Proportion of seats held by women in national parliaments in Least developed countries
Least developed countries: Proportion of seats held by women in national parliaments was 26.8% in 2025. ▲ Rising
Proportion of seats held by women in national parliaments in Least developed countries, 1997–2025
Source: Monthly ranking of women in national parliaments, Inter-Parliamentary Union (IPU). Measured in %.
Analysis
Least developed countries recorded 26.8% for proportion of seats held by women in national parliaments in 2025.
The figure is down 0.9% on the previous year and up 15.0% over ten years.
Over the whole period, proportion of seats held by women in national parliaments in Least developed countries peaked at 27.0% in 2024 and was at its lowest, 8.5%, in 1999.
That places Least developed countries 20th out of 47 groups with data for 2025, putting it in the middle of the range.
The long-run direction has been consistently rising across the 28 years of available data.
Proportion of seats held by women in national parliaments in Least developed countries, year by year
| Year | % | Change |
|---|---|---|
| 1997 | 8.7% | — |
| 1998 | 8.8% | +1.5% |
| 1999 | 8.5% | -3.1% |
| 2000 | 10.0% | +18.0% |
| 2002 | 12.2% | +21.0% |
| 2003 | 12.6% | +3.6% |
| 2004 | 12.9% | +2.7% |
| 2005 | 16.0% | +23.4% |
| 2006 | 16.4% | +2.4% |
| 2007 | 17.6% | +7.3% |
| 2008 | 19.0% | +8.4% |
| 2009 | 19.7% | +3.4% |
| 2010 | 19.4% | -1.2% |
| 2011 | 21.0% | +8.2% |
| 2012 | 21.6% | +2.8% |
| 2013 | 21.2% | -2.1% |
| 2014 | 21.4% | +1.0% |
| 2015 | 23.3% | +9.1% |
| 2016 | 23.3% | +0.1% |
| 2017 | 23.2% | -0.5% |
| 2018 | 23.0% | -0.8% |
| 2019 | 23.1% | +0.4% |
| 2020 | 24.4% | +5.5% |
| 2021 | 25.3% | +3.6% |
| 2022 | 26.2% | +3.5% |
| 2023 | 26.7% | +1.8% |
| 2024 | 27.0% | +1.4% |
| 2025 | 26.8% | -0.9% |
Averages by decade
| Decade | Average | Lowest | Highest | Years |
|---|---|---|---|---|
| 1990s | 8.7% | 8.5% | 8.8% | 3 |
| 2000s | 15.1% | 10.0% | 19.7% | 9 |
| 2010s | 22.1% | 19.4% | 23.3% | 10 |
| 2020s | 26.1% | 24.4% | 27.0% | 6 |
Countries ranked near Least developed countries
More public sector data for Least developed countries
- Arms imports 748.00 million SIPRI trend indicator values (2023)
- Arms imports (SIPRI trend indicator values), per capita 0.645 SIPRI trend indicator values per person (2023)
- Arms imports (SIPRI trend indicator values), per unit of GDP 0.0005 SIPRI trend indicator values per US$ of GDP (2023)
- Arms imports (SIPRI trend indicator values), annual growth rate -26.74 % change on previous year (2023)
- Arms imports (SIPRI trend indicator values), gaps filled 748.00 million SIPRI trend indicator values (2023)
- Military expenditure (current USD), per capita 19.79 current USD per person (2024)
- Military expenditure (current USD), per unit of GDP 0.0152 current USD per US$ of GDP (2024)
- Military expenditure (current USD), annual growth rate 19.77 % change on previous year (2024)
- Military expenditure (current USD), gaps filled 23.48 billion current USD (2024)
- Arms imports (SIPRI trend indicator values), per square kilometre 36.74 SIPRI trend indicator values per square kilometre (2023)
Frequently asked questions
- What is proportion of seats held by women in national parliaments in Least developed countries?
- Proportion of seats held by women in national parliaments in Least developed countries was 26.8% in 2025, according to Monthly ranking of women in national parliaments, Inter-Parliamentary Union (IPU).
- What is the highest proportion of seats held by women in national parliaments recorded in Least developed countries?
- The highest recorded value was 27.0% in 2024.
- What is the lowest proportion of seats held by women in national parliaments recorded in Least developed countries?
- The lowest recorded value was 8.5% in 1999.
- How does Least developed countries rank for proportion of seats held by women in national parliaments?
- Least developed countries ranks 20th out of 47 groups with data for 2025.
- Is proportion of seats held by women in national parliaments rising or falling in Least developed countries?
- Over the last ten years it is up 15.0%. The long-run trend across the full record is rising.
- Where does this Least developed countries data come from?
- The figures come from Monthly ranking of women in national parliaments, Inter-Parliamentary Union (IPU), published as part of Proportion of seats held by women in national parliaments (%). Statizoid updates them automatically from the source API.
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About this data
Women in parliaments are the percentage of parliamentary seats in a single or lower chamber held by women.