Malta: Proportion of seats held by women in national parliaments (%)

Key figures

What the numbers say

In 2025, Malta's proportion of seats held by women in national parliaments (%) rose 1.27 percentage points on 2024 (from 27.85% to 29.11%).

Across the 27 yearly changes before that (1998 to 2024), the average change was +0.82 percentage points and a typical year strayed about 3.11 percentage points from that (the standard deviation). This year's change was 0.1 standard deviations above that average, so it was an ordinary year: it sits within the range of normal year-to-year movement.

On record, the biggest yearly rise was 14.42 percentage points in 2022 and the biggest yearly fall was 1.54 percentage points in 2003. The numbers show how large and when, not why; for the cause, look at what happened in that country in those years.

From 2016 to 2025 the straight-line trend is upward, about 2.28 percentage points a year. A straight line explains 77% of the movement over 10 observed years.

Worked out from the yearly values above. How the checks work: standard deviation, z-scores and straight-line trends.

How it compares

In 2025, Malta had the 81st highest value of the 184 economies reporting that year. Higher is not always better: for some indicators the lowest value is the one to aim for. See the full ranking.

Closest to Malta in the 2025 ranking

• Guinea — 78th of 184: 29.63%
• Sierra Leone — 79th of 184: 29.53%
• Colombia — 80th of 184: 29.41%
• United States — 82nd of 184: 28.94%
• Estonia — 83rd of 184: 28.71%
• Tajikistan — 84th of 184: 28.57%

What this measures

Women in parliaments are the percentage of parliamentary seats in a single or lower chamber held by women.

Limitations: The number of countries covered varies with suspensions or dissolutions of parliaments. There can be difficulties in obtaining information on by-election results and replacements due to death or resignation. These changes are ad hoc events which are more difficult to keep track of. By-elections, for instance, are often not announced internationally as general elections are. Parliaments vary considerably in their internal workings and procedures, however, generally legislate, oversee government and represent the electorate.

Regional and income-group figures are computed by the World Bank as a weighted average.

All 29 values

Proportion of seats held by women in national parliaments (%) in nearby economies

• Afghanistan — 27.02% (2021)
• Algeria — 7.86% (2025)
• Bahrain — 20% (2025)
• Djibouti — 26.15% (2025)
• Egypt, Arab Rep. — 26.85% (2025)
• Iran, Islamic Rep. — 4.91% (2025)
• Iraq — 25.53% (2025)
• Israel — 24.17% (2025)
• Jordan — 19.57% (2025)

Reading data like this

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Questions people ask

What is Malta's proportion of seats held by women in national parliaments (%)?

29.11% in 2025, according to the World Bank (World Development Indicators).

How has it changed since 1997?

It is up 23.32 percentage points from 5.8% in 1997. The highest value was 29.11% in 2025 and the lowest 5.8% in 1997.

How does Malta rank?

81st highest of 184 economies with data for 2025.

Is the latest change in proportion of seats held by women in national parliaments (%) unusual for Malta?

In 2025, Malta's proportion of seats held by women in national parliaments (%) rose 1.27 percentage points on 2024 (from 27.85% to 29.11%). Across the 27 yearly changes before that (1998 to 2024), the average change was +0.82 percentage points and a typical year strayed about 3.11 percentage points from that (the standard deviation). This year's change was 0.1 standard deviations above that average, so it was an ordinary year: it sits within the range of normal year-to-year movement.

Source

World Bank, World Development Indicators, indicator SG.GEN.PARL.ZS, licensed CC BY 4.0. Original source: Monthly ranking of women in national parliaments, Inter-Parliamentary Union (IPU), uri: https://data.ipu.org/women-ranking/, note: For the year of 1998, the data is as of August 10, 1998., type: Excel, date accessed: 2026-03-29 Figures are fetched from the World Bank API and refreshed monthly; see the series on data.worldbank.org. The full definition and method are in the World Bank's metadata glossary. Comparisons use the same World Bank release.

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