For five years in a row, Iceland has been rated the country with the world’s smallest gender gap by the World Economic Forum (WEF).
The rating means Iceland is the country where women enjoy the most equal access to education and healthcare. It is also where women are most likely to be able to participate fully in the country’s political and economic life.
Iceland is joined at the top of the The Global Gender Gap Report, 2013 by its Nordic neighbours Finland, Norway and Sweden.
Overall, the gender gap narrowed slightly across the globe in 2013, as 86 of 133 countries showed improvements. However, “change is definitely slow”, says one of the report’s authors, Saadia Zahidi.
Explore the maps below to find out how countries compare overall – as well as in key areas of daily life, such as in health, education, employment and politics.
Overall gender gap
Europe has seven countries in the top 10. The UK is 18th and the US is 23rd.The Philippines, at fifth, is the highest ranking Asian nation and Nicaragua is the highest-placed country from the Americas, at 10th.
The G20 group of leading industrial nations has no representative in the top 10, nor do the Middle East or Africa.
Top countries
1. Iceland
2. Finland
3. Norway
4. Sweden
5. Philippines
6. Ireland
7. New Zealand
8. Denmark
9. Switzerland
10. Nicaragua
Health
The gender gap is most narrow in this category, where there is 96% equality, according to the WEF, and many countries tie at the top of the rankings. The two main measures used are a comparison of healthy life expectancy and the sex ratio between boys and girls at birth.
Typically, women have a life expectancy several years longer than men, but in Pakistan the situation is reversed, with men living on average one year longer than women. China and India are marked down by the WEF for having a high ratio of boy babies compared with girls.
Education
When it comes to addressing the gender gap “education is an accelerator”, says Saadia Zahidi. In education, the WEF estimates there is 93% equality.
She adds: “For countries in Europe and North America, it has been decades since they reached parity in primary and secondary education, and in tertiary education the gender gap has been reversed.” As with the rankings on health, education also sees many countries in joint first place.
Economics
In the world of work, differing pictures emerge. In some nations few women are in senior jobs, despite high levels of female participation in the workforce. Brazil and China are both examples of this.
In countries including Yemen and Mauritania, there is very little participation in the workforce by women in general. Overall the WEF estimates there is 60% equality in economics.
Politics
The gender gap is widest in the world of politics, according to the WEF. Saadia Zahidi says: “For the world as a whole… women occupy only around 20% of leadership roles in political positions compared to men.”
“The highest-ranking Nordic countries have closed more than half of this gap. The bottom countries such as Qatar and Saudi Arabia have closed none of that gap.”
