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 October 2004. 183 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	20	6	30.0
2	Sweden	09 2002	349	158	45.3	---	---	---	---
3	Denmark	11 2001	179	68	38.0	---	---	---	---
4	Finland	03 2003	200	75	37.5	---	---	---	---
5	Netherlands	01 2003	150	55	36.7	06 2003	75	22	29.3
6	Norway	09 2001	165	60	36.4	---	---	---	---
7	Cuba	01 2003	609	219	36.0	---	---	---	---
"	Spain	03 2004	350	126	36.0	03 2004	259	60	23.2
8	Belgium	05 2003	150	53	35.3	08 2004	71	26	36.6
9	Costa Rica	02 2002	57	20	35.1	---	---	---	---
10	Argentina	10 2001	256	87	34.0	10 2001	72	24	33.3
11	Austria	11 2002	183	62	33.9	N.A.	62	13	21.0
12	South Africa (1)	04 2004	400	131	32.8	06 1999	90	17	31.5
13	Germany	09 2002	603	194	32.2	N.A.	69	17	24.6
14	Iceland	05 2003	63	19	30.2	---	---	---	---
15	Mozambique	12 1999	250	75	30.0	---	---	---	---
16	Seychelles	12 2002	34	10	29.4	---	---	---	---
17	Belarus	10 2004	107	31	29.0	12 2000	61	19	31.1
18	New Zealand	07 2002	120	34	28.3	---	---	---	---
19	Viet Nam	05 2002	498	136	27.3	---	---	---	---
20	Grenada	11 2003	15	4	26.7	11 2003	13	4	30.8
21	Namibia	11 1999	72	19	26.4	11 1998	26	2	7.7
22	Bulgaria	06 2001	240	63	26.2	---	---	---	---
23	Timor-Leste (3)	08 2001	88	23	26.1	---	---	---	---
24	Turkmenistan	12 1999	50	13	26.0	---	---	---	---
25	Switzerland	10 2003	200	50	25.0	10 2003	46	11	23.9
26	Australia (4)	10 2004	150	37	24.7	10 2001	76	22	28.9
"	Uganda	06 2001	304	75	24.7	---	---	---	---
27	Lao People's Democratic Rep.	02 2002	109	25	22.9	---	---	---	---
28	Tunisia	10 2004	189	43	22.8	---	---	---	---
29	Saint Vincent & the Grenadines	03 2001	22	5	22.7	---	---	---	---
30	Mexico	07 2003	500	113	22.6	07 2000	128	20	15.6
31	Eritrea	02 1994	150	33	22.0	---	---	---	---
32	Pakistan	10 2002	342	74	21.6	03 2003	100	18	18.0
33	United Rep. of Tanzania	10 2000	295	63	21.4	---	---	---	---
34	Canada	06 2004	308	65	21.1	N.A.	105	34	32.4
35	Latvia	10 2002	100	21	21.0	---	---	---	---
36	Monaco	02 2003	24	5	20.8	---	---	---	---
37	Nicaragua	11 2001	92	19	20.7	---	---	---	---
38	Lithuania	10 2004	141	29	20.6	---	---	---	---
39	China	03 2003	2985	604	20.2	---	---	---	---
"	Poland	09 2001	460	93	20.2	09 2001	100	23	23.0
40	Dem. People's Rep. of Korea	08 2003	687	138	20.1	---	---	---	---
41	Bahamas	05 2002	40	8	20.0	05 2002	16	7	43.8
"	Guyana	03 2001	65	13	20.0	---	---	---	---
"	Luxembourg	06 2004	60	12	20.0	---	---	---	---
42	Trinidad and Tobago	10 2002	36	7	19.4	12 2001	31	10	32.3
43	Guinea	06 2002	114	22	19.3	---	---	---	---
"	Slovakia	09 2002	150	29	19.3	---	---	---	---
44	Senegal	04 2001	120	23	19.2	---	---	---	---
45	Portugal	03 2002	230	44	19.1	---	---	---	---
46	Dominica	01 2000	32	6	18.8	---	---	---	---
"	Estonia	03 2003	101	19	18.8	---	---	---	---
47	Bolivia	06 2002	130	24	18.5	06 2002	27	4	14.8
48	Burundi	06 1993	179	33	18.4	01 2002	53	10	18.9
49	Peru	04 2001	120	22	18.3	---	---	---	---
"	The f.Y.R. of Macedonia	09 2002	120	22	18.3	---	---	---	---
50	Equatorial Guinea	04 2004	100	18	18.0	---	---	---	---
51	United Kingdom	06 2001	659	118	17.9	N.A.	677	113	16.7
52	Croatia	11 2003	152	27	17.8	---	---	---	---
53	Suriname	05 2000	51	9	17.6	---	---	---	---
54	Dominican Republic	05 2002	150	26	17.3	05 2002	32	2	6.3
55	Czech Republic	06 2002	200	34	17.0	10 2002	81	10	12.3
56	Bosnia and Herzegovina	10 2002	42	7	16.7	11 2002	15	0	0.0
"	Panama	05 2004	78	13	16.7	---	---	---	---
"	San Marino	06 2001	60	10	16.7	---	---	---	---
57	Ecuador	10 2002	100	16	16.0	---	---	---	---
"	Singapore	11 2001	94	15	16.0	---	---	---	---
58	Angola	09 1992	220	34	15.5	---	---	---	---
59	Philippines	05 2004	236	36	15.3	05 2004	24	?	?
60	Israel	01 2003	120	18	15.0	---	---	---	---
61	Malawi	04 2004	185	27	14.6	---	---	---	---
62	Sierra Leone	05 2002	124	18	14.5	---	---	---	---
63	Andorra	03 2001	28	4	14.3	---	---	---	---
"	United States of America	11 2002	435	62	14.3	11 2002	100	14	14.0
64	Greece	03 2004	300	42	14.0	---	---	---	---
65	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
66	Gambia	01 2002	53	7	13.2	---	---	---	---
67	Republic of Korea	04 2004	299	39	13.0	---	---	---	---
68	Republic of Moldova	02 2001	101	13	12.9	---	---	---	---
69	Tajikistan	02 2000	63	8	12.7	03 2000	34	4	11.8
70	Chile	12 2001	120	15	12.5	12 2001	49	2	4.1
71	France	06 2002	574	70	12.2	09 2004	331	56	16.9
"	Slovenia	10 2004	90	11	12.2	---	---	---	---
72	Colombia	03 2002	166	20	12.0	03 2002	102	9	8.8
"	Dem. Republic of the Congo	08 2003	500	60	12.0	08 2003	120	3	2.5
"	Liechtenstein	02 2001	25	3	12.0	---	---	---	---
"	Syrian Arab Republic	03 2003	250	30	12.0	---	---	---	---
"	Zambia	12 2001	158	19	12.0	---	---	---	---
73	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
74	Italy	05 2001	618	71	11.5	05 2001	321	26	8.1
75	Cape Verde	01 2001	72	8	11.1	---	---	---	---
"	Indonesia	04 2004	550	61	11.1	---	---	---	---
"	Saint Lucia	12 2001	18	2	11.1	12 2001	11	4	36.4
76	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
77	Cyprus	05 2001	56	6	10.7	---	---	---	---
"	El Salvador	03 2003	84	9	10.7	---	---	---	---
"	Romania	11 2000	345	37	10.7	11 2000	140	8	5.7
78	Antigua and Barbuda	03 2004	19	2	10.5	03 2004	17	3	17.6
"	Azerbaijan	11 2000	124	13	10.5	---	---	---	---
79	Kazakhstan	9 2004	77	8	10.4	9 2004	39	3	7.7
80	Mali	07 2002	147	15	10.2	---	---	---	---
81	Kyrgyzstan	02 2000	60	6	10.0	02 2000	45	1	2.2
"	Paraguay	04 2003	80	8	10.0	04 2003	45	4	8.9
"	Zimbabwe	06 2000	150	15	10.0	---	---	---	---
82	Cambodia	07 2003	123	12	9.8	03 1999	61	8	13.1
"	Hungary	04 2002	386	38	9.8	---	---	---	---
"	Russian Federation	12 2003	450	44	9.8	N.A.	178	6	3.4
83	Sudan	12 2000	360	35	9.7	---	---	---	---
"	Venezuela	07 2000	165	16	9.7	---	---	---	---
84	Ghana	12 2000	200	19	9.5	---	---	---	---
85	Georgia	03 2004	235	22	9.4	---	---	---	---
86	Bhutan	N.A.	150	14	9.5	---	---	---	---
87	Gabon	12 2001	119	11	9.2	02 2003	91	14	15.4
"	Malta	04 2003	65	6	9.2	---	---	---	---
"	Thailand	01 2001	500	46	9.2	03 2000	200	21	10.5
88	Malaysia	03 2004	219	20	9.1	2003	51	18	35.3
"	Sao Tome and Principe	03 2002	55	5	9.1	---	---	---	---
89	Cameroon	06 2002	180	16	8.9	---	---	---	---
90	Brazil	10 2002	513	44	8.6	10 2002	81	10	12.3
91	Congo	05 2002	129	11	8.5	07 2002	60	9	15.0
"	Cote d'Ivoire	12 2000	223	19	8.5	---	---	---	---
92	Guatemala	11 2003	158	13	8.2	---	---	---	---
93	India	04 2004	541	44	8.1	06 2004	242	?	?
94	Serbia and Montenegro (3)	09 2003	126	10	7.9	---	---	---	---
95	Ethiopia	05 2000	547	42	7.7	05 2000	120	10	8.3
96	Togo	10 2002	81	6	7.4	---	---	---	---
97	Benin	03 2003	83	6	7.2	---	---	---	---
"	Uzbekistan	12 1999	250	18	7.2	---	---	---	---
98	Japan	11 2003	480	34	7.1	07 2004	242	?	?
"	Kenya	12 2002	224	16	7.1	---	---	---	---
99	Botswana	10 2004	57	4	7.0	---	---	---	---
100	Algeria	05 2002	389	24	6.2	12 2003	144	28	19.4
101	Nigeria	04 2003	359	22	6.1	04 2003	109	3	2.8
"	Samoa	03 2001	49	3	6.1	---	---	---	---
102	Maldives	11 1999	50	3	6.0	---	---	---	---
103	Nepal	05 1999	205	12	5.9	06 2001	60	5	8.3
104	Chad	04 2002	155	9	5.8	---	---	---	---
105	Albania	06 2001	140	8	5.7	---	---	---	---
"	Fiji	08 2001	70	4	5.7	08 2001	32	2	6.3
"	Mauritius	09 2000	70	4	5.7	---	---	---	---
106	Honduras	11 2001	128	7	5.5	---	---	---	---
"	Jordan	06 2003	110	6	5.5	11 2003	55	7	12.7
107	Mongolia	06 2004	74	4	5.4	---	---	---	---
108	Liberia	10 2003	76	4	5.3	---	---	---	---
"	Ukraine	03 2002	450	24	5.3	---	---	---	---
109	Sri Lanka	04 2004	225	11	4.9	---	---	---	---
110	Kiribati	05 2003	42	2	4.8	---	---	---	---
111	Armenia	05 2003	131	6	4.6	---	---	---	---
112	Turkey	11 2002	550	24	4.4	---	---	---	---
113	Madagascar	12 2002	160	6	3.8	03 2001	90	10	11.1
"	Vanuatu	07 2004	52	2	3.8	---	---	---	---
114	Mauritania	10 2001	81	3	3.7	04 2002	56	3	5.4
115	Haiti	05 2000	83	3	3.6	05 2000	27	7	25.9
116	Belize	03 2003	30	1	3.3	03 2003	13	3	23.1
117	Iran (Islamic Rep. of)	02 2004	290	9	3.1	---	---	---	---
118	Comoros	04 2004	33	1	3.0	---	---	---	---
"	Marshall Islands	11 2003	33	1	3.0	---	---	---	---
119	Egypt	11 2000	454	11	2.4	05 2001	264	15	5.7
120	Lebanon	08 2000	128	3	2.3	---	---	---	---
121	Bangladesh	10 2001	300	6	2.0	---	---	---	---
122	Niger	11 1999	83	1	1.2	---	---	---	---
123	Papua New Guinea	06 2002	109	1	0.9	---	---	---	---
124	Yemen	04 2003	301	1	0.3	---	---	---	---
125	Bahrain	10 2002	40	0	0.0	11 2002	40	6	15.0
"	Kuwait	07 2003	65	0	0.0	---	---	---	---
"	Micronesia (Fed. States of)	03 2003	14	0	0.0	---	---	---	---
"	Palau	11 2000	16	0	0.0	11 2000	9	0	0.0
"	Saudi Arabia	05 2001	120	0	0.0	---	---	---	---
"	Solomon Islands	12 2001	50	0	0.0	---	---	---	---
"	Tonga	03 2002	30	0	0.0	---	---	---	---
"	Tuvalu	07 2002	15	0	0.0	---	---	---	---
"	United Arab Emirates	12 1997	40	0	0.0	---	---	---	---
?	Guinea-Bissau	03 2004	104	?	?	---	---	---	---
?	Libyan Arab Jamahiriya	03 1997	760	?	?	---	---	---	---
?	Nauru	10 2004	18	?	?	---	---	---	---
?	Saint Kitts and Nevis	10 2004	15	?	?	---	---	---	---
?	Uruguay	10 2004	99	?	?	10 2004	31	?	?

* 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) 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. (4) Australia: The figures for the Senate reflects its composition to 30 June 2005. In the general elections of 9 October 2004, 38 of the 76 Senate seats were also contested. As the Senate has fixed six-year terms, the newly composed Senate will not sit until 1 July 2005. At that time, 27 0f the 76 Senate seats (35,5%) will be filled by women.