South Asia (IDA & IBRD): Proportion of seats held by women in national parliaments (%)

Key figures

What the numbers say

In 2025, South Asia (IDA & IBRD)'s proportion of seats held by women in national parliaments (%) fell 5.05 percentage points on 2024 (from 16.27% to 11.22%).

Across the 27 yearly changes before that (1998 to 2024), the average change was +0.37 percentage points and a typical year strayed about 2.37 percentage points from that (the standard deviation). This year's change was 2.3 standard deviations below that average, so it was unusually large compared with the rest of the record.

On record, the biggest yearly rise was 6.43 percentage points in 2008 and the biggest yearly fall was 6.88 percentage points in 2013. 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 downward, about 0.4 percentage points a year. A straight line explains 36% 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

See how every economy compares in the full 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

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)

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Questions people ask

What is South Asia (IDA & IBRD)'s proportion of seats held by women in national parliaments (%)?

11.22% in 2025, according to the World Bank (World Development Indicators).

How has it changed since 1997?

It is up 4.97 percentage points from 6.25% in 1997. The highest value was 18.93% in 2011 and the lowest 6.16% in 2004.

Is the latest change in proportion of seats held by women in national parliaments (%) unusual for South Asia (IDA & IBRD)?

In 2025, South Asia (IDA & IBRD)'s proportion of seats held by women in national parliaments (%) fell 5.05 percentage points on 2024 (from 16.27% to 11.22%). Across the 27 yearly changes before that (1998 to 2024), the average change was +0.37 percentage points and a typical year strayed about 2.37 percentage points from that (the standard deviation). This year's change was 2.3 standard deviations below that average, so it was unusually large compared with the rest of the record.

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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