Proportion of seats held by women in national parliaments in Sub-Saharan Africa (IDA & IBRD countries)
Sub-Saharan Africa (IDA & IBRD countries): Proportion of seats held by women in national parliaments was 27.0% in 2025. ▲ Rising
Proportion of seats held by women in national parliaments in Sub-Saharan Africa (IDA & IBRD countries), 1997–2025
Source: Monthly ranking of women in national parliaments, Inter-Parliamentary Union (IPU). Measured in %.
Analysis
In 2025, proportion of seats held by women in national parliaments in Sub-Saharan Africa (IDA & IBRD countries) stood at 27.0%.
That represents a change of up 0.6% on the previous year and up 14.4% over ten years.
Over the whole period, proportion of seats held by women in national parliaments in Sub-Saharan Africa (IDA & IBRD countries) peaked at 27.0% in 2023 and was at its lowest, 10.2%, in 1997.
Sub-Saharan Africa (IDA & IBRD countries) ranks 17th of 47 groups on this measure, 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 Sub-Saharan Africa (IDA & IBRD countries), year by year
| Year | % | Change |
|---|---|---|
| 1997 | 10.2% | — |
| 1998 | 10.9% | +7.0% |
| 2000 | 11.6% | +6.1% |
| 2001 | 12.3% | +6.0% |
| 2002 | 13.5% | +9.6% |
| 2003 | 13.7% | +1.8% |
| 2004 | 14.7% | +7.5% |
| 2005 | 16.2% | +10.2% |
| 2006 | 16.6% | +2.5% |
| 2007 | 17.3% | +4.0% |
| 2008 | 17.8% | +2.9% |
| 2009 | 18.5% | +3.7% |
| 2010 | 18.7% | +1.5% |
| 2011 | 20.5% | +9.6% |
| 2012 | 21.4% | +4.1% |
| 2013 | 22.5% | +5.1% |
| 2014 | 22.2% | -1.3% |
| 2015 | 23.6% | +6.7% |
| 2016 | 23.8% | +0.7% |
| 2017 | 24.0% | +0.9% |
| 2018 | 24.1% | +0.2% |
| 2019 | 24.1% | +0.0% |
| 2020 | 24.9% | +3.3% |
| 2021 | 25.9% | +4.2% |
| 2022 | 26.3% | +1.6% |
| 2023 | 27.0% | +2.6% |
| 2024 | 26.9% | -0.6% |
| 2025 | 27.0% | +0.6% |
Averages by decade
| Decade | Average | Lowest | Highest | Years |
|---|---|---|---|---|
| 1990s | 10.6% | 10.2% | 10.9% | 2 |
| 2000s | 15.2% | 11.6% | 18.5% | 10 |
| 2010s | 22.5% | 18.7% | 24.1% | 10 |
| 2020s | 26.3% | 24.9% | 27.0% | 6 |
Countries ranked near Sub-Saharan Africa (IDA & IBRD countries)
- 14 Ecuador 45.0% compare
- 15 Sweden 45.0% compare
- 16 South Africa 44.9% compare
- 17 Cape Verde 44.4% compare
- 18 Spain 44.3% compare
- 19 Denmark 43.6% compare
- 20 Netherlands 43.3% compare
More public sector data for Sub-Saharan Africa (IDA & IBRD countries)
- Arms imports 731.00 million SIPRI trend indicator values (2023)
- Arms imports (SIPRI trend indicator values), per capita 0.5807 SIPRI trend indicator values per person (2023)
- Arms imports (SIPRI trend indicator values), per unit of GDP 0.0003 SIPRI trend indicator values per US$ of GDP (2023)
- Arms imports (SIPRI trend indicator values), annual growth rate 25.82 % change on previous year (2023)
- Arms imports (SIPRI trend indicator values), gaps filled 731.00 million SIPRI trend indicator values (2023)
- Military expenditure (current USD), per capita 16.8 current USD per person (2024)
- Military expenditure (current USD), per unit of GDP 0.0109 current USD per US$ of GDP (2024)
- Military expenditure (current USD), annual growth rate -6.41 % change on previous year (2024)
- Military expenditure (current USD), gaps filled 21.67 billion current USD (2024)
- Arms imports (SIPRI trend indicator values), per square kilometre 30.58 SIPRI trend indicator values per square kilometre (2023)
Frequently asked questions
- What is proportion of seats held by women in national parliaments in Sub-Saharan Africa (IDA & IBRD countries)?
- Proportion of seats held by women in national parliaments in Sub-Saharan Africa (IDA & IBRD countries) was 27.0% 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 Sub-Saharan Africa (IDA & IBRD countries)?
- The highest recorded value was 27.0% in 2023.
- What is the lowest proportion of seats held by women in national parliaments recorded in Sub-Saharan Africa (IDA & IBRD countries)?
- The lowest recorded value was 10.2% in 1997.
- How does Sub-Saharan Africa (IDA & IBRD countries) rank for proportion of seats held by women in national parliaments?
- Sub-Saharan Africa (IDA & IBRD countries) ranks 17th out of 47 groups with data for 2025.
- Is proportion of seats held by women in national parliaments rising or falling in Sub-Saharan Africa (IDA & IBRD countries)?
- Over the last ten years it is up 14.4%. The long-run trend across the full record is rising.
- Where does this Sub-Saharan Africa (IDA & IBRD 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.