Proportion of seats held by women in national parliaments (%) in United Kingdom
United Kingdom: Proportion of seats held by women in national parliaments (%) was 40.5% in 2025. ▲ Rising
Proportion of seats held by women in national parliaments in United Kingdom, 1997–2025
Source: Monthly ranking of women in national parliaments, Inter-Parliamentary Union (IPU). Measured in %.
Analysis
United Kingdom recorded 40.5% for proportion of seats held by women in national parliaments in 2025. That is the highest value across all 29 years on record.
The figure is up 37.7% over ten years.
Over the whole period, proportion of seats held by women in national parliaments in United Kingdom peaked at 40.5% in 2024 and was at its lowest, 17.9%, in 2001.
United Kingdom ranks 28th of 193 countries on this measure, in the top quarter.
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 United Kingdom, year by year
| Year | % | Change |
|---|---|---|
| 1997 | 18.2% | — |
| 1998 | 18.2% | +0.0% |
| 1999 | 18.4% | +0.8% |
| 2000 | 18.4% | +0.0% |
| 2001 | 17.9% | -2.5% |
| 2002 | 17.9% | +0.0% |
| 2003 | 17.9% | +0.0% |
| 2004 | 18.1% | +0.8% |
| 2005 | 19.7% | +8.9% |
| 2006 | 19.7% | +0.0% |
| 2007 | 19.5% | -0.8% |
| 2008 | 19.5% | +0.0% |
| 2009 | 19.5% | +0.0% |
| 2010 | 22.0% | +12.8% |
| 2011 | 22.3% | +1.4% |
| 2012 | 22.5% | +0.7% |
| 2013 | 22.5% | +0.0% |
| 2014 | 22.6% | +0.7% |
| 2015 | 29.4% | +29.9% |
| 2016 | 29.6% | +0.7% |
| 2017 | 32.0% | +8.2% |
| 2018 | 32.2% | +0.5% |
| 2019 | 32.0% | -0.5% |
| 2020 | 33.8% | +5.8% |
| 2021 | 34.3% | +1.2% |
| 2022 | 34.6% | +0.9% |
| 2023 | 34.6% | +0.1% |
| 2024 | 40.5% | +16.9% |
| 2025 | 40.5% | +0.0% |
United Kingdom compared with similar countries
- United Kingdom's 40.5% is above the median for high income countries, which is 31.3%, 1.3× the median. (64 countries reporting)
- United Kingdom's 40.5% is above the median for Europe & Central Asia, which is 33.4%, 1.2× the median. (52 countries reporting)
Biggest year-on-year movements
Years where Proportion of seats held by women in national parliaments (%) in United Kingdom 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 |
|---|---|---|---|
| 2015 | +29.9% | 22.6% | 29.4% |
Averages by decade
| Decade | Average | Lowest | Highest | Years |
|---|---|---|---|---|
| 1990s | 18.3% | 18.2% | 18.4% | 3 |
| 2000s | 18.8% | 17.9% | 19.7% | 10 |
| 2010s | 26.7% | 22.0% | 32.2% | 10 |
| 2020s | 36.4% | 33.8% | 40.5% | 6 |
Countries ranked near United Kingdom
More public sector data for United Kingdom
- Democracy, annual growth rate 0 % change on previous year (2025)
- Chief executive of the government is elected, annual growth rate 0 % change on previous year (2025)
- Elected parliament, annual growth rate 0 % change on previous year (2025)
- Men's universal right to vote, annual growth rate 0 % change on previous year (2025)
- Universal right to vote, annual growth rate 0 % change on previous year (2025)
- Universal right to vote in practice, annual growth rate 0 % change on previous year (2025)
- Arms imports 609.00 million SIPRI trend indicator values (2025)
- Arms imports (SIPRI trend indicator values), per capita 9.28 SIPRI trend indicator values per person (2024)
- Arms imports (SIPRI trend indicator values), per unit of GDP 0.0002 SIPRI trend indicator values per US$ of GDP (2024)
- Arms imports (SIPRI trend indicator values), annual growth rate 36.23 % change on previous year (2024)
Frequently asked questions
- What is proportion of seats held by women in national parliaments in United Kingdom?
- Proportion of seats held by women in national parliaments in United Kingdom was 40.5% 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 United Kingdom?
- The highest recorded value was 40.5% in 2024.
- What is the lowest proportion of seats held by women in national parliaments recorded in United Kingdom?
- The lowest recorded value was 17.9% in 2001.
- How does United Kingdom rank for proportion of seats held by women in national parliaments?
- United Kingdom ranks 28th out of 193 countries with data for 2025.
- Is proportion of seats held by women in national parliaments rising or falling in United Kingdom?
- Over the last ten years it is up 37.7%. The long-run trend across the full record is rising.
- Where does this United Kingdom 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.
Download this data
CSV · JSON — 29 observations, free to reuse under CC BY 4.0 (World Bank Open Data).
About this data
Women in parliaments are the percentage of parliamentary seats in a single or lower chamber held by women.