Women in Parliaments: World Classification

Women
in national parliaments

Situation as of 31 August 2010

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 August 2010. 186 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%	10 2003	26	9	34.6%
2	Sweden	9 2006	349	162	46.4%	---	---	---	---
3	South Africa ¹	4 2009	400	178	44.5%	4 2009	54	16	29.6%
4	Cuba	1 2008	614	265	43.2%	---	---	---	---
5	Iceland	4 2009	63	27	42.9%	---	---	---	---
6	Netherlands	6 2010	150	61	40.7%	5 2007	75	26	34.7%
7	Finland	3 2007	200	80	40.0%	---	---	---	---
8	Norway	9 2009	169	67	39.6%	---	---	---	---
9	Belgium	6 2010	150	59	39.3%	6 2010	40	17	42.5%
10	Mozambique	10 2009	250	98	39.2%	---	---	---	---
11	Angola	9 2008	220	85	38.6%	---	---	---	---
"	Costa Rica	2 2010	57	22	38.6%	---	---	---	---
12	Argentina	6 2009	257	99	38.5%	6 2009	71	25	35.2%
13	Denmark	11 2007	179	68	38.0%	---	---	---	---
14	Spain	3 2008	350	128	36.6%	3 2008	263	81	30.8%
15	Andorra	4 2009	28	10	35.7%	---	---	---	---
16	New Zealand	11 2008	122	41	33.6%	---	---	---	---
17	Nepal	4 2008	594	197	33.2%	---	---	---	---
18	Germany	9 2009	622	204	32.8%	N.A.	69	15	21.7%
19	The F.Y.R. of Macedonia	6 2008	120	39	32.5%	---	---	---	---
20	Ecuador	4 2009	124	40	32.3%	---	---	---	---
21	Burundi	7 2010	106	34	32.1%	7 2010	41	19	46.3%
22	Belarus	9 2008	110	35	31.8%	7 2008	58	19	32.8%
23	Uganda	2 2006	324	102	31.5%	---	---	---	---
24	United Republic of Tanzania	12 2005	323	99	30.7%	---	---	---	---
25	Guyana	8 2006	70	21	30.0%	---	---	---	---
26	Timor-Leste	6 2007	65	19	29.2%	---	---	---	---
27	Switzerland	10 2007	200	58	29.0%	10 2007	46	10	21.7%
28	Trinidad and Tobago	5 2010	42	12	28.6%	6 2010	31	8	25.8%
29	Austria	9 2008	183	51	27.9%	N.A.	61	18	29.5%
30	Ethiopia	5 2010	547	152	27.8%	10 2005	112	21	18.8%
31	Tunisia	10 2009	214	59	27.6%	8 2008	112	17	15.2%
32	Peru	4 2006	120	33	27.5%	---	---	---	---
33	Portugal	9 2009	230	63	27.4%	---	---	---	---
34	Afghanistan	9 2005	249	68	27.3%	2 2010	102	28	27.5%
35	Namibia	11 2009	67	18	26.9%	11 2004	26	7	26.9%
36	Mexico	7 2009	500	131	26.2%	7 2006	128	25	19.5%
37	Monaco	2 2008	23	6	26.1%	---	---	---	---
38	Viet Nam	5 2007	493	127	25.8%	---	---	---	---
39	Kyrgyzstan	12 2007	90	23	25.6%	---	---	---	---
"	Sudan	4 2010	446	114	25.6%	5 2010	46	5	10.9%
40	Bolivia	12 2009	130	33	25.4%	12 2009	36	17	47.2%
41	Iraq	3 2010	325	82	25.2%	---	---	---	---
"	Lao People's Democratic Republic	4 2006	115	29	25.2%	---	---	---	---
42	Lesotho	2 2007	120	29	24.2%	3 2007	33	6	18.2%
43	Liechtenstein	2 2009	25	6	24.0%	---	---	---	---
44	Republic of Moldova	7 2009	101	24	23.8%	---	---	---	---
45	Croatia	11 2007	153	36	23.5%	---	---	---	---
"	Seychelles	5 2007	34	8	23.5%	---	---	---	---
46	Singapore	5 2006	94	22	23.4%	---	---	---	---
47	Estonia	3 2007	101	23	22.8%	---	---	---	---
48	Senegal	6 2007	150	34	22.7%	8 2007	100	40	40.0%
49	United Arab Emirates	12 2006	40	9	22.5%	---	---	---	---
50	Pakistan	2 2008	342	76	22.2%	3 2009	100	17	17.0%
51	Canada	10 2008	308	68	22.1%	N.A.	93	32	34.4%
"	Mauritania	11 2006	95	21	22.1%	11 2009	56	8	14.3%
52	Czech Republic	5 2010	200	44	22.0%	10 2008	81	14	17.3%
"	Eritrea	2 1994	150	33	22.0%	---	---	---	---
"	Latvia	10 2006	100	22	22.0%	---	---	---	---
"	United Kingdom	5 2010	650	143	22.0%	N.A.	733	147	20.1%
"	Uzbekistan	12 2009	150	33	22.0%	1 2010	100	15	15.0%
53	Saint Vincent and the Grenadines	12 2005	23	5	21.7%	---	---	---	---
54	Serbia	5 2008	250	54	21.6%	---	---	---	---
55	Philippines	5 2010	229	49	21.4%	5 2010	23	3	13.0%
56	China	3 2008	2987	637	21.3%	---	---	---	---
"	Italy	4 2008	630	134	21.3%	4 2008	322	59	18.3%
57	Cambodia	7 2008	123	26	21.1%	1 2006	61	9	14.8%
58	Bulgaria	7 2009	240	50	20.8%	---	---	---	---
"	Dominican Republic	5 2010	183	38	20.8%	5 2010	32	3	9.4%
"	Malawi	5 2009	192	40	20.8%	---	---	---	---
59	Nicaragua	11 2006	92	19	20.7%	---	---	---	---
60	Luxembourg	6 2009	60	12	20.0%	---	---	---	---
"	Poland	10 2007	460	92	20.0%	10 2007	100	8	8.0%
61	Dominica	12 2009	26	5	19.2%	---	---	---	---
62	Lithuania	10 2008	141	27	19.1%	---	---	---	---
63	Bosnia and Herzegovina	10 2006	42	8	19.0%	3 2007	15	2	13.3%
"	El Salvador	1 2009	84	16	19.0%	---	---	---	---
"	Tajikistan	2 2010	63	12	19.0%	3 2010	34	5	14.7%
64	France	6 2007	577	109	18.9%	9 2008	343	75	21.9%
65	Mauritius	5 2010	69	13	18.8%	---	---	---	---
66	Bangladesh	12 2008	345	64	18.6%	---	---	---	---
67	Israel	2 2009	120	22	18.3%	---	---	---	---
68	Sao Tome and Principe	8 2010	55	10	18.2%	---	---	---	---
69	Cape Verde	1 2006	72	13	18.1%	---	---	---	---
70	Honduras	11 2009	128	23	18.0%	---	---	---	---
"	Indonesia	4 2009	560	101	18.0%	---	---	---	---
71	Kazakhstan	8 2007	107	19	17.8%	10 2008	47	2	4.3%
72	Venezuela	12 2005	166	29	17.5%	---	---	---	---
73	Greece	10 2009	300	52	17.3%	---	---	---	---
74	Turkmenistan	12 2008	125	21	16.8%	---	---	---	---
"	United States of America ²	11 2008	435	73	16.8%	11 2008	98	15	15.3%
75	San Marino	11 2008	60	10	16.7%	---	---	---	---
76	Albania	6 2009	140	23	16.4%	---	---	---	---
77	Democratic People's Republic of Korea	3 2009	687	107	15.6%	---	---	---	---
78	Burkina Faso	5 2007	111	17	15.3%	---	---	---	---
"	Slovakia	6 2010	150	23	15.3%	---	---	---	---
79	Uruguay	10 2009	99	15	15.2%	10 2009	31	4	12.9%
80	Zimbabwe	3 2008	214	32	15.0%	3 2008	99	24	24.2%
81	Gabon	1 2009	116	17	14.7%	1 2009	102	18	17.6%
"	Republic of Korea	4 2008	299	44	14.7%	---	---	---	---
82	Slovenia	9 2008	90	13	14.4%	11 2007	40	1	2.5%
83	Chile	12 2009	120	17	14.2%	12 2009	38	5	13.2%
84	Russian Federation	12 2007	450	63	14.0%	N.A.	169	8	4.7%
"	Zambia	9 2006	157	22	14.0%	---	---	---	---
85	Cameroon	7 2007	180	25	13.9%	---	---	---	---
"	Ireland	5 2007	165	23	13.9%	7 2007	59	13	22.0%
86	Djibouti	2 2008	65	9	13.8%	---	---	---	---
87	Swaziland	9 2008	66	9	13.6%	10 2008	30	12	40.0%
88	Grenada	7 2008	15	2	13.3%	8 2008	13	4	30.8%
"	Jamaica	9 2007	60	8	13.3%	9 2007	21	3	14.3%
"	Thailand	12 2007	473	63	13.3%	3 2008	150	24	16.0%
89	Sierra Leone	8 2007	121	16	13.2%	---	---	---	---
90	Cyprus	5 2006	56	7	12.5%	---	---	---	---
"	Liberia	10 2005	64	8	12.5%	10 2005	30	5	16.7%
"	Paraguay	4 2008	80	10	12.5%	4 2008	45	7	15.6%
91	Syrian Arab Republic	4 2007	250	31	12.4%	---	---	---	---
92	Bahamas	5 2007	41	5	12.2%	5 2007	15	5	33.3%
93	Guatemala	9 2007	158	19	12.0%	---	---	---	---
94	Azerbaijan	11 2005	123	14	11.4%	---	---	---	---
"	Romania	11 2008	334	38	11.4%	11 2008	137	8	5.8%
95	Japan	8 2009	480	54	11.3%	7 2010	242	44	18.2%
96	Montenegro	3 2009	81	9	11.1%	---	---	---	---
"	Saint Lucia	12 2006	18	2	11.1%	1 2007	11	4	36.4%
"	Togo	10 2007	81	9	11.1%	---	---	---	---
97	Benin	3 2003	83	9	10.8%	---	---	---	---
"	India	4 2009	545	59	10.8%	7 2008	233	21	9.0%
98	Antigua and Barbuda	3 2009	19	2	10.5%	4 2009	17	5	29.4%
"	Morocco	9 2007	325	34	10.5%	10 2009	270	6	2.2%
99	Mali	7 2007	147	15	10.2%	---	---	---	---
100	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%	---	---	---	---
101	Malaysia	3 2008	222	22	9.9%	N.A.	64	18	28.1%
102	Kenya	12 2007	224	22	9.8%	---	---	---	---
"	Suriname	5 2010	51	5	9.8%	---	---	---	---
103	Central African Republic	3 2005	104	10	9.6%	---	---	---	---
104	Armenia	5 2007	131	12	9.2%	---	---	---	---
105	Hungary	4 2010	386	35	9.1%	---	---	---	---
"	Turkey	7 2007	549	50	9.1%	---	---	---	---
106	Cote d'Ivoire	12 2000	203	18	8.9%	---	---	---	---
107	Brazil	10 2006	513	45	8.8%	10 2006	81	10	12.3%
108	Malta	3 2008	69	6	8.7%	---	---	---	---
109	Bhutan	3 2008	47	4	8.5%	12 2007	25	6	24.0%
"	Panama	5 2009	71	6	8.5%	---	---	---	---
110	Democratic Republic of the Congo	7 2006	500	42	8.4%	1 2007	108	5	4.6%
111	Ghana	12 2008	230	19	8.3%	---	---	---	---
112	Samoa	3 2006	49	4	8.2%	---	---	---	---
113	Ukraine	9 2007	450	36	8.0%	---	---	---	---
114	Botswana	10 2009	63	5	7.9%	---	---	---	---
115	Algeria	5 2007	389	30	7.7%	12 2009	136	7	5.1%
"	Kuwait	5 2009	65	5	7.7%	---	---	---	---
"	Libyan Arab Jamahiriya	3 2009	468	36	7.7%	---	---	---	---
116	Gambia	1 2002	53	4	7.5%	---	---	---	---
117	Congo	6 2007	137	10	7.3%	8 2008	70	9	12.9%
118	Nigeria	4 2007	358	25	7.0%	4 2007	109	9	8.3%
119	Somalia	8 2004	546	37	6.8%	---	---	---	---
120	Saint Kitts and Nevis	1 2010	15	1	6.7%	---	---	---	---
121	Georgia	5 2008	138	9	6.5%	---	---	---	---
"	Maldives	5 2009	77	5	6.5%	---	---	---	---
122	Jordan	11 2007	110	7	6.4%	12 2009	55	7	12.7%
123	Sri Lanka	4 2010	225	12	5.3%	---	---	---	---
124	Chad	4 2002	155	8	5.2%	---	---	---	---
125	Kiribati	8 2007	46	2	4.3%	---	---	---	---
126	Haiti	2 2006	98	4	4.1%	4 2009	29	2	6.9%
127	Mongolia	6 2008	76	3	3.9%	---	---	---	---
128	Vanuatu	9 2008	52	2	3.8%	---	---	---	---
129	Lebanon	6 2009	128	4	3.1%	---	---	---	---
"	Tonga ³	4 2008	32	1	3.1%	---	---	---	---
130	Comoros	12 2009	33	1	3.0%	---	---	---	---
"	Marshall Islands	11 2007	33	1	3.0%	---	---	---	---
131	Iran (Islamic Republic of)	3 2008	290	8	2.8%	---	---	---	---
132	Bahrain	11 2006	40	1	2.5%	12 2006	40	10	25.0%
133	Egypt	11 2005	454	8	1.8%	6 2010	264	?	?
134	Papua New Guinea	6 2007	109	1	0.9%	---	---	---	---
135	Yemen	4 2003	301	1	0.3%	4 2001	111	2	1.8%
136	Belize	2 2008	32	0	0.0%	3 2008	13	5	38.5%
"	Micronesia (Federated States of)	3 2009	14	0	0.0%	---	---	---	---
"	Nauru	6 2010	18	0	0.0%	---	---	---	---
"	Oman	10 2007	84	0	0.0%	11 2007	72	14	19.4%
"	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%	---	---	---	---
"	Tuvalu	8 2006	15	0	0.0%	---	---	---	---
137	Australia	8 2010	150	?	?	8 2010	76	?	?
"	Colombia	3 2010	166	?	?	3 2010	102	?	?

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

Guinea: The parliament was dissolved following the December 2008 coup

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.

3 - Tonga: No women were elected in 2008, however one woman was appointed to the Cabinet. As cabinet ministers also sit in parliament, there is one woman out of a total of 32 members.