Proportion of seats held by women in national parliaments in Middle East, North Africa, Afghanistan & Pakistan (IDA & IBRD)
Middle East, North Africa, Afghanistan & Pakistan (IDA & IBRD): Proportion of seats held by women in national parliaments was 16.4% in 2025. ▲ Rising
Proportion of seats held by women in national parliaments in Middle East, North Africa, Afghanistan & Pakistan (IDA & IBRD), 1997–2025
Source: Monthly ranking of women in national parliaments, Inter-Parliamentary Union (IPU). Measured in %.
Analysis
The most recent figure for proportion of seats held by women in national parliaments in Middle East, North Africa, Afghanistan & Pakistan (IDA & IBRD) is 16.4%, measured in 2025.
Compared with earlier readings it is down 2.0% on the previous year and down 9.2% over ten years.
Over the whole period, proportion of seats held by women in national parliaments in Middle East, North Africa, Afghanistan & Pakistan (IDA & IBRD) peaked at 19.1% in 2020 and was at its lowest, 3.4%, in 1998.
That places Middle East, North Africa, Afghanistan & Pakistan (IDA & IBRD) 43rd out of 47 groups with data for 2025, putting it in the bottom quarter.
The long-run direction has been consistently rising across the 26 years of available data.
Proportion of seats held by women in national parliaments in Middle East, North Africa, Afghanistan & Pakistan (IDA & IBRD), year by year
| Year | % | Change |
|---|---|---|
| 1997 | 3.8% | — |
| 1998 | 3.4% | -10.0% |
| 2002 | 7.4% | +117.4% |
| 2003 | 7.9% | +6.7% |
| 2004 | 8.7% | +10.0% |
| 2005 | 9.1% | +4.6% |
| 2006 | 11.0% | +20.9% |
| 2007 | 11.1% | +1.4% |
| 2008 | 11.2% | +0.4% |
| 2009 | 11.4% | +2.1% |
| 2010 | 13.0% | +13.8% |
| 2011 | 12.9% | -1.1% |
| 2012 | 15.8% | +22.8% |
| 2013 | 17.7% | +12.0% |
| 2014 | 18.0% | +1.6% |
| 2015 | 18.1% | +0.7% |
| 2016 | 18.5% | +2.2% |
| 2017 | 17.6% | -4.5% |
| 2018 | 17.2% | -2.2% |
| 2019 | 17.3% | +0.5% |
| 2020 | 19.1% | +10.3% |
| 2021 | 18.0% | -6.1% |
| 2022 | 17.6% | -2.0% |
| 2023 | 17.0% | -3.4% |
| 2024 | 16.8% | -1.3% |
| 2025 | 16.4% | -2.0% |
Biggest year-on-year movements
Years where Proportion of seats held by women in national parliaments in Middle East, North Africa, Afghanistan & Pakistan (IDA & IBRD) changed far more than this series normally does. A large move can be a real event or a change in how the figure was measured — the source note below says who published it.
| Year | Change | From | To |
|---|---|---|---|
| 2002 | +117.4% | 3.4% | 7.4% |
Averages by decade
| Decade | Average | Lowest | Highest | Years |
|---|---|---|---|---|
| 1990s | 3.6% | 3.4% | 3.8% | 2 |
| 2000s | 9.7% | 7.4% | 11.4% | 8 |
| 2010s | 16.6% | 12.9% | 18.5% | 10 |
| 2020s | 17.5% | 16.4% | 19.1% | 6 |
Countries ranked near Middle East, North Africa, Afghanistan & Pakistan (IDA & IBRD)
More public sector data for Middle East, North Africa, Afghanistan & Pakistan (IDA & IBRD)
- Arms imports 1.39 billion SIPRI trend indicator values (2024)
- Arms imports (SIPRI trend indicator values), per capita 1.88 SIPRI trend indicator values per person (2024)
- Arms imports (SIPRI trend indicator values), per unit of GDP 0.0006 SIPRI trend indicator values per US$ of GDP (2024)
- Arms imports (SIPRI trend indicator values), annual growth rate -69.58 % change on previous year (2024)
- Arms imports (SIPRI trend indicator values), gaps filled 1.39 billion SIPRI trend indicator values (2024)
- Military expenditure (current USD), per capita 79.4 current USD per person (2024)
- Military expenditure (current USD), per unit of GDP 0.0268 current USD per US$ of GDP (2024)
- Military expenditure (current USD), annual growth rate 8.95 % change on previous year (2024)
- Military expenditure (current USD), gaps filled 58.47 billion current USD (2024)
- Arms imports (SIPRI trend indicator values), per square kilometre 453.25 SIPRI trend indicator values per square kilometre (2023)
All data for Middle East, North Africa, Afghanistan & Pakistan (IDA & IBRD) →
Frequently asked questions
- What is proportion of seats held by women in national parliaments in Middle East, North Africa, Afghanistan & Pakistan (IDA & IBRD)?
- Proportion of seats held by women in national parliaments in Middle East, North Africa, Afghanistan & Pakistan (IDA & IBRD) was 16.4% 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 Middle East, North Africa, Afghanistan & Pakistan (IDA & IBRD)?
- The highest recorded value was 19.1% in 2020.
- What is the lowest proportion of seats held by women in national parliaments recorded in Middle East, North Africa, Afghanistan & Pakistan (IDA & IBRD)?
- The lowest recorded value was 3.4% in 1998.
- How does Middle East, North Africa, Afghanistan & Pakistan (IDA & IBRD) rank for proportion of seats held by women in national parliaments?
- Middle East, North Africa, Afghanistan & Pakistan (IDA & IBRD) ranks 43rd out of 47 groups with data for 2025.
- Is proportion of seats held by women in national parliaments rising or falling in Middle East, North Africa, Afghanistan & Pakistan (IDA & IBRD)?
- Over the last ten years it is down 9.2%. The long-run trend across the full record is rising.
- Where does this Middle East, North Africa, Afghanistan & Pakistan (IDA & IBRD) 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.