New Zealand's proportion of seats held by women in national parliaments (%) was 45.53% in 2025, the latest year in the World Bank's World Development Indicators. That is up 14.12 percentage points from 31.4% in 2015.
Key figures
| Value | Year | |
|---|---|---|
| Latest | 45.53% | 2025 |
| Five years earlier | 48.33% | 2020 |
| Ten years earlier | 31.4% | 2015 |
| Highest | 50.42% | 2022 |
| Lowest | 28.33% | 2003 |
| Average since 2016 | 43.21% | 2016–2025 |
| First recorded | 29.17% | 1997 |
What the numbers say
In 2025, New Zealand's proportion of seats held by women in national parliaments (%) did not change 0 percentage points on 2024 (from 45.53% to 45.53%).
Across the 27 yearly changes before that (1998 to 2024), the average change was +0.61 percentage points and a typical year strayed about 2.6 percentage points from that (the standard deviation). This year's change was 0.2 standard deviations below 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 7.5 percentage points in 2020 and the biggest yearly fall was 6.16 percentage points in 2023. 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 1.43 percentage points a year. A straight line explains 53% 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, New Zealand had the 13th 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.
| Value | Year | |
|---|---|---|
| New Zealand | 45.53% | 2025 |
| World | 27.25% | 2025 |
| East Asia & Pacific | 23.35% | 2025 |
| High income | 31.22% | 2025 |
Closest to New Zealand in the 2025 ranking
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
| Year | Proportion of seats held by women in national parliaments (%) |
|---|---|
| 2025 | 45.53 |
| 2024 | 45.53 |
| 2023 | 44.26 |
| 2022 | 50.42 |
| 2021 | 49.17 |
| 2020 | 48.33 |
| 2019 | 40.83 |
| 2018 | 38.33 |
| 2017 | 38.33 |
| 2016 | 31.4 |
| 2015 |
Proportion of seats held by women in national parliaments (%) in nearby economies
- Australia — 46% (2025)
- Brunei Darussalam — 11.43% (2025)
- Cambodia — 13.6% (2025)
- China — 26.54% (2025)
- Fiji — 9.09% (2025)
- Indonesia — 21.9% (2025)
- Japan — 15.7% (2025)
- Kiribati — 11.11% (2025)
- Korea, Dem. People's Rep.
Reading data like this
Questions people ask
- What is New Zealand's proportion of seats held by women in national parliaments (%)?
- 45.53% in 2025, according to the World Bank (World Development Indicators).
- How has it changed since 1997?
- It is up 16.36 percentage points from 29.17% in 1997. The highest value was 50.42% in 2022 and the lowest 28.33% in 2003.
- How does New Zealand rank?
- 13th highest of 184 economies with data for 2025.
- Is the latest change in proportion of seats held by women in national parliaments (%) unusual for New Zealand?
- In 2025, New Zealand's proportion of seats held by women in national parliaments (%) did not change 0 percentage points on 2024 (from 45.53% to 45.53%). Across the 27 yearly changes before that (1998 to 2024), the average change was +0.61 percentage points and a typical year strayed about 2.6 percentage points from that (the standard deviation). This year's change was 0.2 standard deviations below 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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