According to data from
the Inter-Parliamentary Union, women’s representation in national parliaments
has increased substantially in the last decades, going from 13.8 percent in
2000 to 24.3 percent in 2019. Among regional averages, Nordic countries are the
ones with the highest proportion of women in parliament, with 42.5 percent in
both houses combined. They are followed by the Americas (30.6 percent), Europe
- OSCE member countries including Nordic countries (28.6 percent), Europe -
OSCE member countries excluding Nordic countries (27.2 percent), Sub-Saharan
Africa (23.9 percent), Asia (19.9 percent), Arab States (19 percent) and the
Pacific (16.3 percent). The countries with the highest presence of women in
lower houses of parliament include Rwanda (61.3 percent), Cuba (53.2 percent)
and Bolivia (53.1 percent). In all other countries women parliamentarians
account for less than half of their respective lower houses of parliament.[1]
Updated statistics on
women’s representation in national parliaments can be found in the Inter-Parliamentary
Union database.
