Proportion of seats held by women in national parliaments in South Africa
South Africa: Proportion of seats held by women in national parliaments was 44.9% in 2025. ▲ Rising
Proportion of seats held by women in national parliaments in South Africa, 1997–2025
Source: Monthly ranking of women in national parliaments, Inter-Parliamentary Union (IPU). Measured in %.
Analysis
South Africa recorded 44.9% for proportion of seats held by women in national parliaments in 2025.
That represents a change of up 0.4% on the previous year and up 6.8% over ten years.
Over the whole period, proportion of seats held by women in national parliaments in South Africa peaked at 46.8% in 2020 and was at its lowest, 25.0%, in 1997.
South Africa ranks 16th of 193 countries on this measure, in the top 10%.
The long-run direction has been consistently rising across the 29 years of available data.
Proportion of seats held by women in national parliaments in South Africa, year by year
| Year | % | Change |
|---|---|---|
| 1997 | 25.0% | — |
| 1998 | 28.8% | +15.0% |
| 1999 | 30.0% | +4.3% |
| 2000 | 29.8% | -0.6% |
| 2001 | 29.8% | +0.0% |
| 2002 | 29.8% | +0.0% |
| 2003 | 29.8% | +0.0% |
| 2004 | 32.8% | +9.9% |
| 2005 | 32.8% | -0.1% |
| 2006 | 32.8% | +0.0% |
| 2007 | 33.0% | +0.8% |
| 2008 | 33.0% | +0.0% |
| 2009 | 44.5% | +34.8% |
| 2010 | 44.5% | +0.0% |
| 2011 | 42.2% | -5.1% |
| 2012 | 42.2% | +0.0% |
| 2013 | 42.2% | +0.0% |
| 2014 | 41.5% | -1.8% |
| 2015 | 42.0% | +1.2% |
| 2016 | 42.0% | +0.0% |
| 2017 | 41.8% | -0.4% |
| 2018 | 42.7% | +2.2% |
| 2019 | 46.3% | +8.4% |
| 2020 | 46.8% | +0.9% |
| 2021 | 46.6% | -0.4% |
| 2022 | 46.5% | -0.2% |
| 2023 | 45.9% | -1.4% |
| 2024 | 44.7% | -2.5% |
| 2025 | 44.9% | +0.4% |
South Africa compared with similar countries
- South Africa's 44.9% is above the median for upper middle income countries, which is 22.8%, 2.0× the median. (58 countries reporting)
- South Africa's 44.9% is above the median for Sub-Saharan Africa, which is 23.3%, 1.9× the median. (48 countries reporting)
Biggest year-on-year movements
Years where Proportion of seats held by women in national parliaments in South Africa 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 |
|---|---|---|---|
| 2009 | +34.8% | 33.0% | 44.5% |
Averages by decade
| Decade | Average | Lowest | Highest | Years |
|---|---|---|---|---|
| 1990s | 27.9% | 25.0% | 30.0% | 3 |
| 2000s | 32.8% | 29.8% | 44.5% | 10 |
| 2010s | 42.8% | 41.5% | 46.3% | 10 |
| 2020s | 45.9% | 44.7% | 46.8% | 6 |
Countries ranked near South Africa
More public sector data for South Africa
- Arms imports 30.00 million SIPRI trend indicator values (2023)
- Arms imports (SIPRI trend indicator values), per capita 0.4746 SIPRI trend indicator values per person (2023)
- Arms imports (SIPRI trend indicator values), per unit of GDP 0.0001 SIPRI trend indicator values per US$ of GDP (2023)
- Arms imports (SIPRI trend indicator values), annual growth rate 0 % change on previous year (2023)
- Arms imports (SIPRI trend indicator values), gaps filled 30.00 million SIPRI trend indicator values (2023)
- Military expenditure (current USD), per capita 44.31 current USD per person (2024)
- Military expenditure (current USD), per unit of GDP 0.0071 current USD per US$ of GDP (2024)
- Military expenditure (current USD), annual growth rate -1.41 % change on previous year (2024)
- Military expenditure (current USD), gaps filled 2.84 billion current USD (2024)
- Arms imports (SIPRI trend indicator values), per square kilometre 24.73 SIPRI trend indicator values per square kilometre (2023)
Frequently asked questions
- What is proportion of seats held by women in national parliaments in South Africa?
- Proportion of seats held by women in national parliaments in South Africa was 44.9% 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 South Africa?
- The highest recorded value was 46.8% in 2020.
- What is the lowest proportion of seats held by women in national parliaments recorded in South Africa?
- The lowest recorded value was 25.0% in 1997.
- How does South Africa rank for proportion of seats held by women in national parliaments?
- South Africa ranks 16th out of 193 countries with data for 2025.
- Is proportion of seats held by women in national parliaments rising or falling in South Africa?
- Over the last ten years it is up 6.8%. The long-run trend across the full record is rising.
- Where does this South Africa 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.