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 2024

Global averages
Lower chamber and unicameral Upper chamber All chambers
Total MPs 37,248 7,012 44,260
Gender breakdown known for 37,248 7,012 44,260
Men 27,229 5,128 32,357
Women 10,019 1,884 11,903
Percentage of women 26.9% 26.9% 26.9%
Regional averages
Region Lower chamber and unicameral Upper chamber All chambers
Americas 34.8% 36.4% 35.1%
Caribbean 40.7% 32.5% 39.5%
North America 37.9% 44.0% 39.1%
South America 31.2% 31.8% 31.3%
Central America 29.9% 42.9% 30.2%
Europe 31.7% 31.4% 31.6%
Nordic countries 45.9% 45.9%
Western Europe 36.1% 33.6% 35.3%
Southern Europe 29.2% 39.6% 31.1%
Central and Eastern Europe 26.5% 19.2% 25.6%
Sub-Saharan Africa 27.2% 27.5% 27.3%
East Africa 32.2% 30.0% 32.0%
Southern Africa 31.6% 35.4% 32.0%
Central Africa 23.3% 28.6% 24.6%
West Africa 19.1% 13.1% 18.5%
Asia 21.7% 18.9% 21.4%
Central Asia 26.2% 24.6% 25.8%
South East Asia 23.2% 13.4% 21.9%
East Asia 22.9% 26.6% 23.1%
South Asia 16.5% 17.3% 16.6%
Pacific 19.4% 49.4% 22.5%
Australia and New Zealand 41.4% 56.6% 44.7%
Pacific Islands 7.1% 7.7% 7.1%
Middle East and North Africa 17.7% 11.6% 16.5%
Middle East 18.1% 13.8% 17.2%
North Africa 17.0% 7.2% 15.2%