Global and regional averages of women in national parliaments

Each month, IPU publishes global and regional averages of the percentage of women in national parliaments. See the monthly ranking for the data used to compile the averages.

The data in this table has been compiled by the Inter-Parliamentary Union on the basis of information provided by national parliaments.

Figures correspond to the number of seats filled in Parliament at the given time. These averages may evolve over time based on updates received from Parliaments.

See the regional groupings of countries used to make the regional averages.

The regions in the table below are listed by percentage of seats held by women in lower and single chambers.

Global and regional averages for 1997-2018 are available on the IPU archive site.

Averages as of 1st January 2022

Global averages
Lower chamber and unicameral Upper chamber All chambers
Total MPs 38,348 7,430 45,778
Gender breakdown known for 38,348 7,430 45,778
Men 28,295 5,547 33,842
Women 10,053 1,883 11,936
Percentage of women 26.2% 25.3% 26.1%
Regional averages
Region Lower chamber and unicameral Upper chamber All chambers
Americas 33.9% 33.3% 33.8%
Caribbean 40.9% 31.2% 39.5%
North America 37.2% 41.3% 38.0%
Central America 29.1% 35.7% 29.2%
South America 29.1% 28.1% 28.9%
Europe 31.3% 30.5% 31.1%
Nordic countries 44.7% 44.7%
Western Europe 36.6% 32.2% 35.2%
Southern Europe 29.5% 36.9% 31.0%
Central and Eastern Europe 25.6% 20.0% 24.9%
Sub-Saharan Africa 26.0% 25.2% 25.9%
East Africa 32.4% 30.3% 32.1%
Southern Africa 30.7% 31.9% 30.9%
Central Africa 21.9% 24.5% 22.5%
West Africa 16.2% 12.2% 15.8%
Asia 21.1% 18.2% 20.7%
Central Asia 27.5% 23.1% 26.1%
South East Asia 21.9% 13.9% 20.6%
East Asia 21.7% 23.1% 21.8%
South Asia 17.6% 18.9% 17.8%
Middle East and North Africa 18.2% 11.3% 16.9%
Middle East 18.3% 12.4% 17.1%
North Africa 18.2% 8.8% 16.7%
Pacific 17.9% 46.6% 20.9%
Australia and New Zealand 39.1% 53.3% 42.2%
Pacific Islands 6.0% 7.7% 6.0%