New Zealand vs World: Proportion of seats held by women in national parliaments
New Zealand
45.5%
in 2025
World
27.2%
in 2025
New Zealand rank
12th
World rank
15th
Proportion of seats held by women in national parliaments over time
- New Zealand
- World
How they compare
New Zealand currently reports 45.5% against 27.2% in World, a difference of 18.3%.
That makes New Zealand's figure about 1.7 times World's.
Across all 29 years both countries report, New Zealand has been ahead every year.
New Zealand ranks 12th and World ranks 15th of 193 countries.
New Zealand has averaged higher in every one of the 4 decades both report.
Head to head by decade
| Decade | New Zealand | World | Difference | Ahead |
|---|---|---|---|---|
| 1990s | 29.2% | 12.8% | 16.4% | New Zealand |
| 2000s | 31.2% | 16.3% | 14.9% | New Zealand |
| 2010s | 34.0% | 22.2% | 11.8% | New Zealand |
| 2020s | 47.2% | 26.5% | 20.7% | New Zealand |
Averages of every year both report within each decade.
Frequently asked questions
- Which has higher proportion of seats held by women in national parliaments, New Zealand or World?
- New Zealand, at 45.5% against 27.2% in World as of 2025.
- What is the difference in proportion of seats held by women in national parliaments between New Zealand and World?
- 18.3%, with New Zealand ahead.
- How many years of comparable data are there for New Zealand and World?
- 29 years are reported by both, from 1997 to 2025.
- How do New Zealand and World rank globally for proportion of seats held by women in national parliaments?
- New Zealand ranks 12th and World ranks 15th 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.