Netherlands vs Sub-Saharan Africa: Proportion of seats held by women in national parliaments
Netherlands
43.3%
in 2025
Sub-Saharan Africa
27.0%
in 2025
Netherlands rank
20th
Sub-Saharan Africa rank
17th
Proportion of seats held by women in national parliaments over time
- Netherlands
- Sub-Saharan Africa
How they compare
Netherlands currently reports 43.3% against 27.0% in Sub-Saharan Africa, a difference of 16.3%.
That makes Netherlands's figure about 1.6 times Sub-Saharan Africa's.
Across all 28 years both countries report, Netherlands has been ahead every year.
Netherlands ranks 20th and Sub-Saharan Africa ranks 17th of 193 countries.
Netherlands has averaged higher in every one of the 4 decades both report.
Head to head by decade
| Decade | Netherlands | Sub-Saharan Africa | Difference | Ahead |
|---|---|---|---|---|
| 1990s | 33.7% | 10.6% | 23.1% | Netherlands |
| 2000s | 37.5% | 15.2% | 22.3% | Netherlands |
| 2010s | 37.5% | 22.5% | 15.0% | Netherlands |
| 2020s | 39.2% | 26.3% | 12.9% | Netherlands |
Averages of every year both report within each decade.
Frequently asked questions
- Which has higher proportion of seats held by women in national parliaments, Netherlands or Sub-Saharan Africa?
- Netherlands, at 43.3% against 27.0% in Sub-Saharan Africa as of 2025.
- What is the difference in proportion of seats held by women in national parliaments between Netherlands and Sub-Saharan Africa?
- 16.3%, with Netherlands ahead.
- How many years of comparable data are there for Netherlands and Sub-Saharan Africa?
- 28 years are reported by both, from 1997 to 2025.
- How do Netherlands and Sub-Saharan Africa rank globally for proportion of seats held by women in national parliaments?
- Netherlands ranks 20th and Sub-Saharan Africa ranks 17th of 193 countries.
- Where does this data come from?
- Monthly ranking of women in national parliaments, Inter-Parliamentary Union (IPU), published as Proportion of seats held by women in national parliaments (%). Statizoid refreshes it automatically from the source and publishes the full history for both places.
Individual pages
About this data
Women in parliaments are the percentage of parliamentary seats in a single or lower chamber held by women.