Women in Parliaments: World Classification

Women
in national parliaments

Situation as of 31 December 2009

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 2009. 187 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	11 2006	150	63	42.0%	5 2007	75	26	34.7%
7	Finland	3 2007	200	80	40.0%	---	---	---	---
8	Norway	9 2009	169	66	39.1%	---	---	---	---
9	Angola	9 2008	220	85	38.6%	---	---	---	---
10	Argentina	6 2009	257	99	38.5%	6 2009	71	25	35.2%
11	Belgium	6 2007	150	57	38.0%	6 2007	71	29	40.8%
"	Denmark	11 2007	179	68	38.0%	---	---	---	---
12	Costa Rica	2 2006	57	21	36.8%	---	---	---	---
13	Spain	3 2008	350	128	36.6%	3 2008	263	81	30.8%
14	Andorra	4 2009	28	10	35.7%	---	---	---	---
15	New Zealand	11 2008	122	41	33.6%	---	---	---	---
16	Nepal	4 2008	594	197	33.2%	---	---	---	---
17	Germany	9 2009	622	204	32.8%	N.A.	69	15	21.7%
18	The F.Y.R. of Macedonia	6 2008	120	39	32.5%	---	---	---	---
19	Ecuador	4 2009	124	40	32.3%	---	---	---	---
20	Belarus	9 2008	110	35	31.8%	7 2008	58	19	32.8%
21	Uganda	2 2006	324	102	31.5%	---	---	---	---
22	Burundi	7 2005	118	37	31.4%	7 2005	49	16	32.7%
23	United Republic of Tanzania	12 2005	319	97	30.4%	---	---	---	---
24	Guyana	8 2006	70	21	30.0%	---	---	---	---
25	Timor-Leste	6 2007	65	19	29.2%	---	---	---	---
26	Switzerland	10 2007	200	58	29.0%	10 2007	46	10	21.7%
27	Mexico	7 2009	500	141	28.2%	7 2006	128	23	18.0%
28	Austria	9 2008	183	51	27.9%	N.A.	61	18	29.5%
29	Tunisia	10 2009	214	59	27.6%	8 2008	112	17	15.2%
30	Peru	4 2006	120	33	27.5%	---	---	---	---
31	Portugal	9 2009	230	63	27.4%	---	---	---	---
32	Afghanistan	9 2005	249	68	27.3%	9 2005	102	23	22.5%
"	Australia	11 2007	150	41	27.3%	11 2007	76	27	35.5%
33	Namibia	11 2009	78	21	26.9%	11 2004	26	7	26.9%
34	Trinidad and Tobago	11 2007	41	11	26.8%	12 2007	31	13	41.9%
35	Viet Nam	5 2007	493	127	25.8%	---	---	---	---
36	Kyrgyzstan	12 2007	90	23	25.6%	---	---	---	---
37	Iraq	12 2005	275	70	25.5%	---	---	---	---
"	Suriname	5 2005	51	13	25.5%	---	---	---	---
38	Lao People's Democratic Republic	4 2006	115	29	25.2%	---	---	---	---
39	Monaco	2 2008	24	6	25.0%	---	---	---	---
40	Singapore	5 2006	94	23	24.5%	---	---	---	---
41	Lesotho	2 2007	120	29	24.2%	3 2007	33	6	18.2%
42	Liechtenstein	2 2009	25	6	24.0%	---	---	---	---
43	Republic of Moldova	7 2009	101	24	23.8%	---	---	---	---
44	Croatia	11 2007	153	36	23.5%	---	---	---	---
"	Seychelles	5 2007	34	8	23.5%	---	---	---	---
45	Estonia	3 2007	101	23	22.8%	---	---	---	---
46	Senegal	6 2007	150	34	22.7%	8 2007	100	40	40.0%
47	United Arab Emirates	12 2006	40	9	22.5%	---	---	---	---
48	Pakistan	2 2008	342	76	22.2%	3 2009	100	17	17.0%
49	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%
50	Eritrea	2 1994	150	33	22.0%	---	---	---	---
"	Latvia	10 2006	100	22	22.0%	---	---	---	---
"	Uzbekistan	12 2009	150	33	22.0%	1 2005	100	15	15.0%
51	Ethiopia	5 2005	529	116	21.9%	10 2005	112	21	18.8%
52	Serbia	5 2008	250	54	21.6%	---	---	---	---
53	China	3 2008	2987	637	21.3%	---	---	---	---
"	Italy	4 2008	630	134	21.3%	4 2008	322	58	18.0%
54	Cambodia	7 2008	123	26	21.1%	1 2006	61	9	14.8%
55	Philippines	5 2007	267	56	21.0%	5 2007	23	4	17.4%
56	Bulgaria	7 2009	240	50	20.8%	---	---	---	---
"	Malawi	5 2009	192	40	20.8%	---	---	---	---
57	Nicaragua	11 2006	92	19	20.7%	---	---	---	---
58	Luxembourg	6 2009	60	12	20.0%	---	---	---	---
"	Poland	10 2007	460	92	20.0%	10 2007	100	8	8.0%
59	Dominican Republic	5 2006	178	35	19.7%	5 2006	32	1	3.1%
60	United Kingdom	5 2005	646	126	19.5%	N.A.	746	147	19.7%
61	Lithuania	10 2008	141	27	19.1%	---	---	---	---
62	Bosnia and Herzegovina	10 2006	42	8	19.0%	3 2007	15	2	13.3%
"	El Salvador	1 2009	84	16	19.0%	---	---	---	---
63	France	6 2007	577	109	18.9%	9 2008	343	75	21.9%
"	Sudan	8 2005	444	84	18.9%	8 2005	50	3	6.0%
64	Bangladesh	12 2008	345	64	18.6%	---	---	---	---
"	Venezuela	12 2005	167	31	18.6%	---	---	---	---
65	Israel	2 2009	120	22	18.3%	---	---	---	---
66	Saint Vincent and the Grenadines	12 2005	22	4	18.2%	---	---	---	---
67	Cape Verde	1 2006	72	13	18.1%	---	---	---	---
68	Slovakia	6 2006	150	27	18.0%	---	---	---	---
69	Indonesia	4 2009	560	100	17.9%	---	---	---	---
70	Kazakhstan	8 2007	107	19	17.8%	10 2008	47	2	4.3%
71	Tajikistan	2 2005	63	11	17.5%	3 2005	34	8	23.5%
72	Greece	10 2009	300	52	17.3%	---	---	---	---
73	Mauritius	7 2005	70	12	17.1%	---	---	---	---
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	Czech Republic	6 2006	200	31	15.5%	10 2008	81	14	17.3%
79	Burkina Faso	5 2007	111	17	15.3%	---	---	---	---
80	Chile	12 2009	120	18	15.0%	12 2009	38	2	5.3%
"	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%
82	Slovenia	9 2008	90	13	14.4%	11 2007	40	1	2.5%
83	Uruguay	10 2009	99	14	14.1%	10 2009	30	4	13.3%
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	Republic of Korea	4 2008	299	41	13.7%	---	---	---	---
88	Swaziland	9 2008	66	9	13.6%	10 2008	30	12	40.0%
89	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%
90	Sierra Leone	8 2007	121	16	13.2%	---	---	---	---
91	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%
92	Syrian Arab Republic	4 2007	250	31	12.4%	---	---	---	---
93	Bahamas	5 2007	41	5	12.2%	5 2007	15	5	33.3%
94	Guatemala	9 2007	158	19	12.0%	---	---	---	---
95	Azerbaijan	11 2005	123	14	11.4%	---	---	---	---
"	Romania	11 2008	334	38	11.4%	11 2008	137	8	5.8%
96	Japan	8 2009	480	54	11.3%	7 2007	242	42	17.4%
97	Hungary	4 2006	386	43	11.1%	---	---	---	---
"	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%	---	---	---	---
98	Benin	3 2003	83	9	10.8%	---	---	---	---
"	Malaysia	3 2008	222	24	10.8%	N.A.	64	20	31.3%
99	India	4 2009	543	58	10.7%	7 2008	243	23	9.5%
100	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%
101	Mali	7 2007	147	15	10.2%	---	---	---	---
102	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%	---	---	---	---
103	Kenya	12 2007	224	22	9.8%	---	---	---	---
"	Niger	10 2009	112	11	9.8%	---	---	---	---
104	Central African Republic	3 2005	104	10	9.6%	---	---	---	---
105	Armenia	5 2007	131	12	9.2%	---	---	---	---
106	Turkey	7 2007	549	50	9.1%	---	---	---	---
107	Brazil	10 2006	513	46	9.0%	10 2006	81	10	12.3%
108	Cote d'Ivoire	12 2000	203	18	8.9%	---	---	---	---
109	Malta	3 2008	69	6	8.7%	---	---	---	---
110	Bhutan	3 2008	47	4	8.5%	12 2007	25	6	24.0%
"	Panama	5 2009	71	6	8.5%	---	---	---	---
111	Colombia	3 2006	166	14	8.4%	3 2006	102	12	11.8%
"	Democratic Republic of the Congo	7 2006	500	42	8.4%	1 2007	108	5	4.6%
112	Ghana	12 2008	230	19	8.3%	---	---	---	---
113	Samoa	3 2006	49	4	8.2%	---	---	---	---
114	Ukraine	9 2007	450	36	8.0%	---	---	---	---
115	Botswana	10 2009	63	5	7.9%	---	---	---	---
116	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%	---	---	---	---
117	Gambia	1 2002	53	4	7.5%	---	---	---	---
118	Congo	6 2007	137	10	7.3%	8 2008	70	9	12.9%
"	Sao Tome and Principe	3 2006	55	4	7.3%	---	---	---	---
119	Nigeria	4 2007	358	25	7.0%	4 2007	109	9	8.3%
120	Somalia	8 2004	539	37	6.9%	---	---	---	---
121	Saint Kitts and Nevis	10 2004	15	1	6.7%	---	---	---	---
122	Maldives	5 2009	77	5	6.5%	---	---	---	---
123	Jordan	11 2007	110	7	6.4%	12 2009	55	7	12.7%
124	Sri Lanka	4 2004	225	13	5.8%	---	---	---	---
125	Chad	4 2002	155	8	5.2%	---	---	---	---
126	Georgia	5 2008	138	7	5.1%	---	---	---	---
127	Kiribati	8 2007	46	2	4.3%	---	---	---	---
128	Haiti	2 2006	98	4	4.1%	4 2009	29	2	6.9%
129	Mongolia	6 2008	76	3	3.9%	---	---	---	---
130	Vanuatu	9 2008	52	2	3.8%	---	---	---	---
131	Lebanon	6 2009	128	4	3.1%	---	---	---	---
"	Tonga ³	4 2008	32	1	3.1%	---	---	---	---
132	Marshall Islands	11 2007	33	1	3.0%	---	---	---	---
133	Iran (Islamic Republic of)	3 2008	290	8	2.8%	---	---	---	---
134	Bahrain	11 2006	40	1	2.5%	12 2006	40	10	25.0%
135	Egypt	11 2005	442	8	1.8%	6 2007	264	18	6.8%
136	Papua New Guinea	6 2007	109	1	0.9%	---	---	---	---
137	Yemen	4 2003	301	1	0.3%	4 2001	111	2	1.8%
138	Belize	2 2008	32	0	0.0%	3 2008	13	5	38.5%
"	Comoros	12 2009	33	0	0.0%	---	---	---	---
"	Micronesia (Federated States of)	3 2009	14	0	0.0%	---	---	---	---
"	Nauru	4 2008	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 2008	35	0	0.0%	---	---	---	---
"	Saudi Arabia	2 2009	150	0	0.0%	---	---	---	---
"	Solomon Islands	4 2006	50	0	0.0%	---	---	---	---
"	Tuvalu	8 2006	15	0	0.0%	---	---	---	---
?	Bolivia	12 2009	130	?	?	12 2009	36	?	?
?	Dominica	12 2009	32	?	?	---	---	---	---
?	Honduras	11 2009	128	?	?	---	---	---	---
?	Mozambique	10 2009	250	?	?	---	---	---	---

* 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.