Women in National Parliaments

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Inter-Parliamentary Union - IPU

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Women
in national parliaments

Situation as of 30 November 2011

The data in the table below has been compiled by the Inter-Parliamentary Union on the basis of information provided by National Parliaments by 30 November 2011. 188 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	Sweden	9 2010	349	157	45.0%	---	---	---	---
4	South Africa ¹	4 2009	400	178	44.5%	4 2009	54	16	29.6%
5	Seychelles	9 2011	32	14	43.8%	---	---	---	---
6	Cuba	1 2008	586	253	43.2%	---	---	---	---
7	Iceland	4 2009	63	27	42.9%	---	---	---	---
8	Finland	4 2011	200	85	42.5%	---	---	---	---
9	Nicaragua	11 2011	92	37	40.2%	---	---	---	---
10	Norway	9 2009	169	67	39.6%	---	---	---	---
11	Belgium	6 2010	150	59	39.3%	6 2010	71	26	36.6%
"	Netherlands	6 2010	150	59	39.3%	5 2011	75	27	36.0%
12	Mozambique	10 2009	250	98	39.2%	---	---	---	---
13	Denmark	9 2011	179	70	39.1%	---	---	---	---
14	Angola	9 2008	220	85	38.6%	---	---	---	---
"	Costa Rica	2 2010	57	22	38.6%	---	---	---	---
15	Argentina	10 2011	257	96	37.4%	10 2011	72	28	38.9%
16	Spain	11 2011	350	126	36.0%	11 2011	263	88	33.5%
"	United Republic of Tanzania	10 2010	350	126	36.0%	---	---	---	---
17	Uganda	2 2011	375	131	34.9%	---	---	---	---
18	Nepal	4 2008	594	197	33.2%	---	---	---	---
19	Germany	9 2009	622	204	32.8%	N.A.	69	15	21.7%
20	Ecuador	4 2009	124	40	32.3%	---	---	---	---
21	New Zealand	11 2011	121	39	32.2%	---	---	---	---
22	Burundi	7 2010	106	34	32.1%	7 2010	41	19	46.3%
23	Belarus	9 2008	110	35	31.8%	7 2008	58	19	32.8%
24	The f.Y.R. of Macedonia	6 2011	123	38	30.9%	---	---	---	---
25	Timor-Leste	6 2007	65	19	29.2%	---	---	---	---
26	Trinidad and Tobago	5 2010	42	12	28.6%	6 2010	31	8	25.8%
27	Switzerland	10 2011	200	57	28.5%	10 2011	46	9	19.6%
28	Austria	9 2008	183	51	27.9%	N.A.	61	18	29.5%
29	Ethiopia	5 2010	547	152	27.8%	5 2010	135	22	16.3%
30	Afghanistan	9 2010	249	69	27.7%	1 2011	102	28	27.5%
31	Portugal	6 2011	230	61	26.5%	---	---	---	---
"	South Soudan	8 2011	332	88	26.5%	8 2011	50	5	10.0%
32	Tunisia	10 2011	217	57	26.3%	---	---	---	---
33	Mexico	7 2009	500	131	26.2%	7 2006	128	29	22.7%
34	Monaco	2 2008	23	6	26.1%	---	---	---	---
35	Bolivia	12 2009	130	33	25.4%	12 2009	36	17	47.2%
36	Iraq	3 2010	325	82	25.2%	---	---	---	---
37	Sudan	4 2010	346	87	25.1%	5 2010	28	5	17.9%
38	Lao People's Democratic Republic	4 2011	132	33	25.0%	---	---	---	---
39	Australia	8 2010	150	37	24.7%	8 2010	76	27	35.5%
"	Canada	5 2011	308	76	24.7%	N.A.	103	37	35.9%
40	Namibia	11 2009	78	19	24.4%	11 2010	26	7	26.9%
"	Viet Nam	5 2011	500	122	24.4%	---	---	---	---
41	Lesotho	2 2007	120	29	24.2%	3 2007	33	6	18.2%
42	Liechtenstein	2 2009	25	6	24.0%	---	---	---	---
43	Poland	10 2011	460	110	23.9%	10 2011	100	13	13.0%
44	Croatia	11 2007	153	36	23.5%	---	---	---	---
45	Kyrgyzstan	10 2010	120	28	23.3%	---	---	---	---
46	Senegal	6 2007	150	34	22.7%	8 2007	100	40	40.0%
47	Pakistan	2 2008	342	76	22.2%	3 2009	100	17	17.0%
"	Singapore	5 2011	90	20	22.2%	---	---	---	---
48	Mauritania	11 2006	95	21	22.1%	11 2009	56	8	14.3%
"	Philippines	5 2010	280	62	22.1%	5 2010	23	3	13.0%
49	Czech Republic	5 2010	200	44	22.0%	10 2010	81	15	18.5%
"	Eritrea	2 1994	150	33	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%
50	Serbia	5 2008	250	54	21.6%	---	---	---	---
51	Peru	4 2011	130	28	21.5%	---	---	---	---
52	China	3 2008	2987	637	21.3%	---	---	---	---
"	Italy	4 2008	630	134	21.3%	4 2008	321	59	18.4%
53	Cambodia	7 2008	123	26	21.1%	1 2006	61	9	14.8%
54	Latvia	9 2011	100	21	21.0%	---	---	---	---
55	Bulgaria	7 2009	240	50	20.8%	---	---	---	---
"	Cape Verde	2 2011	72	15	20.8%	---	---	---	---
"	Dominican Republic	5 2010	183	38	20.8%	5 2010	32	3	9.4%
"	Malawi	5 2009	192	40	20.8%	---	---	---	---
56	Luxembourg	6 2009	60	12	20.0%	---	---	---	---
57	Estonia	3 2011	101	20	19.8%	---	---	---	---
58	Israel	2 2009	120	23	19.2%	---	---	---	---
59	Lithuania	10 2008	141	27	19.1%	---	---	---	---
60	El Salvador	1 2009	84	16	19.0%	---	---	---	---
"	Tajikistan	2 2010	63	12	19.0%	3 2010	34	5	14.7%
61	France	6 2007	577	109	18.9%	9 2011	348	77	22.1%
62	Mauritius	5 2010	69	13	18.8%	---	---	---	---
"	Republic of Moldova	11 2010	101	19	18.8%	---	---	---	---
63	Bangladesh	12 2008	345	64	18.6%	---	---	---	---
64	Sao Tome and Principe	8 2010	55	10	18.2%	---	---	---	---
65	Honduras	11 2009	128	23	18.0%	---	---	---	---
"	Indonesia	4 2009	560	101	18.0%	---	---	---	---
66	Kazakhstan	8 2007	107	19	17.8%	8 2011	47	?	?
67	United Arab Emirates	9 2011	40	7	17.5%	---	---	---	---
68	Saint Vincent and the Grenadines	12 2010	23	4	17.4%	---	---	---	---
69	Greece	10 2009	300	52	17.3%	---	---	---	---
70	Venezuela	9 2010	165	28	17.0%	---	---	---	---
71	United States of America ²	11 2010	434	73	16.8%	11 2010	100	17	17.0%
"	Turkmenistan	12 2008	125	21	16.8%	---	---	---	---
72	Bosnia and Herzegovina	10 2010	42	7	16.7%	6 2011	15	2	13.3%
"	Morocco	11 2011	395	66	16.7%	10.2009	270	6	2.2%
"	San Marino	11 2008	60	10	16.7%	---	---	---	---
73	Albania	6 2009	140	23	16.4%	---	---	---	---
74	Azerbaijan	11 2010	125	20	16.0%	---	---	---	---
"	Slovakia	6 2010	150	24	16.0%	---	---	---	---
75	Thailand	7 2011	500	79	15.8%	4 2011	149	23	15.4%
76	Democratic People's Republic of Korea	3 2009	687	107	15.6%	---	---	---	---
77	Burkina Faso	5 2007	111	17	15.3%	---	---	---	---
78	Uruguay	10 2009	99	15	15.2%	10 2009	31	4	12.9%
79	Ireland	2 2011	166	25	15.1%	4 2011	60	18	30.0%
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%
"	Turkey	6 2011	550	78	14.2%	---	---	---	---
84	Russian Federation	12 2007	450	63	14.0%	N.A.	169	8	4.7%
85	Cameroon	7 2007	180	25	13.9%	---	---	---	---
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	5	23.8%
"	Niger	1 2011	113	15	13.3%	---	---	---	---
89	Sierra Leone	8 2007	121	16	13.2%	---	---	---	---
90	Chad	2 2011	188	24	12.8%	---	---	---	---
91	Colombia	3 2010	166	21	12.7%	3 2010	102	16	15.7%
92	Central African Republic	1 2011	104	13	12.5%	---	---	---	---
"	Dominica	12 2009	32	4	12.5%	---	---	---	---
"	Madagascar	10 2010	256	32	12.5%	10 2010	90	10	11.1%
"	Paraguay	4 2008	80	10	12.5%	4 2008	45	7	15.6%
93	Syrian Arab Republic	4 2007	250	31	12.4%	---	---	---	---
94	Bahamas	5 2007	41	5	12.2%	5 2007	15	5	33.3%
95	Romania	11 2008	334	38	11.4%	11 2008	137	8	5.8%
96	Japan	8 2009	480	54	11.3%	7 2010	242	44	18.2%
97	Montenegro	3 2009	81	9	11.1%	---	---	---	---
"	Togo	10 2007	81	9	11.1%	---	---	---	---
98	Zambia	9 2011	155	17	11.0%	---	---	---	---
99	India	4 2009	545	59	10.8%	3 2010	242	25	10.3%
"	Jordan	11 2010	120	13	10.8%	10 2011	60	7	11.7%
100	Cyprus	5 2011	56	6	10.7%	---	---	---	---
101	Antigua and Barbuda	3 2009	19	2	10.5%	4 2009	17	5	29.4%
102	Mali	7 2007	147	15	10.2%	---	---	---	---
103	Bahrain	9 2011	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%	---	---	---	---
"	Guinea-Bissau	11 2008	100	10	10.0%	---	---	---	---
104	Malaysia	3 2008	222	22	9.9%	N.A.	64	18	28.1%
105	Kenya	12 2007	224	22	9.8%	---	---	---	---
"	Suriname	5 2010	51	5	9.8%	---	---	---	---
106	Armenia	5 2007	131	12	9.2%	---	---	---	---
107	Hungary	4 2010	386	35	9.1%	---	---	---	---
108	Cote d'Ivoire	12 2000	203	18	8.9%	---	---	---	---
109	Kiribati	10 2011	46	4	8.7%	---	---	---	---
"	Malta	3 2008	69	6	8.7%	---	---	---	---
110	Brazil	10 2010	513	44	8.6%	10 2010	81	13	16.0%
111	Bhutan	3 2008	47	4	8.5%	12 2007	25	6	24.0%
"	Panama	5 2009	71	6	8.5%	---	---	---	---
112	Benin	4 2011	83	7	8.4%	---	---	---	---
113	Ghana	12 2008	230	19	8.3%	---	---	---	---
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%	---	---	---	---
117	Gambia	1 2002	53	4	7.5%	---	---	---	---
118	Congo	6 2007	137	10	7.3%	10 2011	72	10	13.9%
119	Somalia	8 2004	546	37	6.8%	---	---	---	---
120	Saint Kitts and Nevis	1 2010	15	1	6.7%	---	---	---	---
"	Tuvalu	9 2010	15	1	6.7%	---	---	---	---
121	Georgia	5 2008	138	9	6.5%	---	---	---	---
"	Maldives	5 2009	77	5	6.5%	---	---	---	---
122	Sri Lanka	4 2010	225	13	5.8%	---	---	---	---
123	Myanmar	11 2010	326	14	4.3%	11 2010	168	6	3.6%
124	Haiti	11 2010	95	4	4.2%	11 2010	30	1	3.3%
125	Samoa	3 2011	49	2	4.1%	---	---	---	---
126	Mongolia	6 2008	76	3	3.9%	---	---	---	---
127	Nigeria	4 2011	352	13	3.7%	4 2011	109	4	3.7%
128	Tonga ³	11 2010	28	1	3.6%	---	---	---	---
129	Lebanon	6 2009	128	4	3.1%	---	---	---	---
130	Comoros	12 2009	33	1	3.0%	---	---	---	---
131	Iran (Islamic Republic of)	3 2008	290	8	2.8%	---	---	---	---
132	Vanuatu	9 2008	52	1	1.9%	---	---	---	---
133	Oman	10 2011	84	1	1.2%	10 2011	83	15	18.1%
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 2011	14	0	0.0%	---	---	---	---
"	Nauru	6 2010	18	0	0.0%	---	---	---	---
"	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%	---	---	---	---
?	Democratic Republic of the Congo	11 2011	500	?	?	1 2007	108	5	4.6%
?	Guatemala	9 2011	158	?	?	---	---	---	---
?	Guyana	11 2011	70	?	?	---	---	---	---
?	Liberia	10 2011	73	?	?	10 2011	30	?	?
?	Marshall Islands	11 2007	33	?	?	---	---	---	---
"	Saint Lucia	11 2011	18	?	?	1 2007	11	4	36.4%

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

Egypt: The People’s Assembly and the Shoura Assembly were dissolved by the Egypt Supreme Council of Armed Forces (ESCAF) on 13 February 2011.

Guinea: The parliament was dissolved following the December 2008 coup

Libya: Following the popular uprising and protracted fighting that eventually ousted Col. Muammar Gaddafi, the General People's Congress - the unicameral parliament of the now defunct Libyan Arab Jamahiriya - has ceased to function. Parliamentary elections are expected to be held in 2012 under the supervision of the National Transitional Council, the interim government of the new Libya.

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.