Global Gender Gap Report

Cover of the 2008 report

The Global Gender Gap Report is an index designed to measure gender equality. It was first published in 2006 by the World Economic Forum.

It "assesses countries on how well they are dividing their resources and opportunities among their male and female populations, regardless of the overall levels of these resources and opportunities," the Report says. "By providing a comprehensible framework for assessing and comparing global gender gaps and by revealing those countries that are role models in dividing these resources equitably between women and men, the Report serves as a catalyst for greater awareness as well as greater exchange between policymakers."

According to the World Economic Forum's Global Gender Gap Report 2023, it will take exactly 131 years for the gender gap to close.

Methodology

The report's Gender Gap Index ranks countries according to calculated gender gap between women and men in four key areas: health, education, economy and politics to gauge the state of gender equality in a country.

The report examines four overall areas of inequality between men and women in 130 economies around the globe, over 93% of the world's population:

  • Economic participation and opportunity – outcomes on salaries, participation levels and access to high-skilled employment
  • Educational attainment – outcomes on access to basic and higher-level education
  • Political empowerment – outcomes on representation in decision-making structures
  • Health and survival – outcomes on life expectancy and sex ratio. In this case parity is not assumed, there are assumed to be fewer female births than male (944 female for every 1,000 males), and men are assumed to die younger. Provided that women live at least six percent longer than men, parity is assumed. But if it is less than six percent it counts as a gender gap.

Thirteen out of the fourteen variables used to create the index are from publicly available "hard data" indicators from international organizations, such as the International Labour Organization, the United Nations Development Programme and the World Health Organization.

Upper limiting value of the Gender Gap Index

1. Economic participation and opportunity
 ratio limit weight value
* Labour force participation 1.0 0.199 0.199
* Wage equality for similar work 1.0 0.310 0.310
* Estimated earned income 1.0 0.221 0.221
* Legislators, senior officials and managers 1.0 0.149 0.149
* Professional and technical workers 1.0 0.121 0.121
  sum 1.0 1.0
2. Educational attainment
 ratio limit weight value
* Literacy rate 1.0 0.191 0.191
* Enrolment in primary education 1.0 0.459 0.459
* Enrolment in secondary education 1.0 0.229 0.229
* Enrolment in tertiary education 1.0 0.121 0.121
  sum 1.0 1.0
3. Health and survival
 ratio limit weight value
* Sex ratio at birth 0.944 0.693 0.654
* Healthy life expectancy 1.060 0.307 0.325
  sum 1.0 0.980
4. Political empowerment
 ratio limit weight value
* Women in parliament 1.0 0.310 0.310
* Women in ministerial positions 1.0 0.247 0.247
* Years with female head of state 1.0 0.443 0.443
  sum 1.0 1.0
Compilation
1. Economic participation and opportunity 1.000
2. Educational attainment 1.000
3. Health and survival 0.980
4. Political empowerment 1.000
sum   3.980

Gender Gap Index: 3.98 / 4 = 0.9949

This is the upper limiting value of the Gender Gap Index (limes superior) for the female-to-male ratio and for the male-to-female ratio.

WEF Global Gender Gap Index rankings

The highest possible score is 1.0 (equality or better for women, except for lifespan (106% or better for women) and gender parity at birth (94.4% or better for women) and the lowest possible score is 0. Data for some countries are unavailable. The three highest-ranking countries have closed over 84% of their gender gaps, while the lowest-ranking country has closed only a little over 50% of its gender gap.

Global Gender Gap Report 2020
Location Year
Country Region 2006 2007 2008 2009 2010 2011 2012 2013 2014 2015 2016 2017 2018 2020 2021 2022
Afghanistan South Asia N/A N/A N/A N/A N/A N/A N/A N/A N/A N/A N/A N/A N/A N/A 0.444 0.435
Albania Europe 0.6607 0.6685 0.6591 0.6601 0.6726 0.6748 0.6655 0.6412 0.6869 0.701 0.704 0.728 0.734 0.769 0.770 0.787
Algeria Africa 0.6018 0.6068 0.6111 0.6119 0.6052 0.5991 0.6112 0.5966 0.6182 0.632 0.642 0.629 0.629 0.634 0.633 0.602
Angola Africa 0.6039 0.6034 0.6032 0.6353 0.6712 0.6624 N/A 0.6659 0.6311 0.637 0.643 0.640 0.633 0.660 0.657 0.638
Argentina South America 0.6829 0.6982 0.7209 0.7211 0.7187 0.7236 0.7212 0.7195 0.7317 0.734 0.735 0.732 0.733 0.746 0.752 0.756
Armenia West Asia N/A 0.6651 0.6677 0.6619 0.6669 0.6654 0.6636 0.6634 0.6622 0.668 0.669 0.677 0.678 0.684 0.673 0.698
Australia Oceania 0.7163 0.7204 0.7241 0.7282 0.7271 0.7291 0.7294 0.7390 0.7409 0.733 0.721 0.731 0.730 0.731 0.731 0.738
Austria Europe 0.6986 0.7060 0.7153 0.7031 0.7091 0.7165 0.7391 0.7437 0.7266 0.733 0.716 0.709 0.718 0.744 0.777 0.781
Azerbaijan West Asia N/A 0.6781 0.6856 0.6626 0.6446 0.6577 0.6546 0.6582 0.6753 0.675 0.684 0.676 0.680 0.687 0.688 0.687
Bahamas Central America N/A N/A N/A 0.7179 0.7128 0.7340 0.7156 0.7128 0.7269 0.728 0.729 0.743 0.741 0.720 0.725 N/A
Bahrain West Asia 0.5894 0.5931 0.5927 0.6136 0.6217 0.6232 0.6298 0.6334 0.6261 0.644 0.615 0.632 0.627 0.629 0.632 0.632
Bangladesh South Asia 0.6270 0.6314 0.6531 0.6526 0.6702 0.6812 0.6684 0.6848 0.6973 0.704 0.698 0.719 0.721 0.726 0.719 0.714
Barbados Central America N/A N/A 0.7188 0.7236 0.7176 0.7170 0.7232 0.7301 0.7289 0.744 0.739 0.750 0.753 0.749 0.769 0.765
Belarus Europe N/A N/A N/A N/A N/A N/A N/A N/A N/A 0.734 0.737 0.744 0.747 0.746 0.758 0.750
Belgium Europe 0.7078 0.7198 0.7163 0.7165 0.7509 0.7531 0.7652 0.7684 0.7809 0.753 0.745 0.739 0.738 0.750 0.789 0.793
Belize Central America N/A 0.6426 0.6610 0.6636 0.6536 0.6489 0.6465 0.6449 0.6701 0.668 0.676 0.692 0.662 0.671 0.699 0.695
Benin Africa 0.5780 0.5656 0.5582 0.5643 0.5719 0.5832 0.6258 0.5885 N/A 0.625 0.636 0.652 0.654 0.658 0.653 0.612
Bhutan South Asia N/A N/A N/A N/A N/A N/A N/A 0.6651 0.6364 0.646 0.642 0.638 0.638 0.635 0.639 0.637
Bolivia South America 0.6335 0.6574 0.6667 0.6693 0.6751 0.6862 0.7222 0.7340 0.7049 0.749 0.746 0.758 0.748 0.734 0.722 0.734
Bosnia and Herzegovina Europe N/A N/A N/A N/A N/A N/A N/A N/A N/A N/A N/A N/A N/A N/A 0.713 0.710
Botswana Africa 0.6897 0.6797 0.6839 0.7071 0.6876 0.6832 0.6744 0.6752 0.7129 0.710 0.715 0.720 0.715 0.709 0.716 0.719
Brazil South America 0.6543 0.6637 0.6737 0.6695 0.6655 0.6679 0.6909 0.6949 0.6941 0.686 0.687 0.684 0.681 0.691 0.695 0.696
Brunei Darussalam Southeast Asia N/A N/A 0.6392 0.6524 0.6748 0.6787 0.6750 0.6730 0.6719 0.684 0.669 0.671 0.686 0.686 0.678 0.680
Bulgaria Europe 0.6870 0.7085 0.7077 0.7072 0.6983 0.6987 0.7021 0.7097 0.7444 0.722 0.726 0.756 0.756 0.727 0.746 0.740
Burkina Faso Africa 0.5854 0.5912 0.6029 0.6081 0.6162 0.6153 0.6455 0.6513 0.6500 0.651 0.64 0.646 0.629 0.635 0.651 0.659
Burundi Africa N/A N/A N/A N/A N/A 0.7270 0.7338 0.7397 0.7565 0.748 0.768 0.755 0.741 0.745 0.769 0.777
Cambodia Southeast Asia 0.6291 0.6353 0.6469 0.6410 0.6482 0.6464 0.6457 0.6509 0.6520 0.662 0.658 0.676 0.683 0.694 0.685 0.690
Cameroon Africa 0.5865 0.5919 0.6017 0.6108 0.6110 0.6073 0.6291 0.6560 N/A 0.682 0.684 0.689 0.714 0.686 0.692 0.692
Canada North America 0.7165 0.7198 0.7136 0.7196 0.7372 0.7407 0.7381 0.7425 0.7464 0.740 0.731 0.769 0.771 0.772 0.772 0.772
Cape Verde Africa N/A N/A N/A N/A N/A N/A 0.7180 0.7122 0.7133 0.717 0.729 0.686 0.702 0.725 0.716 0.736
Chad Africa 0.5247 0.5381 0.5290 0.5417 0.5330 0.5334 0.5594 0.5588 0.5764 0.580 0.587 0.575 0.580 0.596 0.593 0.579
Chile South America 0.6455 0.6482 0.6818 0.6884 0.7013 0.7030 0.6676 0.6670 0.6975 0.698 0.699 0.704 0.717 0.723 0.716 0.736
China East Asia 0.6561 0.6643 0.6878 0.6907 0.6881 0.6866 0.6853 0.6908 0.6830 0.682 0.676 0.674 0.673 0.676 0.682 0.682
Colombia South America 0.7049 0.7090 0.6944 0.6939 0.6927 0.6714 0.6901 0.7171 0.7122 0.725 0.727 0.731 0.729 0.758 0.725 0.710
Comoros Africa N/A N/A N/A N/A N/A N/A N/A N/A N/A N/A N/A N/A N/A N/A N/A 0.631
Costa Rica Central America 0.6936 0.7014 0.7111 0.7180 0.7194 0.7266 0.7225 0.7241 0.7165 0.732 0.736 0.727 0.749 0.782 0.786 0.796
Côte d'Ivoire Africa N/A N/A N/A N/A 0.5691 0.5773 0.5785 0.5814 0.5874 0.606 0.597 0.611 0.627 0.606 0.637 0.632
Croatia Europe 0.7145 0.7210 0.6967 0.6944 0.6939 0.7006 0.7053 0.7069 0.7075 0.708 0.7 0.711 0.712 0.720 0.733 N/A
Cuba Central America N/A 0.7169 0.7195 0.7176 0.7253 0.7394 0.7417 0.7540 0.7317 0.740 0.74 0.745 0.749 0.746 0.746 N/A
Cyprus West Asia 0.6430 0.6522 0.6694 0.6706 0.6642 0.6567 0.6732 0.6801 0.6741 0.671 0.684 0.684 0.684 0.692 0.707 0.696
Czech Republic Europe 0.6712 0.6718 0.6770 0.6789 0.6850 0.6789 0.6767 0.6770 0.6737 0.687 0.69 0.688 0.693 0.706 0.711 0.710
Democratic Republic of the Congo Africa N/A N/A N/A N/A N/A N/A N/A N/A N/A N/A N/A N/A N/A N/A 0.576 0.575
Denmark Europe 0.7462 0.7519 0.7538 0.7628 0.7719 0.7778 0.7777 0.7779 0.8025 0.767 0.754 0.776 0.778 0.782 0.768 0.764
Dominican Republic Central America 0.6639 0.6705 0.6744 0.6859 0.6774 0.6682 0.6659 0.6867 0.6906 0.686 0.676 0.697 0.701 0.700 0.699 0.703
Ecuador South America 0.6433 0.6881 0.7091 0.7220 0.7072 0.7035 0.7206 0.7389 0.7455 0.738 0.726 0.724 0.729 0.729 0.739 0.743
Egypt Africa 0.5786 0.5809 0.5832 0.5862 0.5899 0.5933 0.5975 0.5935 0.6064 0.599 0.614 0.608 0.614 0.629 0.639 0.635
El Salvador Central America 0.6837 0.6853 0.6875 0.6939 0.6596 0.6567 0.6630 0.6609 0.6863 0.706 0.702 0.705 0.690 0.706 0.738 0.727
Estonia Europe 0.6944 0.7008 0.7076 0.7094 0.7018 0.6983 0.6977 0.6997 0.7017 0.749 0.747 0.731 0.734 0.751 0.733 0.733
Eswatini Africa N/A N/A N/A N/A N/A N/A N/A N/A N/A 0.670 0.665 0.670 N/A N/A 0.729 0.728
Ethiopia Africa 0.5946 0.5991 0.5867 0.5948 0.6019 0.6136 0.6200 0.6198 0.6144 0.640 0.662 0.656 0.656 0.705 0.691 0.710
Fiji Oceania N/A N/A N/A 0.6414 0.6256 0.6255 0.6285 0.6286 0.6286 0.645 N/A N/A 0.669 0.678 0.674 0.676
Finland Europe 0.7958 0.8044 0.8195 0.8252 0.8260 0.8383 0.8451 0.8421 0.8453 0.850 0.845 0.823 0.821 0.832 0.861 0.860
France Europe 0.6520 0.6824 0.7341 0.7331 0.7025 0.7018 0.6984 0.7089 0.7588 0.761 0.755 0.778 0.779 0.781 0.784 0.791
Gambia, The Africa 0.6448 0.6421 0.6622 0.6752 0.6762 0.6763 0.6630 N/A N/A 0.674 0.667 0.649 0.642 0.628 0.644 0.641
Georgia West Asia 0.6700 0.6665 0.6654 0.6680 0.6598 0.6624 0.6691 0.6750 0.6855 0.687 0.681 0.679 0.677 0.708 0.732 0.731
Germany Europe 0.7524 0.7618 0.7394 0.7449 0.7530 0.7590 0.7629 0.7583 0.7780 0.779 0.766 0.778 0.776 0.787 0.796 0.801
Ghana Africa 0.6653 0.6725 0.6679 0.6704 0.6782 0.6811 0.6778 0.6811 0.6661 0.704 0.705 0.695 0.688 0.673 0.666 0.672
Greece Europe 0.6540 0.6648 0.6727 0.6662 0.6908 0.6916 0.6716 0.6782 0.6784 0.685 0.68 0.692 0.696 0.701 0.689 0.689
Guatemala Central America 0.6067 0.6144 0.6072 0.6209 0.6238 0.6229 0.6260 0.6304 0.6821 0.667 0.666 0.667 0.668 0.666 0.655 0.664
Guinea Africa N/A N/A N/A N/A N/A N/A N/A N/A N/A 0.618 0.64 0.659 0.656 0.642 0.660 0.647
Guyana South America N/A N/A N/A 0.7108 0.7090 0.7084 0.7119 0.7085 0.7010 0.702 N/A N/A N/A N/A 0.728 0.752
Honduras Central America 0.6483 0.6661 0.6960 0.6893 0.6927 0.6945 0.6763 0.6773 0.6935 0.688 0.69 0.711 0.706 0.722 0.716 0.705
Hungary Europe 0.6698 0.6731 0.6867 0.6879 0.6720 0.6642 0.6718 0.6742 0.6759 0.672 0.669 0.670 0.674 0.677 0.688 0.699
Iceland Europe 0.7813 0.7836 0.7999 0.8276 0.8496 0.8530 0.8640 0.8731 0.8594 0.881 0.874 0.878 0.858 0.877 0.892 0.908
India South Asia 0.6011 0.5936 0.6060 0.6151 0.6155 0.6190 0.6442 0.6551 0.6455 0.664 0.683 0.669 0.665 0.668 0.625 0.629
Indonesia Southeast Asia 0.6541 0.6550 0.6473 0.6580 0.6615 0.6594 0.6591 0.6613 0.6725 0.681 0.682 0.691 0.691 0.700 0.688 0.697
Iran West Asia 0.5803 0.5903 0.6021 0.5839 0.5933 0.5894 0.5927 0.5842 0.5811 0.580 0.587 0.583 0.589 0.584 0.582 0.576
Iraq West Asia N/A N/A N/A N/A N/A N/A N/A N/A N/A N/A N/A N/A N/A N/A 0.535 N/A
Ireland Europe 0.7335 0.7457 0.7518 0.7597 0.7773 0.7830 0.7839 0.7823 0.7850 0.807 0.797 0.794 0.796 0.798 0.800 0.804
Israel West Asia 0.6889 0.6965 0.6900 0.7019 0.6957 0.6926 0.6989 0.7032 0.7005 0.712 0.719 0.721 0.722 0.718 0.724 0.727
Italy Europe 0.6456 0.6498 0.6788 0.6798 0.6765 0.6796 0.6729 0.6885 0.6973 0.726 0.719 0.692 0.706 0.707 0.721 0.720
Jamaica Central America 0.7014 0.6925 0.6980 0.7013 0.7037 0.7028 0.7035 0.7085 0.7128 0.703 0.724 0.717 0.724 0.735 0.741 0.749
Japan East Asia 0.6447 0.6455 0.6434 0.6447 0.6524 0.6514 0.6530 0.6498 0.6584 0.670 0.66 0.657 0.662 0.652 0.656 0.650
Jordan West Asia 0.6109 0.6203 0.6275 0.6182 0.6048 0.6117 0.6103 0.6093 0.5968 0.593 0.603 0.604 0.605 0.623 0.683 0.639
Kazakhstan Central Asia 0.6928 0.6983 0.6976 0.7013 0.7055 0.7010 0.7213 0.7218 0.7210 0.719 0.718 0.713 0.712 0.710 0.710 0.719
Kenya Africa 0.6486 0.6508 0.6547 0.6512 0.6499 0.6493 0.6768 0.6803 0.7258 0.719 0.702 0.694 0.700 0.671 0.692 0.729
Korea, Rep. East Asia 0.6157 0.6409 0.6154 0.6146 0.6342 0.6281 0.6356 0.6351 0.6403 0.651 0.649 0.650 0.657 0.672 0.687 0.689
Kuwait West Asia 0.6341 0.6409 0.6358 0.6356 0.6318 0.6322 0.6320 0.6292 0.6457 0.646 0.624 0.679 0.630 0.650 0.621 0.632
Kyrgyz Republic Central Asia 0.6742 0.6653 0.7045 0.7058 0.6973 0.7036 0.7013 0.6948 0.6974 0.693 0.687 0.691 0.691 0.689 0.681 0.700
Laos Southeast Asia N/A N/A N/A N/A N/A N/A N/A 0.6993 0.7044 0.713 N/A 0.703 0.748 0.731 0.750 0.733
Latvia Europe 0.7091 0.7333 0.7397 0.7416 0.7429 0.7399 0.7572 0.7610 0.7691 0.752 0.755 0.756 0.758 0.785 0.778 0.771
Lebanon West Asia N/A N/A N/A N/A 0.6084 0.6083 0.6030 0.6028 0.5923 0.598 0.598 0.596 0.595 0.599 0.638 0.644
Lesotho Africa 0.6807 0.7078 0.7320 0.7495 0.7678 0.7666 0.7608 0.7530 0.7255 0.706 0.706 0.695 0.693 0.695 0.698 0.700
Liberia Africa N/A N/A N/A N/A N/A N/A N/A N/A N/A 0.652 0.652 0.669 0.681 0.685 0.693 0.709
Lithuania Europe 0.7077 0.7234 0.7222 0.7175 0.7132 0.7131 0.7191 0.7308 0.7208 0.740 0.744 0.742 0.749 0.745 0.804 0.799
Luxembourg Europe 0.6671 0.6786 0.6802 0.6889 0.7231 0.7216 0.7439 0.7410 0.7333 0.738 0.734 0.706 0.712 0.725 0.726 0.736
North Macedonia Europe 0.6983 0.6967 0.6914 0.6950 0.6996 0.6966 0.6968 0.7013 0.6943 0.701 0.696 0.702 0.707 0.711 0.715 0.716
Madagascar Africa 0.6385 0.6461 0.6736 0.6732 0.6713 0.6797 0.6982 0.7016 0.7214 0.698 0.704 0.692 0.691 0.719 0.725 0.735
Malawi Africa 0.6437 0.6480 0.6664 0.6738 0.6824 0.6850 0.7166 0.7139 0.7281 0.701 0.7 0.672 0.662 0.664 0.671 0.632
Malaysia Southeast Asia 0.6509 0.6444 0.6442 0.6467 0.6479 0.6525 0.6539 0.6518 0.6520 0.655 0.666 0.670 0.676 0.677 0.676 0.681
Maldives South Asia N/A 0.6350 0.6501 0.6482 0.6452 0.6480 0.6616 0.6604 0.6557 0.652 .65 0.669 0.662 0.646 0.642 0.648
Mali Africa 0.5996 0.6019 0.6117 0.5860 0.5680 0.5752 0.5842 0.5872 0.5779 0.599 0.591 0.583 0.582 0.621 0.591 0.601
Malta Europe 0.6518 0.6615 0.6634 0.6635 0.6695 0.6658 0.6666 0.6761 0.6707 0.668 0.664 0.682 0.686 0.693 0.703 0.703
Mauritania Africa 0.5835 0.6022 0.6117 0.6103 0.6152 0.6164 0.6129 0.5810 0.6029 0.613 0.624 0.614 0.607 0.614 0.606 N/A
Mauritius Africa 0.6328 0.6487 0.6466 0.6513 0.6520 0.6529 0.6547 0.6599 0.6541 0.646 0.652 0.664 0.663 0.665 0.679 0.679
Mexico North America 0.6462 0.6441 0.6441 0.6503 0.6577 0.6604 0.6712 0.6917 0.6900 0.699 0.7 0.692 0.721 0.754 0.757 0.764
Moldova Europe 0.7128 0.7172 0.7244 0.7104 0.7160 0.7083 0.7101 0.7037 0.7405 0.742 0.741 0.740 0.733 0.757 0.768 0.788
Mongolia East Asia 0.6821 0.6731 0.7049 0.7221 0.7194 0.7140 0.7111 0.7204 0.7212 0.709 0.705 0.713 0.714 0.706 0.716 0.715
Montenegro Europe N/A N/A N/A N/A N/A N/A N/A N/A N/A 0.689 0.681 0.693 0.706 0.710 0.732 0.732
Morocco Africa 0.5827 0.5676 0.5757 0.5926 0.5767 0.5804 0.5833 0.5845 0.5988 0.593 0.597 0.598 0.607 0.605 0.612 0.624
Mozambique Africa N/A 0.6883 0.7266 0.7195 0.7329 0.7251 0.7350 0.7349 0.7370 0.741 0.75 0.741 0.721 0.723 0.758 0.752
Myanmar Southeast Asia N/A N/A N/A N/A N/A N/A N/A N/A N/A N/A N/A 0.691 0.690 0.665 0.681 0.677
Namibia Africa 0.6864 0.7012 0.7141 0.7167 0.7238 0.7177 0.7121 0.7094 0.7219 0.760 0.765 0.777 0.789 0.784 0.809 0.807
Nepal South Asia 0.5478 0.5575 0.5942 0.6213 0.6084 0.5888 0.6026 0.6053 0.6458 0.658 0.661 0.664 0.671 0.680 0.683 0.692
Netherlands Europe 0.7250 0.7383 0.7399 0.7490 0.7444 0.7470 0.7659 0.7608 0.7730 0.776 0.756 0.737 0.747 0.736 0.762 0.767
New Zealand Oceania 0.7509 0.7649 0.7859 0.7880 0.7808 0.7810 0.7805 0.7799 0.7772 0.782 0.781 0.791 0.801 0.799 0.840 0.841
Nicaragua Central America 0.6566 0.6458 0.6747 0.7002 0.7176 0.7245 0.7697 0.7715 0.7894 0.776 0.78 0.814 0.809 0.804 0.796 0.810
Niger Africa N/A N/A N/A N/A N/A N/A N/A N/A N/A N/A N/A N/A N/A N/A 0.629 0.635
Nigeria Africa 0.6104 0.6122 0.6339 0.6280 0.6055 0.6011 0.6315 0.6469 0.6391 0.638 0.643 0.641 0.621 0.635 0.627 0.639
Norway Europe 0.7994 0.8059 0.8239 0.8227 0.8404 0.8404 0.8403 0.8417 0.8374 0.850 0.842 0.830 0.835 0.842 0.849 0.845
Oman West Asia N/A 0.5903 0.5960 0.5938 0.5950 0.5873 0.5986 0.6053 0.6091 0.604 0.612 N/A 0.605 0.602 0.608 0.609
Pakistan South Asia 0.5434 0.5509 0.5549 0.5458 0.5465 0.5583 0.5478 0.5459 0.5522 0.559 0.556 0.546 0.550 0.564 0.556 0.564
Panama Central America 0.6935 0.6954 0.7095 0.7024 0.7072 0.7042 0.7122 0.7164 0.7195 0.772 0.721 0.722 0.722 0.730 0.737 0.743
Papua New Guinea Oceania N/A N/A N/A N/A N/A N/A N/A N/A N/A N/A N/A N/A N/A N/A 0.635 N/A
Paraguay South America 0.6556 0.6659 0.6379 0.6868 0.6804 0.6818 0.6714 0.6724 0.6890 0.666 0.676 0.678 0.672 0.683 0.702 0.707
Peru South America 0.6619 0.6624 0.6959 0.7024 0.6895 0.6796 0.6742 0.6787 0.7198 0.683 0.687 0.719 0.720 0.714 0.721 0.749
Philippines Southeast Asia 0.7516 0.7629 0.7568 0.7579 0.7654 0.7685 0.7757 0.7832 0.7814 0.790 0.786 0.790 0.799 0.781 0.784 0.783
Poland Europe 0.6802 0.6756 0.6951 0.6998 0.7037 0.7038 0.7015 0.7031 0.7051 0.715 0.727 0.728 0.728 0.736 0.713 0.709
Portugal Europe 0.6922 0.6959 0.7051 0.7013 0.7171 0.7144 0.7071 0.7056 0.7243 0.731 0.737 0.734 0.732 0.744 0.775 0.766
Qatar West Asia N/A 0.6041 0.5948 0.5907 0.6059 0.6230 0.6264 0.6299 0.6403 0.645 0.643 0.626 0.629 0.629 0.624 0.617
Romania Europe 0.6797 0.6859 0.6763 0.6805 0.6826 0.6812 0.6859 0.6908 0.6936 0.693 0.69 0.708 0.711 0.724 0.700 0.698
Russia Europe 0.6770 0.6866 0.6994 0.6987 0.7036 0.7037 0.6980 0.6983 0.6927 0.694 0.691 0.696 0.701 0.706 0.708 N/A
Rwanda Africa N/A N/A N/A N/A N/A N/A N/A N/A N/A 0.794 0.8 0.822 0.804 0.791 0.805 0.811
Saudi Arabia West Asia 0.5242 0.5647 0.5537 0.5651 0.5713 0.5753 0.5731 0.5879 0.6059 0.605 0.583 0.584 0.590 0.599 0.603 0.636
Senegal Africa N/A N/A N/A 0.6427 0.6414 0.6573 0.6657 0.6923 0.6912 0.698 0.685 0.684 0.682 0.684 0.684 0.668
Serbia Europe N/A N/A N/A N/A N/A N/A 0.7037 0.7116 0.7086 0.720 0.72 0.727 0.730 0.736 0.780 0.779
Sierra Leone Africa N/A N/A N/A N/A N/A N/A N/A N/A N/A N/A N/A N/A N/A N/A 0.655 0.672
Singapore Southeast Asia 0.6550 0.6609 0.6625 0.6664 0.6914 0.6914 0.6989 0.7000 0.7046 0.711 0.712 0.702 0.707 0.724 0.727 0.734
Slovakia Europe 0.6757 0.6797 0.6824 0.6845 0.6778 0.6797 0.6824 0.6857 0.6806 0.675 0.679 0.694 0.693 0.718 0.712 0.717
Slovenia Europe 0.6745 0.6842 0.6937 0.6982 0.7047 0.7041 0.7132 0.7155 0.7443 0.784 0.786 0.805 0.784 0.743 0.741 0.744
South Africa Africa 0.7125 0.7194 0.7232 0.7709 0.7535 0.7478 0.7496 0.7510 0.7527 0.759 0.764 0.756 0.755 0.780 0.781 0.782
Spain Europe 0.7319 0.7444 0.7281 0.7345 0.7554 0.7580 0.7266 0.7266 0.7325 0.742 0.738 0.746 0.746 0.795 0.788 0.788
Sri Lanka South Asia 0.7199 0.7230 0.7371 0.7402 0.7458 0.7212 0.7122 0.7019 0.6903 0.686 0.673 0.669 0.676 0.680 0.670 0.670
Suriname South America N/A 0.6794 0.6674 0.6726 0.6407 0.6395 0.6409 0.6369 0.6504 0.670 0.679 0.689 0.695 0.707 0.729 0.737
Sweden Europe 0.8133 0.8146 0.8139 0.8139 0.8024 0.8044 0.8159 0.8129 0.8165 0.823 0.815 0.816 0.822 0.820 0.823 0.822
Switzerland Europe 0.6997 0.6924 0.7360 0.7426 0.7562 0.7627 0.7672 0.7736 0.7798 0.785 0.776 0.755 0.755 0.779 0.798 0.795
Syria West Asia N/A 0.6216 0.6181 0.6072 0.5926 0.5896 0.5626 0.5661 0.5775 0.568 0.567 0.568 0.568 0.567 0.568 N/A
Tajikistan Central Asia N/A 0.6578 0.6541 0.6661 0.6598 0.6526 0.6608 0.6682 0.6654 0.675 0.679 0.678 0.638 0.626 0.650 0.663
Tanzania Africa 0.7038 0.6969 0.7068 0.6797 0.6829 0.6904 0.7091 0.6928 0.7182 0.718 0.716 0.700 0.704 0.713 0.707 0.719
Thailand Southeast Asia 0.6831 0.6815 0.6917 0.6907 0.6910 0.6892 0.6893 0.6928 0.7027 0.706 0.699 0.694 0.702 0.708 0.710 0.709
Timor-Leste Southeast Asia N/A N/A N/A N/A N/A N/A 0.6855 N/A N/A N/A 0.637 0.628 0.638 0.662 0.720 0.730
Togo Africa N/A N/A N/A N/A N/A N/A N/A N/A N/A N/A N/A N/A N/A N/A 0.683 0.697
Trinidad and Tobago Central America 0.6797 0.6859 0.7245 0.7298 0.7353 0.7372 0.7116 0.7166 0.7154 0.720 0.723 N/A N/A 0.756 0.749 N/A
Tunisia Africa 0.6288 0.6283 0.6295 0.6233 0.6266 0.6255 N/A N/A 0.6272 0.634 0.636 0.651 0.648 0.644 0.649 0.643
Turkey West Asia 0.5850 0.5768 0.5853 0.5828 0.5876 0.5954 0.6015 0.6081 0.6183 0.624 0.623 0.625 0.628 0.635 0.638 0.639
Uganda Africa 0.6797 0.6833 0.6981 0.7067 0.7169 0.7220 0.7228 0.7086 0.6821 0.708 0.704 0.721 0.724 0.717 0.717 0.724
Ukraine Europe 0.6797 0.6790 0.6856 0.6896 0.6869 0.6861 0.6894 0.6935 0.7056 0.702 0.7 0.705 0.708 0.721 0.714 0.707
United Arab Emirates West Asia 0.5919 0.6184 0.6220 0.6198 0.6397 0.6454 0.6392 0.6372 0.6436 0.646 0.639 0.649 0.642 0.655 0.716 0.716
United Kingdom Europe 0.7365 0.7441 0.7366 0.7402 0.7460 0.7462 0.7433 0.7440 0.7383 0.758 0.752 0.770 0.744 0.767 0.775 0.780
United States North America 0.7042 0.7002 0.7179 0.7173 0.7411 0.7412 0.7373 0.7392 0.7463 0.740 0.722 0.718 0.720 0.724 0.763 0.769
Uruguay South America 0.6549 0.6608 0.6907 0.6936 0.6897 0.6907 0.6745 0.6803 0.6871 0.679 0.681 0.710 0.715 0.737 0.702 0.711
Vanuatu Oceania N/A N/A N/A N/A N/A N/A N/A N/A N/A N/A N/A N/A N/A N/A 0.625 0.670
Venezuela South America 0.6664 0.6797 0.6875 0.6839 0.6863 0.6861 0.7060 0.7060 0.6851 0.691 0.694 0.706 0.709 0.713 0.699 N/A
Vietnam Southeast Asia N/A 0.6889 0.6778 0.6802 0.6776 0.6732 0.6867 0.6863 0.6915 0.687 0.7 0.698 0.698 0.700 0.701 0.705
Yemen West Asia 0.4595 0.4510 0.4664 0.4609 0.4603 0.4873 0.5054 0.5128 0.5145 0.484 0.516 0.516 0.499 0.494 0.492 N/A
Zambia Africa 0.6360 0.6288 0.6205 0.6310 0.6293 0.6300 0.6279 0.6312 0.6364 0.650 N/A N/A N/A 0.731 0.726 0.723
Zimbabwe Africa 0.6461 0.6464 0.6485 0.6518 0.6574 0.6607 N/A N/A 0.7013 0.709 0.71 0.717 0.721 0.730 0.732 0.734

Limits and criticisms

The report measures women's disadvantage compared to men, and is not a measure of equality of the gender gap. Gender imbalances to the advantage of women do not affect the score. So, for example, the indicator "number of years of a female head of state (last 50 years) over male value" would score 1 if the number of years was 25, but would still score 1 if the number of years was 50. Due to this methodology, gender gaps that favor women over men are reported as equality and would not cause deficits of equality in other areas to become less visible in the score, excepted for life expectancy. To put it more simply: women could be better off in all areas and still the index would deem that country perfectly equal.

The index is designed to "measure gender-based gaps in access to resources and opportunities in countries rather than the actual level of the available resources and opportunities in those countries."

In an academic publication from 2010, Beneria and Permanyer criticized the Global Gender Gap Index for only capturing inequality in certain aspects of women's lives therefore making it an incomplete measure of gender inequality.

In an academic publication from 2019, Stoet and Geary argued that the Global Gender Gap Index has limitations as a measure of gender equality, because of the way it caps scores and because it ignores specific issues on which men are known to fall behind (e.g., risks of working in hazardous jobs). According to the Global Gender Gap Report 2021, the index do not penalize a country where women outperform men in certain aspect and consider that parity is achieved in life expectancy only if women live five years longer than men.

See also