7%	---	---	---	---
31	Trinidad and Tobago	5 2010	42	12	28.6%	6 2010	31	8	25.8%
32	Switzerland	10 2011	200	57	28.5%	10 2011	46	9	19.6%
33	Austria	9 2008	183	51	27.9%	N.A.	61	19	31.1%
34	Ethiopia	5 2010	547	152	27.8%	5 2010	135	22	16.3%
35	Afghanistan	9 2010	249	69	27.7%	1 2011	102	28	27.5%
36	Tunisia	10 2011	217	58	26.7%	---	---	---	---
37	South Sudan	8 2011	332	88	26.5%	8 2011	50	5	10.0%
38	El Salvador	3 2012	84	22	26.2%	---	---	---	---
"	Mexico	7 2009	500	131	26.2%	7 2006	128	29	22.7%
39	Bolivia	12 2009	130	33	25.4%	12 2009	36	17	47.2%
40	Iraq	3 2010	325	82	25.2%	---	---	---	---
41	Lao People's Democratic Republic	4 2011	132	33	25.0%	---	---	---	---
"	Lesotho	5 2012	120	30	25.0%	3 2007	33	7	21.2%
"	Luxembourg	6 2009	60	15	25.0%	---	---	---	---
42	Australia	8 2010	150	37	24.7%	8 2010	76	29	38.2%
"	Canada	5 2011	308	76	24.7%	N.A.	103	39	37.9%
43	Sudan	4 2010	354	87	24.6%	5 2010	28	5	17.9%
44	Namibia	11 2009	78	19	24.4%	11 2010	26	7	26.9%
"	Viet Nam	5 2011	500	122	24.4%	---	---	---	---
45	Kazakhstan	1 2012	107	26	24.3%	8 2011	47	2	4.3%
46	Liechtenstein	2 2009	25	6	24.0%	---	---	---	---
47	Croatia	12 2011	151	36	23.8%	---	---	---	---
48	Poland	10 2011	460	109	23.7%	10 2011	100	13	13.0%
49	Singapore	5 2011	98	23	23.5%	---	---	---	---
50	Kyrgyzstan	10 2010	120	28	23.3%	---	---	---	---
51	Latvia	9 2011	100	23	23.0%	---	---	---	---
52	Philippines	5 2010	284	65	22.9%	5 2010	23	3	13.0%
53	Senegal	6 2007	150	34	22.7%	8 2007	100	40	40.0%
54	Pakistan	2 2008	342	77	22.5%	3 2012	104	17	16.3%
55	Malawi	5 2009	193	43	22.3%	---	---	---	---
"	United Kingdom	5 2010	650	145	22.3%	N.A.	827	181	21.9%
56	Mauritania	11 2006	95	21	22.1%	11 2009	56	8	14.3%
57	Czech Republic	5 2010	200	44	22.0%	10 2010	81	15	18.5%
"	Eritrea	2 1994	150	33	22.0%	---	---	---	---
"	Uzbekistan	12 2009	150	33	22.0%	1 2010	100	15	15.0%
58	Italy	4 2008	630	136	21.6%	4 2008	321	61	19.0%
59	Peru	4 2011	130	28	21.5%	---	---	---	---
60	Bosnia and Herzegovina	10 2010	42	9	21.4%	6 2011	15	2	13.3%
61	China	3 2008	2978	635	21.3%	---	---	---	---
62	Bulgaria	7 2009	240	50	20.8%	---	---	---	---
"	Cape Verde	2 2011	72	15	20.8%	---	---	---	---
"	Dominican Republic	5 2010	183	38	20.8%	5 2010	32	3	9.4%
63	Cambodia	7 2008	123	25	20.3%	1 2012	59	8	13.6%
64	Israel	2 2009	120	24	20.0%	---	---	---	---
65	Estonia	3 2011	101	20	19.8%	---	---	---	---
"	Republic of Moldova	11 2010	101	20	19.8%	---	---	---	---
66	Bangladesh	12 2008	350	69	19.7%	---	---	---	---
67	Honduras	11 2009	128	25	19.5%	---	---	---	---
68	Lithuania	10 2008	141	27	19.1%	---	---	---	---
69	Monaco	2 2008	21	4	19.0%	---	---	---	---
"	Tajikistan	2 2010	63	12	19.0%	3 2010	34	5	14.7%
70	France	6 2007	577	109	18.9%	9 2011	347	77	22.2%
71	Mauritius	5 2010	69	13	18.8%	---	---	---	---
72	Greece	5 2012	300	56	18.7%	---	---	---	---
73	San Marino	11 2008	60	11	18.3%	---	---	---	---
74	Indonesia	4 2009	560	102	18.2%	---	---	---	---
"	Sao Tome and Principe	8 2010	55	10	18.2%	---	---	---	---
75	Madagascar	10 2010	365	64	17.5%	10 2010	164	20	12.2%
"	United Arab Emirates	9 2011	40	7	17.5%	---	---	---	---
76	Saint Vincent and the Grenadines	12 2010	23	4	17.4%	---	---	---	---
77	Slovakia	3 2012	150	26	17.3%	---	---	---	---
78	Morocco	11 2011	395	67	17.0%	10 2009	270	6	2.2%
"	Venezuela	9 2010	165	28	17.0%	---	---	---	---
79	United States of America ²	11 2010	432	73	16.9%	11 2010	100	17	17.0%
80	Turkmenistan	12 2008	125	21	16.8%	---	---	---	---
81	Saint Lucia	11 2011	18	3	16.7%	1 2012	11	2	18.2%
82	Azerbaijan	11 2010	125	20	16.0%	---	---	---	---
83	Gabon	12 2011	114	18	15.8%	1 2009	102	18	17.6%
"	Thailand	7 2011	500	79	15.8%	4 2011	149	23	15.4%
84	Albania	6 2009	140	22	15.7%	---	---	---	---
"	Republic of Korea	4 2012	300	47	15.7%	---	---	---	---
85	Democratic People's Republic of Korea	3 2009	687	107	15.6%	---	---	---	---
86	Burkina Faso	5 2007	111	17	15.3%	---	---	---	---
87	Ireland	2 2011	166	25	15.1%	4 2011	60	18	30.0%
88	Zimbabwe	3 2008	214	32	15.0%	3 2008	99	24	24.2%
89	Chile	12 2009	120	17	14.2%	12 2009	38	5	13.2%
"	Turkey	6 2011	550	78	14.2%	---	---	---	---
90	Cameroon	7 2007	180	25	13.9%	---	---	---	---
91	Djibouti	2 2008	65	9	13.8%	---	---	---	---
92	Russian Federation	12 2011	450	61	13.6%	N.A.	169	8	4.7%
"	Swaziland	9 2008	66	9	13.6%	10 2008	30	12	40.0%
93	Grenada	7 2008	15	2	13.3%	8 2008	13	3	23.1%
"	Guatemala	9 2011	158	21	13.3%	---	---	---	---
"	Niger	1 2011	113	15	13.3%	---	---	---	---
94	Bahamas	5 2012	38	5	13.2%	5 2012	16	4	25.0%
95	Sierra Leone	8 2007	124	16	12.9%	---	---	---	---
96	Chad	2 2011	188	24	12.8%	---	---	---	---
97	Jamaica	12 2011	63	8	12.7%	9 2007	21	5	23.8%
98	Central African Republic	1 2011	104	13	12.5%	---	---	---	---
"	Dominica	12 2009	32	4	12.5%	---	---	---	---
"	Paraguay	4 2008	80	10	12.5%	4 2008	45	7	15.6%
99	Montenegro	3 2009	81	10	12.3%	---	---	---	---
100	Colombia	3 2010	165	20	12.1%	3 2010	100	16	16.0%
"	Uruguay	10 2009	99	12	12.1%	10 2009	31	4	12.9%
101	Syrian Arab Republic	5 2012	250	30	12.0%	---	---	---	---
102	Suriname	5 2010	51	6	11.8%	---	---	---	---
103	Zambia	9 2011	157	18	11.5%	---	---	---	---
104	Romania	11 2008	330	37	11.2%	11 2008	136	8	5.9%
105	Togo	10 2007	81	9	11.1%	---	---	---	---
106	Cote d'Ivoire	12 2011	254	28	11.0%	---	---	---	---
"	India	4 2009	545	60	11.0%	1 2012	238	24	10.1%
"	Liberia	10 2011	73	8	11.0%	10 2011	30	4	13.3%
107	Japan	8 2009	480	52	10.8%	7 2010	242	45	18.6%
"	Jordan	11 2010	120	13	10.8%	10 2011	60	7	11.7%
108	Armenia	5 2012	131	14	10.7%	---	---	---	---
"	Cyprus	5 2011	56	6	10.7%	---	---	---	---
109	Antigua and Barbuda	3 2009	19	2	10.5%	4 2009	17	5	29.4%
110	Malaysia	3 2008	221	23	10.4%	N.A.	66	15	22.7%
111	Mali	7 2007	147	15	10.2%	---	---	---	---
112	Bahrain	10 2010	40	4	10.0%	11 2010	40	11	27.5%
"	Barbados	1 2008	30	3	10.0%	2 2008	21	7	33.3%
"	Equatorial Guinea	5 2008	100	10	10.0%	---	---	---	---
"	Guinea-Bissau	11 2008	100	10	10.0%	---	---	---	---
113	Kenya	12 2007	224	22	9.8%	---	---	---	---
114	Democratic Republic of the Congo	11 2011	492	44	8.9%	1 2007	108	5	4.6%
115	Hungary	4 2010	386	34	8.8%	---	---	---	---
116	Kiribati	10 2011	46	4	8.7%	---	---	---	---
"	Malta	3 2008	69	6	8.7%	---	---	---	---
117	Brazil	10 2010	513	44	8.6%	10 2010	81	13	16.0%
118	Bhutan	3 2008	47	4	8.5%	12 2007	25	6	24.0%
"	Panama	5 2009	71	6	8.5%	---	---	---	---
119	Benin	4 2011	83	7	8.4%	---	---	---	---
120	Ghana	12 2008	230	19	8.3%	---	---	---	---
121	Ukraine	9 2007	450	36	8.0%	---	---	---	---
122	Botswana	10 2009	63	5	7.9%	---	---	---	---
123	Gambia	3 2012	53	4	7.5%	---	---	---	---
124	Congo	6 2007	137	10	7.3%	10 2011	72	10	13.9%
125	Nigeria	4 2011	352	24	6.8%	4 2011	109	7	6.4%
"	Somalia	8 2004	546	37	6.8%	---	---	---	---
126	Saint Kitts and Nevis	1 2010	15	1	6.7%	---	---	---	---
"	Tuvalu	9 2010	15	1	6.7%	---	---	---	---
127	Georgia	5 2008	137	9	6.6%	---	---	---	---
128	Maldives	5 2009	77	5	6.5%	---	---	---	---
129	Myanmar	11 2010	428	25	5.8%	11 2010	224	4	1.8%
"	Sri Lanka	4 2010	225	13	5.8%	---	---	---	---
130	Haiti	11 2010	95	4	4.2%	11 2010	30	1	3.3%
131	Samoa	3 2011	49	2	4.1%	---	---	---	---
132	Mongolia	6 2008	76	3	3.9%	---	---	---	---
133	Tonga	11 2010	28	1	3.6%	---	---	---	---
134	Belize	3 2012	32	1	3.1%	3 2012	13	5	38.5%
"	Iran (Islamic Republic of)	5 2012	290	9	3.1%	---	---	---	---
"	Lebanon	6 2009	128	4	3.1%	---	---	---	---
135	Comoros	12 2009	33	1	3.0%	---	---	---	---
"	Marshall Islands	11 2011	33	1	3.0%	---	---	---	---
136	Egypt	11 2011	508	10	2.0%	1 2012	180	5	2.8%
137	Vanuatu	9 2008	52	1	1.9%	---	---	---	---
138	Oman	10 2011	84	1	1.2%	10 2011	83	15	18.1%
139	Papua New Guinea	6 2007	109	1	0.9%	---	---	---	---
140	Yemen	4 2003	301	1	0.3%	4 2001	111	2	1.8%
141	Kuwait	2 2012	65	0	0.0%	---	---	---	---
"	Micronesia (Federated States of)	3 2011	14	0	0.0%	---	---	---	---
"	Nauru	6 2010	18	0	0.0%	---	---	---	---
"	Palau	11 2008	16	0	0.0%	11 2008	13	2	15.4%
"	Qatar	7 2010	35	0	0.0%	---	---	---	---
"	Saudi Arabia	2 2009	150	0	0.0%	---	---	---	---
"	Solomon Islands	8 2010	50	0	0.0%	---	---	---	---

* Figures correspond to the number of seats currently filled in Parliament

Libya: Following the popular uprising and protracted fighting that eventually ousted Col. Muammar Gaddafi, the General People's Congress - the unicameral parliament of the now defunct Libyan Arab Jamahiriya - has ceased to function. Parliamentary elections are expected to be held in 2012 under the supervision of the National Transitional Council, the interim government of the new Libya.

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.

2 - United States of America: The total refers to all voting members of the House.