Women in Parliaments: World Classification

Women
in national parliaments

Situation as of 31 December 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 December 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	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	Senegal	7 2012	150	64	42.7%	---	---	---	---
7	Finland	4 2011	200	85	42.5%	---	---	---	---
8	South Africa ¹	4 2009	400	169	42.3%	4 2009	53	17	32.1%
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	Netherlands	9 2012	150	58	38.7%	5 2011	75	27	36.0%
15	Costa Rica	2 2010	57	22	38.6%	---	---	---	---
16	Timor-Leste	7 2012	65	25	38.5%	---	---	---	---
17	Belgium	6 2010	150	57	38.0%	6 2010	71	29	40.8%
18	Argentina	10 2011	257	96	37.4%	10 2011	72	28	38.9%
19	Mexico	7 2012	500	184	36.8%	7 2012	128	42	32.8%
20	Spain	11 2011	350	126	36.0%	11 2011	266	91	34.2%
"	United Republic of Tanzania	10 2010	350	126	36.0%	---	---	---	---
21	Uganda	2 2011	386	135	35.0%	---	---	---	---
22	Angola	8 2012	220	75	34.1%	---	---	---	---
23	Nepal	4 2008	594	197	33.2%	---	---	---	---
"	Serbia	5 2012	250	83	33.2%	---	---	---	---
24	Germany	9 2009	620	204	32.9%	N.A.	69	19	27.5%
25	The F.Y.R. of Macedonia	6 2011	123	40	32.5%	---	---	---	---
26	Ecuador	4 2009	124	40	32.3%	---	---	---	---
27	New Zealand	11 2011	121	39	32.2%	---	---	---	---
"	Slovenia	12 2011	90	29	32.2%	11 2012	40	3	7.5%
28	Algeria	5 2012	462	146	31.6%	12 2012	142	10	7.0%
29	Guyana	11 2011	67	21	31.3%	---	---	---	---
30	Burundi	7 2010	105	32	30.5%	7 2010	41	19	46.3%
31	Switzerland	10 2011	200	58	29.0%	10 2011	46	9	19.6%
32	Portugal	6 2011	230	66	28.7%	---	---	---	---
33	Trinidad and Tobago	5 2010	42	12	28.6%	6 2010	31	7	22.6%
34	Austria	9 2008	183	51	27.9%	N.A.	61	19	31.1%
35	Ethiopia	5 2010	547	152	27.8%	5 2010	135	22	16.3%
36	Afghanistan	9 2010	249	69	27.7%	1 2011	102	28	27.5%
37	France	6 2012	577	155	26.9%	9 2011	347	77	22.2%
38	Lesotho	5 2012	120	32	26.7%	6 2012	33	9	27.3%
"	Tunisia	10 2011	217	58	26.7%	---	---	---	---
39	Belarus	9 2012	109	29	26.6%	8 2012	57	20	35.1%
40	South Sudan	8 2011	332	88	26.5%	8 2011	50	5	10.0%
41	El Salvador	3 2012	84	22	26.2%	---	---	---	---
42	Bolivia	12 2009	130	33	25.4%	12 2009	36	17	47.2%
43	Iraq	3 2010	325	82	25.2%	---	---	---	---
44	Lao People's Democratic Republic	4 2011	132	33	25.0%	---	---	---	---
45	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%
46	Sudan	4 2010	354	87	24.6%	5 2010	28	5	17.9%
47	Lithuania	10 2012	139	34	24.5%	---	---	---	---
48	Namibia	11 2009	78	19	24.4%	11 2010	26	7	26.9%
"	Viet Nam	5 2011	500	122	24.4%	---	---	---	---
49	Kazakhstan	1 2012	107	26	24.3%	8 2011	47	2	4.3%
50	Singapore	5 2011	99	24	24.2%	---	---	---	---
51	Liechtenstein	2 2009	25	6	24.0%	---	---	---	---
52	Croatia	12 2011	151	36	23.8%	---	---	---	---
53	Poland	10 2011	460	109	23.7%	10 2011	100	13	13.0%
54	Kyrgyzstan	10 2010	120	28	23.3%	---	---	---	---
55	Latvia	9 2011	100	23	23.0%	---	---	---	---
56	Bulgaria	7 2009	240	55	22.9%	---	---	---	---
"	Philippines	5 2010	284	65	22.9%	5 2010	23	3	13.0%
57	Pakistan	2 2008	342	77	22.5%	3 2012	104	17	16.3%
"	United Kingdom	5 2010	650	146	22.5%	N.A.	760	172	22.6%
58	Malawi	5 2009	193	43	22.3%	---	---	---	---
59	Mauritania	11 2006	95	21	22.1%	11 2009	56	8	14.3%
60	Czech Republic	5 2010	200	44	22.0%	10 2012	81	14	17.3%
"	Eritrea	2 1994	150	33	22.0%	---	---	---	---
"	Uzbekistan	12 2009	150	33	22.0%	1 2010	100	15	15.0%
61	Luxembourg	6 2009	60	13	21.7%	---	---	---	---
62	Peru	4 2011	130	28	21.5%	---	---	---	---
63	Bosnia and Herzegovina	10 2010	42	9	21.4%	6 2011	15	2	13.3%
"	Italy	4 2008	630	135	21.4%	4 2008	321	61	19.0%
64	China	3 2008	2978	635	21.3%	---	---	---	---
65	Greece	6 2012	300	63	21.0%	---	---	---	---
66	Cape Verde	2 2011	72	15	20.8%	---	---	---	---
"	Dominican Republic	5 2010	183	38	20.8%	5 2010	32	3	9.4%
"	Estonia	3 2011	101	21	20.8%	---	---	---	---
67	Cambodia	7 2008	123	25	20.3%	1 2012	61	9	14.8%
68	Israel	2 2009	120	24	20.0%	---	---	---	---
69	Republic of Moldova	11 2010	101	20	19.8%	---	---	---	---
70	Bangladesh	12 2008	350	69	19.7%	---	---	---	---
71	Honduras	11 2009	128	25	19.5%	---	---	---	---
72	Monaco	2 2008	21	4	19.0%	---	---	---	---
"	Tajikistan	2 2010	63	12	19.0%	3 2010	34	5	14.7%
73	Mauritius	5 2010	69	13	18.8%	---	---	---	---
74	Slovakia	3 2012	150	28	18.7%	---	---	---	---
75	Indonesia	4 2009	560	104	18.6%	---	---	---	---
76	Sao Tome and Principe	8 2010	55	10	18.2%	---	---	---	---
77	United States of America	11 2012	434	78	18.0%	11 2012	100	20	20.0%
78	Madagascar	10 2010	366	64	17.5%	10 2010	164	20	12.2%
"	United Arab Emirates	9 2011	40	7	17.5%	---	---	---	---
79	Saint Vincent and the Grenadines	12 2010	23	4	17.4%	---	---	---	---
80	Montenegro	10 2012	81	14	17.3%	---	---	---	---
81	Morocco	11 2011	395	67	17.0%	10 2009	270	6	2.2%
"	Venezuela	9 2010	165	28	17.0%	---	---	---	---
82	Turkmenistan	12 2008	125	21	16.8%	---	---	---	---
83	Saint Lucia	11 2011	18	3	16.7%	1 2012	11	2	18.2%
"	San Marino	11 2012	60	10	16.7%	---	---	---	---
84	Libya	7 2012	200	33	16.5%	---	---	---	---
85	Azerbaijan	11 2010	125	20	16.0%	---	---	---	---
86	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%
87	Albania	6 2009	140	22	15.7%	---	---	---	---
"	Burkina Faso	12 2012	127	20	15.7%	---	---	---	---
"	Republic of Korea	4 2012	300	47	15.7%	---	---	---	---
88	Democratic People's Republic of Korea	3 2009	687	107	15.6%	---	---	---	---
89	Ireland	2 2011	166	25	15.1%	4 2011	60	18	30.0%
90	Zimbabwe	3 2008	214	32	15.0%	3 2008	99	24	24.2%
91	Chad	2 2011	188	28	14.9%	---	---	---	---
"	Mongolia	6 2012	74	11	14.9%	---	---	---	---
92	Chile	12 2009	120	17	14.2%	12 2009	38	5	13.2%
"	Turkey	6 2011	550	78	14.2%	---	---	---	---
93	Guinea-Bissau	11 2008	100	14	14.0%	---	---	---	---
94	Cameroon	7 2007	180	25	13.9%	---	---	---	---
95	Djibouti	2 2008	65	9	13.8%	---	---	---	---
"	Somalia	8 2012	275	38	13.8%	---	---	---	---
96	Russian Federation	12 2011	450	61	13.6%	N.A.	163	13	8.0%
"	Swaziland	9 2008	66	9	13.6%	10 2008	30	12	40.0%
97	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%	---	---	---	---
"	Romania	12 2012	412	55	13.3%	12 2012	176	13	7.4%
98	Bahamas	5 2012	38	5	13.2%	5 2012	16	4	25.0%
99	Jamaica	12 2011	63	8	12.7%	9 2007	21	5	23.8%
100	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%
101	Sierra Leone	11 2012	121	15	12.4%	---	---	---	---
102	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%
103	Georgia	10 2012	150	18	12.0%	---	---	---	---
"	Syrian Arab Republic	5 2012	250	30	12.0%	---	---	---	---
104	Suriname	5 2010	51	6	11.8%	---	---	---	---
105	Zambia	9 2011	157	18	11.5%	---	---	---	---
106	Togo	10 2007	81	9	11.1%	---	---	---	---
107	India	4 2009	545	60	11.0%	1 2012	245	26	10.6%
"	Liberia	10 2011	73	8	11.0%	10 2011	30	4	13.3%
108	Jordan	11 2010	120	13	10.8%	10 2011	60	7	11.7%
109	Armenia	5 2012	131	14	10.7%	---	---	---	---
"	Cyprus	5 2011	56	6	10.7%	---	---	---	---
110	Antigua and Barbuda	3 2009	19	2	10.5%	4 2009	17	5	29.4%
111	Cote d'Ivoire	12 2011	249	26	10.4%	---	---	---	---
"	Malaysia	3 2008	221	23	10.4%	N.A.	66	15	22.7%
112	Mali	7 2007	147	15	10.2%	---	---	---	---
113	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%	---	---	---	---
114	Kenya	12 2007	224	22	9.8%	---	---	---	---
115	Ukraine	10 2012	445	42	9.4%	---	---	---	---
116	Democratic Republic of the Congo	11 2011	492	44	8.9%	1 2007	108	6	5.6%
117	Hungary	4 2010	386	34	8.8%	---	---	---	---
118	Kiribati	10 2011	46	4	8.7%	---	---	---	---
"	Malta	3 2008	69	6	8.7%	---	---	---	---
119	Brazil	10 2010	513	44	8.6%	10 2010	81	13	16.0%
120	Bhutan	3 2008	47	4	8.5%	12 2007	25	6	24.0%
"	Panama	5 2009	71	6	8.5%	---	---	---	---
121	Benin	4 2011	83	7	8.4%	---	---	---	---
122	Botswana	10 2009	63	5	7.9%	---	---	---	---
"	Japan	12 2012	480	38	7.9%	7 2010	236	43	18.2%
123	Gambia	3 2012	53	4	7.5%	---	---	---	---
124	Congo	7 2012	136	10	7.4%	10 2011	72	10	13.9%
125	Nigeria	4 2011	360	24	6.7%	4 2011	109	7	6.4%
"	Saint Kitts and Nevis	1 2010	15	1	6.7%	---	---	---	---
"	Tuvalu	9 2010	15	1	6.7%	---	---	---	---
126	Maldives	5 2009	77	5	6.5%	---	---	---	---
127	Kuwait	12 2012	65	4	6.2%	---	---	---	---
128	Myanmar	11 2010	431	26	6.0%	11 2010	224	4	1.8%
129	Sri Lanka	4 2010	225	13	5.8%	---	---	---	---
130	Haiti	11 2010	95	4	4.2%	11 2010	20	0	0.0%
131	Samoa	3 2011	49	2	4.1%	---	---	---	---
132	Tonga	11 2010	28	1	3.6%	---	---	---	---
133	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%	---	---	---	---
134	Comoros	12 2009	33	1	3.0%	---	---	---	---
"	Marshall Islands	11 2011	33	1	3.0%	---	---	---	---
135	Papua New Guinea	6 2012	111	3	2.7%	---	---	---	---
136	Egypt	11 2011	508	10	2.0%	1 2012	180	5	2.8%
"	Solomon Islands	8 2010	50	1	2.0%	---	---	---	---
137	Oman	10 2011	84	1	1.2%	10 2011	83	15	18.1%
138	Yemen	4 2003	301	1	0.3%	4 2001	111	2	1.8%
139	Micronesia (Federated States of)	3 2011	14	0	0.0%	---	---	---	---
"	Nauru	6 2010	18	0	0.0%	---	---	---	---
"	Palau	11 2012	16	0	0.0%	11 2012	13	3	23.1%
"	Qatar	7 2010	35	0	0.0%	---	---	---	---
"	Saudi Arabia	2 2009	150	0	0.0%	---	---	---	---
"	Vanuatu	10 2012	52	0	0.0%	---	---	---	---
?	Ghana	12 2012	275	?	?	---	---	---	---

* 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.