A surge of female candidates entering American political races has prompted news organizations like CNN to call 2018 the "year of the woman." But how does the political representation of women here compare to that around the world? And in particular, where is the political representation of women lowest?
To find out, Stacker looked at data from The World Economic Forum's 2017 Global Gender Gap Report, which is a collection of indices used to evaluate gender equality that the organization has developed through an analysis of global data. We focused in on the political empowerment index, which compares countries based on the ratio of women to men in national governments. That index is comprised of the ratio of women to men in parliament or the legislative equivalent (weight 31%), the ratio of women to men in ministerial positions (weight 24.7%), and the number of years with a female head of state in the past 50 years compared to the number of years with a male head of state (44.3%).
Countries are listed in this slideshow from #50 (lower/better political empowerment rank) to #1 (highest/worst political empowerment rank), but without consideration to the strength or weakness of a country's democratic system. It should go without saying that there's no parallel of a first-world democracy to some of the dictatorships, patriarchal monarchies, military states, and active war zones on this list. So while even during the "year of the woman" the U.S. earns a shockingly low political empowerment rank, that doesn't necessarily translate into a reduced overall political empowerment level for women within the country when you consider our stronger democratic system.
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Political empowerment index score: 0.127 (Rank: #95)
Women in parliament: 20.6% (Rank: #75; Female/male ratio: 0.26)
Women in ministerial positions: 0% (Rank: #139; Female/male ratio: 0)
Years with female head of state (of the last 50): 4.7 (Rank: #28; Female/male ratio: 0.1)
Overall gender gap rank: #143 (Score: 0.546)
Political empowerment index score: 0.124 (Rank: #96)
Women in parliament: 19.4% (Rank: #85; Female/male ratio: 0.24)*
Women in ministerial positions: 16.7% (Rank: #84; Female/male ratio: 0.2)
Years with female head of state (of the last 50): 0 (Rank: #69; Female/male ratio: 0)
Overall gender gap rank: #49 (Score: 0.718)
* Represents women in U.S. Congress (House of Representatives and Senate)
Political empowerment index score: 0.124 (Rank: #97)
Women in parliament: 26.7% (Rank: #55; Female/male ratio: 0.36)
Women in ministerial positions: 4.2% (Rank: #133; Female/male ratio: 0.04)
Years with female head of state (of the last 50): 0 (Rank: #69; Female/male ratio: 0)
Overall gender gap rank: #69 (Score: 0.698)
Political empowerment index score: 0.122 (Rank: #98)
Women in parliament: 12.8% (Rank: #111; Female/male ratio: 0.15)
Women in ministerial positions: 23.5% (Rank: #47; Female/male ratio: 0.31)
Years with female head of state (of the last 50): 0.1 (Rank: #63; Female/male ratio: 0)
Overall gender gap rank: #27 (Score: 0.743)
Political empowerment index score: 0.118 (Rank: #99)
Women in parliament: 8.8% (Rank: #131; Female/male ratio: 0.1)
Women in ministerial positions: 24.2% (Rank: #41; Female/male ratio: 0.32)
Years with female head of state (of the last 50): 1 (Rank: #51; Female/male ratio: 0.02)
Overall gender gap rank: #139 (Score: 0.583)
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Political empowerment index score: 0.117 (Rank: #100)
Women in parliament: 20.5% (Rank: #76; Female/male ratio: 0.26)
Women in ministerial positions: 13% (Rank: #100; Female/male ratio: 0.15)
Years with female head of state (of the last 50): 0 (Rank: #69; Female/male ratio: 0)
Overall gender gap rank: #136 (Score: 0.598)
Political empowerment index score: 0.11 (Rank: #101)
Women in parliament: 23.8% (Rank: #62; Female/male ratio: 0.31)
Women in ministerial positions: 5.3% (Rank: #129; Female/male ratio: 0.06)
Years with female head of state (of the last 50): 0 (Rank: #69; Female/male ratio: 0)
Overall gender gap rank: #65 (Score: 0.702)
Political empowerment index score: 0.109 (Rank: #102)
Women in parliament: 6.2% (Rank: #135; Female/male ratio: 0.07)
Women in ministerial positions: 26.3% (Rank: #35; Female/male ratio: 0.36)
Years with female head of state (of the last 50): 0 (Rank: #69; Female/male ratio: 0)
Overall gender gap rank: #105 (Score: 0.67)
Political empowerment index score: 0.107 (Rank: #103)
Women in parliament: 12.3% (Rank: #116; Female/male ratio: 0.14)
Women in ministerial positions: 13% (Rank: #100; Female/male ratio: 0.15)
Years with female head of state (of the last 50): 2.8 (Rank: #36; Female/male ratio: 0.06)
Overall gender gap rank: #61 (Score: 0.705)
Political empowerment index score: 0.106 (Rank: #104)
Women in parliament: 10.3% (Rank: #124; Female/male ratio: 0.12)
Women in ministerial positions: 22.2% (Rank: #56; Female/male ratio: 0.29)
Years with female head of state (of the last 50): 0 (Rank: #69; Female/male ratio: 0)
Overall gender gap rank: #119 (Score: 0.649)
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Political empowerment index score: 0.104 (Rank: #105)
Women in parliament: 16% (Rank: #101; Female/male ratio: 0.19)
Women in ministerial positions: 15.4% (Rank: #92; Female/male ratio: 0.18)
Years with female head of state (of the last 50): 0 (Rank: #69; Female/male ratio: 0)
Overall gender gap rank: #125 (Score: 0.638)
Political empowerment index score: 0.104 (Rank: #106)
Women in parliament: 20.3% (Rank: #77; Female/male ratio: 0.26)
Women in ministerial positions: 9.1% (Rank: #115; Female/male ratio: 0.1)
Years with female head of state (of the last 50): 0 (Rank: #69; Female/male ratio: 0)
Overall gender gap rank: #99 (Score: 0.676)
Political empowerment index score: 0.102 (Rank: #107)
Women in parliament: 17.1% (Rank: #96; Female/male ratio: 0.21)
Women in ministerial positions: 13.3% (Rank: #98; Female/male ratio: 0.15)
Years with female head of state (of the last 50): 0 (Rank: #69; Female/male ratio: 0)
Overall gender gap rank: #53 (Score: 0.713)
Political empowerment index score: 0.102 (Rank: #108)
Women in parliament: 10.6% (Rank: #122; Female/male ratio: 0.12)
Women in ministerial positions: 20.9% (Rank: #66; Female/male ratio: 0.26)
Years with female head of state (of the last 50): 0 (Rank: #69; Female/male ratio: 0)
Overall gender gap rank: #133 (Score: 0.611)
Political empowerment index score: 0.102 (Rank: #109)
Women in parliament: 12.7% (Rank: #114; Female/male ratio: 0.14)
Women in ministerial positions: 18.8% (Rank: #74; Female/male ratio: 0.23)
Years with female head of state (of the last 50): 0 (Rank: #69; Female/male ratio: 0)
Overall gender gap rank: #110 (Score: 0.667)
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Political empowerment index score: 0.101 (Rank: #110)
Women in parliament: 10.7% (Rank: #121; Female/male ratio: 0.12)
Women in ministerial positions: 4% (Rank: #134; Female/male ratio: 0.04)
Years with female head of state (of the last 50): 5.4 (Rank: #25; Female/male ratio: 0.12)
Overall gender gap rank: #90 (Score: 0.684)
Political empowerment index score: 0.099 (Rank: #111)
Women in parliament: 18.1% (Rank: #93; Female/male ratio: 0.22)
Women in ministerial positions: 11.1% (Rank: #106; Female/male ratio: 0.13)
Years with female head of state (of the last 50): 0 (Rank: #69; Female/male ratio: 0)
Overall gender gap rank: #97 (Score: 0.677)
Political empowerment index score: 0.097 (Rank: #112)
Women in parliament: 12.7% (Rank: #113; Female/male ratio: 0.15)
Women in ministerial positions: 17.4% (Rank: #81; Female/male ratio: 0.21)
Years with female head of state (of the last 50): 0 (Rank: #69; Female/male ratio: 0)
Overall gender gap rank: #72 (Score: 0.695)
Political empowerment index score: 0.094 (Rank: #113)
Women in parliament: 13.8% (Rank: #109; Female/male ratio: 0.16)
Women in ministerial positions: 15.4% (Rank: #92; Female/male ratio: 0.18)
Years with female head of state (of the last 50): 0 (Rank: #69; Female/male ratio: 0)
Overall gender gap rank: #96 (Score: 0.678)
Political empowerment index score: 0.093 (Rank: #114)
Women in parliament: 16% (Rank: #101; Female/male ratio: 0.19)
Women in ministerial positions: 11.1% (Rank: #106; Female/male ratio: 0.13)
Years with female head of state (of the last 50): 0.3 (Rank: #60; Female/male ratio: 0.01)
Overall gender gap rank: #94 (Score: 0.679)
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Political empowerment index score: 0.092 (Rank: #115)
Women in parliament: 17.9% (Rank: #94; Female/male ratio: 0.22)
Women in ministerial positions: 9.1% (Rank: #115; Female/male ratio: 0.1)
Years with female head of state (of the last 50): 0 (Rank: #69; Female/male ratio: 0)
Overall gender gap rank: #92 (Score: 0.684)
Political empowerment index score: 0.09 (Rank: #116)
Women in parliament: 11.6% (Rank: #119; Female/male ratio: 0.13)
Women in ministerial positions: 10% (Rank: #109; Female/male ratio: 0.11)
Years with female head of state (of the last 50): 2.4 (Rank: #40; Female/male ratio: 0.05)
Overall gender gap rank: #112 (Score: 0.664)
Political empowerment index score: 0.088 (Rank: #117)
Women in parliament: 19% (Rank: #88; Female/male ratio: 0.24)
Women in ministerial positions: 5.9% (Rank: #126; Female/male ratio: 0.06)
Years with female head of state (of the last 50): 0 (Rank: #69; Female/male ratio: 0)
Overall gender gap rank: #95 (Score: 0.678)
Political empowerment index score: 0.088 (Rank: #118)
Women in parliament: 14.6% (Rank: #108; Female/male ratio: 0.17)
Women in ministerial positions: 3.8% (Rank: #135; Female/male ratio: 0.04)
Years with female head of state (of the last 50): 2.7 (Rank: #38; Female/male ratio: 0.06)
Overall gender gap rank: #131 (Score: 0.625)
Political empowerment index score: 0.087 (Rank: #119)
Women in parliament: 14.9% (Rank: #107; Female/male ratio: 0.18)
Women in ministerial positions: 11.8% (Rank: #104; Female/male ratio: 0.13)
Years with female head of state (of the last 50): 0 (Rank: #69; Female/male ratio: 0)
Overall gender gap rank: #134 (Score: 0.608)
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Political empowerment index score: 0.087 (Rank: #120)
Women in parliament: 12.8% (Rank: #112; Female/male ratio: 0.15)
Women in ministerial positions: 14.3% (Rank: #94; Female/male ratio: 0.17)
Years with female head of state (of the last 50): 0 (Rank: #69; Female/male ratio: 0)
Overall gender gap rank: #141 (Score: 0.575)
Political empowerment index score: 0.085 (Rank: #121)
Women in parliament: 15.8% (Rank: #105; Female/male ratio: 0.19)
Women in ministerial positions: 9.7% (Rank: #113; Female/male ratio: 0.11)
Years with female head of state (of the last 50): 0 (Rank: #69; Female/male ratio: 0)
Overall gender gap rank: #71 (Score: 0.696)
Political empowerment index score: 0.079 (Rank: #122)
Women in parliament: 9.5% (Rank: #127; Female/male ratio: 0.11)
Women in ministerial positions: 15.8% (Rank: #88; Female/male ratio: 0.19)
Years with female head of state (of the last 50): 0 (Rank: #69; Female/male ratio: 0)
Overall gender gap rank: #46 (Score: 0.72)
Political empowerment index score: 0.078 (Rank: #123)
Women in parliament: 9.3% (Rank: #129; Female/male ratio: 0.1)
Women in ministerial positions: 15.8% (Rank: #88; Female/male ratio: 0.19)
Years with female head of state (of the last 50): 0 (Rank: #69; Female/male ratio: 0)
Overall gender gap rank: #114 (Score: 0.657)
Political empowerment index score: 0.077 (Rank: #124)
Women in parliament: 19.9% (Rank: #82; Female/male ratio: 0.25)
Women in ministerial positions: 0% (Rank: #139; Female/male ratio: 0)
Years with female head of state (of the last 50): 0 (Rank: #69; Female/male ratio: 0)
Overall gender gap rank: #138 (Score: 0.584)
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Political empowerment index score: 0.075 (Rank: #125)
Women in parliament: 11% (Rank: #120; Female/male ratio: 0.12)
Women in ministerial positions: 13% (Rank: #100; Female/male ratio: 0.15)
Years with female head of state (of the last 50): 0 (Rank: #69; Female/male ratio: 0)
Overall gender gap rank: #121 (Score: 0.646)
Political empowerment index score: 0.075 (Rank: #126)
Women in parliament: 15.4% (Rank: #106; Female/male ratio: 0.18)
Women in ministerial positions: 7.1% (Rank: #120; Female/male ratio: 0.08)
Years with female head of state (of the last 50): 0 (Rank: #69; Female/male ratio: 0)
Overall gender gap rank: #135 (Score: 0.604)
Political empowerment index score: 0.072 (Rank: #127)
Women in parliament: 4.8% (Rank: #140; Female/male ratio: 0.05)
Women in ministerial positions: 11.1% (Rank: #106; Female/male ratio: 0.13)
Years with female head of state (of the last 50): 2.8 (Rank: #37; Female/male ratio: 0.06)
Overall gender gap rank: #75 (Score: 0.694)
Political empowerment index score: 0.072 (Rank: #128)
Women in parliament: 5.9% (Rank: #136; Female/male ratio: 0.06)
Women in ministerial positions: 17.6% (Rank: #79; Female/male ratio: 0.21)
Years with female head of state (of the last 50): 0 (Rank: #69; Female/male ratio: 0)
Overall gender gap rank: #106 (Score: 0.669)
Political empowerment index score: 0.065 (Rank: #129)
Women in parliament: 7.2% (Rank: #134; Female/male ratio: 0.08)
Women in ministerial positions: 14.3% (Rank: #94; Female/male ratio: 0.17)
Years with female head of state (of the last 50): 0 (Rank: #69; Female/male ratio: 0)
Overall gender gap rank: #116 (Score: 0.652)
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Political empowerment index score: 0.063 (Rank: #130)
Women in parliament: 13.2% (Rank: #110; Female/male ratio: 0.15)
Women in ministerial positions: 6.1% (Rank: #125; Female/male ratio: 0.06)
Years with female head of state (of the last 50): 0 (Rank: #69; Female/male ratio: 0)
Overall gender gap rank: #142 (Score: 0.568)
Political empowerment index score: 0.063 (Rank: #131)
Women in parliament: 16.8% (Rank: #98; Female/male ratio: 0.2)
Women in ministerial positions: 0% (Rank: #139; Female/male ratio: 0)
Years with female head of state (of the last 50): 0 (Rank: #69; Female/male ratio: 0)
Overall gender gap rank: #98 (Score: 0.676)
Political empowerment index score: 0.059 (Rank: #132)
Women in parliament: 10.2% (Rank: #125; Female/male ratio: 0.11)
Women in ministerial positions: 5% (Rank: #130; Female/male ratio: 0.05)
Years with female head of state (of the last 50): 1.2 (Rank: #50; Female/male ratio: 0.03)
Overall gender gap rank: #83 (Score: 0.691)
Political empowerment index score: 0.058 (Rank: #133)
Women in parliament: 10.4% (Rank: #123; Female/male ratio: 0.12)
Women in ministerial positions: 8.3% (Rank: #118; Female/male ratio: 0.09)
Years with female head of state (of the last 50): 0 (Rank: #69; Female/male ratio: 0)
Overall gender gap rank: #104 (Score: 0.67)
Political empowerment index score: 0.056 (Rank: #134)
Women in parliament: 8.5% (Rank: #132; Female/male ratio: 0.09)
Women in ministerial positions: 10% (Rank: #109; Female/male ratio: 0.11)
Years with female head of state (of the last 50): 0 (Rank: #69; Female/male ratio: 0)
Overall gender gap rank: #124 (Score: 0.638)
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Political empowerment index score: 0.052 (Rank: #135)
Women in parliament: 5.6% (Rank: #139; Female/male ratio: 0.06)
Women in ministerial positions: 12% (Rank: #103; Female/male ratio: 0.14)
Years with female head of state (of the last 50): 0 (Rank: #69; Female/male ratio: 0)
Overall gender gap rank: #122 (Score: 0.641)
Political empowerment index score: 0.046 (Rank: #136)
Women in parliament: 5.9% (Rank: #136; Female/male ratio: 0.06)
Women in ministerial positions: 9.7% (Rank: #113; Female/male ratio: 0.11)
Years with female head of state (of the last 50): 0 (Rank: #69; Female/male ratio: 0)
Overall gender gap rank: #140 (Score: 0.583)
Political empowerment index score: 0.037 (Rank: #137)
Women in parliament: 7.5% (Rank: #133; Female/male ratio: 0.08)
Women in ministerial positions: 4.5% (Rank: #131; Female/male ratio: 0.05)
Years with female head of state (of the last 50): 0 (Rank: #69; Female/male ratio: 0)
Overall gender gap rank: #126 (Score: 0.632)
Political empowerment index score: 0.035 (Rank: #138)
Women in parliament: 10.1% (Rank: #126; Female/male ratio: 0.11)
Women in ministerial positions: 0% (Rank: #139; Female/male ratio: 0)
Years with female head of state (of the last 50): 0 (Rank: #69; Female/male ratio: 0)
Overall gender gap rank: #103 (Score: 0.67)
Political empowerment index score: 0.032 (Rank: #139)
Women in parliament: 9.4% (Rank: #128; Female/male ratio: 0.1)
Women in ministerial positions: 0% (Rank: #139; Female/male ratio: 0)
Years with female head of state (of the last 50): 0 (Rank: #69; Female/male ratio: 0)
Overall gender gap rank: #79 (Score: 0.692)
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Political empowerment index score: 0.031 (Rank: #140)
Women in parliament: 9.1% (Rank: #130; Female/male ratio: 0.1)
Women in ministerial positions: 0% (Rank: #139; Female/male ratio: 0)
Years with female head of state (of the last 50): 0 (Rank: #69; Female/male ratio: 0)
Overall gender gap rank: #102 (Score: 0.671)
Political empowerment index score: 0.027 (Rank: #141)
Women in parliament: 3.1% (Rank: #142; Female/male ratio: 0.03)
Women in ministerial positions: 6.7% (Rank: #121; Female/male ratio: 0.07)
Years with female head of state (of the last 50): 0 (Rank: #69; Female/male ratio: 0)
Overall gender gap rank: #129 (Score: 0.628)
Political empowerment index score: 0.019 (Rank: #142)
Women in parliament: 3.1% (Rank: #141; Female/male ratio: 0.03)
Women in ministerial positions: 3.4% (Rank: #138; Female/male ratio: 0.04)
Years with female head of state (of the last 50): 0 (Rank: #69; Female/male ratio: 0)
Overall gender gap rank: #137 (Score: 0.596)
Political empowerment index score: 0.016 (Rank: #143)
Women in parliament: 0% (Rank: #143; Female/male ratio: 0)
Women in ministerial positions: 6.3% (Rank: #122; Female/male ratio: 0.07)
Years with female head of state (of the last 50): 0 (Rank: #69; Female/male ratio: 0)
Overall gender gap rank: #130 (Score: 0.626)
Political empowerment index score: 0.014 (Rank: #144)
Women in parliament: 0% (Rank: #143; Female/male ratio: 0)
Women in ministerial positions: 5.4% (Rank: #128; Female/male ratio: 0.06)
Years with female head of state (of the last 50): 0 (Rank: #69; Female/male ratio: 0)
Overall gender gap rank: #144 (Score: 0.516)
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