With only one in seven countries led by a woman, global political power remains dominated by men. Women are presidents or heads of government in only 28 of the world’s 195 countries, and 101 states have never had a female leader.
The latest data from the IPU and UN Women show that political equality remains a distant prospect: women hold no more than 22.4% of ministerial posts (down from 23.3% in 2024) and 27.5% of parliamentary seats (a level that has stagnated).
Fourteen countries, including six in Western Europe (1), have achieved gender parity in their governments, demonstrating that equal representation is possible. Conversely, eight countries still have no female ministers (2).
Gender Stereotypes
Women head 90% of ministries responsible for gender equality and 73% of ministries responsible for family and children’s affairs, reinforcing long-standing gender stereotypes in political leadership. Men continue to head almost exclusively the ministries responsible for defence, home affairs, justice, economic affairs, governance, health, and education.
“At a time of increasing global instability, escalating conflicts, and a visible rollback of women’s rights, excluding women from political leadership weakens societies’ ability to meet the challenges they face,” said Sima Bahous, Executive Director of UN Women.
Women in Parliament: The Americas (North and South) Lead, Europe Follows
The Americas region leads the world in female representation in parliament (35.6% of members of parliament), according to the latest IPU data. Europe comes next (32.3%), followed by sub-Saharan Africa (27.1%). In contrast, Asia (22.2%) and the Middle East and North Africa region (16.2%) remain below the global average.
Cuba, Nicaragua, Bolivia, Mexico, and Rwanda are among the five countries with the highest number of women in parliament worldwide. All have achieved parity or have more women than men among their elected representatives.
Costa Rica ranks 8th, just after the United Arab Emirates (6th, with 50% women in parliament, an absolute exception in the Middle East and North Africa region) and ahead of Australia.
In Western Europe, the Nordic countries lead in female representation in parliaments, although parity has not been achieved anywhere. Cyprus has the lowest representation of women (14.29%), just after Greece (24%).
In France, women represent 36.17% of parliamentarians, and in Belgium, 40.67%.
The Impact of Quotas
Today, nearly 20% of all parliaments are presided over by women, and the Inter-Parliamentary Union notes that quotas remain crucial.
“The 36 chambers applying some form of quotas elected or appointed an average of 30.9% women, compared to 23.3% in chambers without quotas. The proportion of women elected was highest (37.3%) in chambers with both legally mandated and voluntary quotas.”
Political Violence Against Women Members of Parliament
Another IPU report, entitled When the public turns hostile: Political violence against parliamentarians, published in 2026, established that women parliamentarians experience more public intimidation—both online and offline—than men. A staggering 76% of the women surveyed reported experiencing violence, compared to 68% of men.
This growing phenomenon may discourage some women from running for office, creating a further obstacle to greater representation of women in politics.
(1) Namibia, Finland, Nicaragua, Colombia, Australia, Sweden, Canada, Ecuador, Germany, Guatemala, Iceland, Seychelles, Spain, United Kingdom.
(2) Azerbaijan, Hungary, Marshall Islands, Saudi Arabia, Turkmenistan, Tuvalu, Vanuatu, and Yemen.