Country results are organized by region in this section.

Europe and Central Asia

Europe and Central Asia has closed 72% of its overall gender gap. The region continues to rank second globally behind North America. Out of the 46 countries of the region, 32 countries have increased their overall score compared to last year, while 14 have seen it decreasing. The region’s score has improved compared to 2014 on all subindexes except Educational Attainment. Similar to last year, the biggest improvement is on the Political Empowerment subindex. Having closed 69% of its economic gender gap, the region ranks third on this subindex just after North America and Sub-Saharan Africa. It also ranks third on the Educational Attainment subindex, although 99% of the education gender gap has been closed. On both the Health and Survival and Political Empowerment subindexes, the region ranks second, having closed 98% and 23% of the gap, respectively.

Forty countries from the region have been included in the Index since 2006. Compared to the other regions, Europe and Central Asia has experienced the fourth largest absolute increase on the overall Index. On the Economic Participation and Opportunity subindex, the region shows the third largest absolute increase after both North America and Latin America and the Caribbean. On the Educational Attainment subindex, the region experienced the smallest absolute score increase relative to other regions. On the Health and Survival subindex, the region shows the second largest absolute increase, and on the fourth subindex, it has demonstrated the fourth largest increase, ahead of Sub-Saharan Africa and North America.

Similar to last year, the top five spots on the overall Index are occupied by countries from this region. Out of the top 20 performing countries on the index, 14 are from the region (two more than last year). Austria, Finland, France and Latvia are the four countries from the region that have fully closed both their Educational Attainment and Health and Survival gender gaps. Out of the 25 countries that have fully closed their Educational Attainment gender gaps, 12 countries are from this region. However, on the Health and Survival subindex, Azerbaijan, Albania and Armenia are among the 10 lowest-performing countries. On the Economic Participation and Opportunity subindex, eight countries from the region are among the top 20 performing countries, which is one more than last year. The lowest-performing countries on that subindex are Malta and Turkey. Ten out of the 20 top-performing countries on the Political Empowerment subindex—including four countries in the top five: Iceland, Finland, Norway and Sweden—are from Europe and Central Asia. On the Labour force participation indicator, eight countries from the region are part of the 20 best-performing countries. On the Sex ratio at birth indicator, six out of the 10 lowest performing countries are from the region, with Armenia ranking in the second last position. On the Women in ministerial positions indicator, 13 out of the 20 best-performing countries are from the region, with Finland ranking in first place.

Iceland (1) is for the seventh year in a row the top performer country on the overall Index. From 2006, the country experienced a steady increase of its overall score, except last year when the country showed a decrease mostly due to a slight fall on the Health and Survival and Political Empowerment subindexes. Iceland is among the top three countries from the region that have improved the most compared to 2006 on their overall Index and Political Empowerment subindex scores. This year, Iceland’s improvement on the Economic Participation and Opportunity subindex score translated into a gain of two ranks (from the 7th to the 5th position). As of 2009, the country has fully closed its educational gender gap and ranks first on the Political Empowerment subindex. In Iceland, 41% of parliamentarians are women, 44% of ministers are women and, out of the last 50 years, 20 were spent with a female head of state. Iceland ranks 105th on the Health and Survival subindex, gaining 23 places compared to last year. Iceland’s low score on that subindex is due to its performance on the Healthy life expectancy indicator. Iceland is also a strong performer on the contextual indicators provided in the report but not included in the Index. Iceland is among the top three countries on the ability of women to rise to positions of enterprise leadership. It is also the country with the longest paternity coverage, with 90 calendar days entitled to new fathers, one among many policies in the country (and in other Nordic countries) to help parents combine work and family.

Norway (2) is back in the second position after having lost that place to Finland for three consecutive years. This gain comes mainly from improvements in Economic, Health and Political subindexes. Norway is the highest-ranking country on the Economic Participation and Opportunity subindex and the third highest on the Political Empowerment subindex. The country ranks 32nd on the Educational Attainment subindex and 70th on the Health and Survival subindex—due to very small differences in performance of the countries near the top—but scores very high. The country is among the top twenty best performers on the following five indicators: Labour force participation, Wage equality for similar work, Women in parliament, Women in ministerial position and Years with female head of state. Norway is also the top country overall on the share of women on boards of listed companies, with 37%, as well as the second best-performing country on the Ability of women to rise to positions of leadership. The country presents as well the smallest difference between the average minutes spent per day on unpaid work by men and women.

Finland (3) fell one place and now sits in the third position on the overall Index. Finland however remains the highest-ranked country from the European Union. It ranks 8th on the Economic Participation and Opportunity subindex, gaining 13 places compared to last year, mostly due to improvements on the Wage equality for similar work indicator. Finland is one of four countries from the region that has fully closed gender gaps on both the Educational Attainment and Health and Survival subindexes. Similar to last year, Finland ranks second on the Political Empowerment subindex. It is the third-ranked country from the region on both the Labour force participation and Wage equality for similar work indicators. Finland is also the top-performing country on the Women in ministerial positions indicator and has a government that is 63% women.

Sweden (4) ranks fourth for the seventh consecutive year. The country ranks 4th on the Economic Participation and Opportunity subindex, an increase of 11 places compared with last year, due to improvements on the Perceived wage equality for similar work, the Estimated earned income and the Legislators, senior officials and managers indicators. The country has seen its subindex score on Educational Attainment decrease slightly due to a drop on the Enrolment in secondary education score. On the other hand, its Health and Survival subindex score improved from last year. The country continues to rank 5th on the Political and Empowerment subindex. Despite its high score on that subindex, Sweden is one of three countries from the region with a smaller score increase compared to 2006.

Ireland (5) gained three places compared to last year, mainly due to improvements on the Economic and Political subindexes. Ireland is among the top 10 best-performing countries on the Political Empowerment subindex. It is also one of the best three climbers from the region on the Health and Survival subindex compared to 2006. Finally, Ireland is the highest-ranked country from the region (ranking 3rd overall) on the Years with female head of state indicator. Switzerland (8) re-enters the top 10, gaining three places compared to last year. This is mostly due to improvements on the Economic Participation and Opportunity as well as the Education and Political subindexes. This year, Switzerland ranks 17th on the Economic and Opportunity subindex and 18th on the Political Empowerment subindex. Switzerland is among the top 20 top-performing countries on both Women in ministerial positions and Years with female head of state indicators. Compared with 2006, Switzerland is among the top three climbers from the region on the Educational Attainment subindex. Switzerland continues to be the fourth-highest ranked country overall on the percentage of female part-time employment compared to the total female employment.

Next is Slovenia (9), which enters for the first time the top 10 countries on the overall Index. Out of the 109 countries that have been part of the Index since 2006, Slovenia has shown the fourth largest increase and the largest increase from the Europe and Central Asia region. Since 2006, all its subindexes scores have improved. The biggest improvements have come from the Economic Participation and Opportunity subindex and, in particular, the Political Empowerment subindex. This year, Slovenia ranks 21st on the Women in parliament indicator and 10th on the Women in ministerial positions indicator, with women representing 44% of ministers (whereas it was 18% last year). After Iceland, Slovenia has the second highest length of paid paternity leave.

Germany (11) follows next. The country has seen its overall score slightly increase compared to last year, due to better performance on the Health and Survival and the Political Empowerment subindexes. The increase has been offset by a decrease on the Economic Participation and Opportunity and Educational Attainment subindexes. The country’s ten-year evolution is characterized by two ups and downs; however, compared to 2006, Germany’s overall score has improved. This year, the country ranks 38th on the Economic Participation and Opportunity subindex, and 11th (similar to last year) on the Political Empowerment subindex. Out of the 40 countries that have provided data on the percentage share of women on boards of listed companies, Germany has one of the lowest percentages (2.8%). Germany shares with 10 other countries the second lowest total fertility rate (1.4 children per woman).

The Netherlands (13) ranks thirteenth on the overall Index this year, gaining one position. It remains the country with the highest percentage of female part-time employment compared to total female employment (77%). Despite the high level of male part-time employment, Netherlands is the country with the largest difference between female and male part-time employment. Next is Denmark (14) at the fourteenth position, its lowest place since the creation of the Index. Compared to 2006, its overall score has steadily improved, but there have been significant decreases from last year on the Economic, Health and Political subindexes. Denmark remains the country with the highest average minutes spent per day by men on unpaid work. Denmark is followed by France (15), which gained one place compared to last year due to improvement on the Political Empowerment subindex. This improvement has been slightly offset by a decrease on the Economic Participation and Opportunity subindex. Compared to 2006, France’s evolution is characterized by two peaks, one in 2008 and one this year. France is the second country from the region with the highest increase compared to 2006 on the overall Index but also on the Economic Participation and Opportunity subindex. France has also achieved the third highest increase from the region on the Political Empowerment subindex. In this year’s ranking, France is among the four countries from the region that have closed both their Educational and Health gender gaps. France is also among the four countries that rank first on the Women in Ministerial positions, with 50% of Women in ministerial position. France is the lowest-ranked country from the region on the Wage equality for similar work indicator, sitting at 132nd position out of 134 countries. Regarding the share of women on boards of listed companies, France is ranked second, after Norway.

The United Kingdom (18) re-enters the top 20 countries on the overall Index, gaining eight places over last year. This increase is due to improvements on the Economic, Health and Political subindexes. The country’s ten-year evolution is characterized by three decreases: in 2008, 2012 and 2014. Next are Belgium (19) and Latvia (20). Belgium lost nine places and Latvia five places compared to 2014. In the case of Belgium, this is mostly due to a decrease on the Health and Survival and Political Empowerment subindexes. The percentage of women in ministerial position has dropped from 42% to 23% in a year. For Latvia, the reason is a decrease on the Economic Participation and Opportunity and Political Empowerment subindexes. Latvia remains one of the four countries from the region that has closed both its Educational Attainment and Health and Survival gender gaps. In addition, Latvia is among the three countries with the highest percentage of female research and development personnel.

Estonia (21) made the largest score improvement from the region compared to 2014, mostly due to significant improvement on the Political Empowerment subindex. The percentage of women in parliament increased from 19% to 24% and the percentage of women in ministerial positions increased from 17% to 46%. This year’s score is the highest Estonia has achieved in the past 10 years. Spain ranks 25th, followed by Moldova (26). Over the past 10 years, Spain experienced an increase on its Economic Participation and Opportunity subindex score, whereas the Political Empowerment subindex score has gradually decreased, despite a peak in 2010 and 2011. Spain experienced the second largest decrease on this subindex over the past 10 years. Its overall Index score has mirrored that peak during the same years.

Lithuania (31), Luxembourg (32) and Belarus (34) follow next. This year, Lithuania ranks 14th globally on the Labour force participation indicator, between Sweden and Denmark. Luxembourg is the country from the region with the largest improvement on the Economic Participation and Opportunity subindex compared to 2006. Belarus is the highest-ranked country from the region on the Legislators, senior officials and managers and Professional and technical workers indicators, with 44% of leadership positions held by women and 73% of Professional and technical workers occupied by women. Belarus is also the top country from the region in the upper-middle income group. Out of the 95 countries that have provided data for the Firms with female top manager indicator, Belarus has the third largest percentage overall after Mongolia and Bahamas.

Austria (37) has seen a small decrease from 2014 of its overall score. Austria is the third country from the region with the largest improvement on the Economic Participation and Opportunity subindex over the past 10 years.

Austria is followed by Portugal (39) and Italy (41). Italy has shown a steady increase on its overall score with the exceptions of 2010 and 2012. The increase of the overall score has been driven over the past three years by improvements on the Political Empowerment subindex. Italy gained 28 positions over 2014, mostly on its Political Empowerment subindex due to an increase in the percentage of women in parliament and women holding ministerial positions. This year, Italy is again among the three lowest-performing countries from the region on the Economic Participation and Opportunity subindex (together with Malta and Turkey). This year, the country ranks 91st overall on the Labour force participation indicator and 109th on wage equality for similar work. Bulgaria (43) is next at the 43rd position. Bulgaria had experienced last year a peak in its overall score, which was due to improvements on both the Economic Participation and Opportunity and Political Empowerment subindexes. This year, these two subindexes have seen their score decrease again, influencing the overall score in the same direction. Following next are Serbia (45), Kazakhstan (47), Poland (51) and Croatia (59). Croatia is the country from the region with the largest decrease on the overall Index compared to 2006.

Ukraine’s (67) overall score has fallen from 2014 due to decreases on the Economic Participation and Opportunity and Political Empowerment subindexes. Macedonia, FYR follows, ranking 69th. It continues to have the highest percentage of female R&D personnel (FTE) compared to men. Albania stands in the 70th position. Albania has improved its overall ranking by 13 positions since 2014; however, it is also the country from the region that has progressed the least over the past 10 years on the Educational Attainment and Health and Survival subindexes. Russian Federation (75) improved its overall score compared to 2006, having peaked in 2010 and 2011. Compared to last year, the country’s overall score slightly improved with no impact on its overall rank. This year, the Russian Federation ranks 42st on the Economic Participation and Opportunity subindex (similar to last year) and 128th on the Political Empowerment subindex. Similar to last year, the country remains among the three lowest-ranking countries of the region on this subindex. The country ranks first on the Healthy life expectancy indicator, with a female-to-male ratio of 1.20.

Next is the Kyrgyz Republic (76). Its best performance over the last 10 years was in 2009. Compared to 2006, the Kyrgyz Republic is among the three countries from the region with the lowest increase on the Economic, Education and Health subindexes. Following next are Romania (77) and Montenegro (79). The Czech Republic (81) gained 15 places this year compared to last year, mostly due to improvements on the Economic Participation and Opportunity and Political Empowerment subindexes. The percentage of women in ministerial positions improved from 7% to 19%. Georgia (82) follows, with Greece (87) and Tajikistan (95) next. Georgia is the country from the region that has made the most progress on the Health and Survival subindex since 2006. Greece’s highest overall score over the past 10 years was in 2011. Similar to last year, Greece ranks 87th on the Economic Participation and Opportunity subindex. On the Political Empowerment subindex, however, the country gained 17 places over last year, ranking this year at the 91st position. Tajikistan is the lowest-performing country from the region on the Enrolment in tertiary education and Healthy life expectancy indicators.

Next are Azerbaijan (96), Slovak Republic (97), Hungary (99) and Cyprus (100). Azerbaijan is the second-lowest ranked country from the region on the Political Empowerment subindex, in 129th place. On the Health and Survival subindex, it is the third-lowest performing country from the region, ahead of Albania and Armenia. Out of the 95 countries that have provided data for the Firms with female top managers indicator, Azerbaijan presents the third-smallest percentage overall, just ahead of Jordan and Yemen. It is also, overall, the country with the lowest percentage of firms with female participation in ownership. Slovak Republic lost seven places this year, due to decreases on the Economic Participation and Opportunity and Political Empowerment subindexes. The Slovak Republic is among the five countries in the world that don’t have any women in ministerial positions. Hungary lost six places this year due to a drop on the Political Empowerment subindex, where it is again this year the region’s lowest performing country, ranking 139th. Hungary is the region’s lowest-ranked performer on the Women in parliament indicator, with only 10% of its parliament made up of women. It is also among the five countries in the world that don’t have any women in ministerial positions.

The final positions in the region are occupied by Malta (104), Armenia (105) and Turkey (130). Malta’s overall highest score over the past 10 years was in 2013. This year Malta lost five places, due to a decrease on the Political Empowerment subindex. Armenia continues to be the lowest-performing country from the region on the Health and Survival subindex. Armenia has the second lowest female-to-male sex ratio at birth score in the world, just above China’s. However Armenia has a high percentage (64%) of female professional and technical workers. Turkey has experienced a steady improvement of its overall score since 2010. Compared to 2006, the country is among the top three climbers from the region on the Education and Health subindexes. Over the past 10 years, the evolution of its Economic Participation and Opportunity subindex score forms a U shape, with its lowest point in 2010. Turkey is again the lowest-performing country from the region on the Economic Participation and Opportunity subindex. Out of the 29 countries that have provided data on the average minutes spent per day in unpaid work, Turkey has the third-largest difference between women and men, following Mexico and India.

Latin America and the Caribbean

The Latin America and Caribbean region has closed 70% of the overall gender gap. It is the third-best performing region on the overall Index after North America and Europe and Central Asia. It is also the best performer on Health and Survival and second best on Educational Attainment. Compared to 2014, the region has slightly progressed on Political Empowerment and regressed on Economic Participation and Opportunity, with more than 20% and 62%, respectively, of the gender gaps now closed. The Educational Attainment and Health and Survival gender gaps remain roughly the same at 99% and 98%, respectively. When compared to 2006, the region has shown the most improvement on the overall Index and second-most improvement on both the Economic Participation and Opportunity and Political Empowerment subindexes. The region is also home to the best climber of the world on the overall Index, Nicaragua, and the best climber of the world on the Political Empowerment subindex, Bolivia.

Nicaragua (12) remains the best performer of the region for the fourth year in a row despite dropping six places from 2014 to 2015. It has closed the gender gap fully on both Educational Attainment and Health and Survival. Furthermore, on Political Empowerment it is the highest-ranking country of the region and fourth in the world, with more than 50% of the gender gap now closed. Since 2006, it is the world’s most improved country on the overall Index and third-most improved of the world on Political Empowerment. Bolivia (22) moves up 36 places from last year, making it the second-best performer of the region, with nearly 75% of the gender gap now closed. This is mostly due to an increase on the Political Empowerment score, resulting from a doubling of women in parliament (from 25% to 53%). The country is now the second-highest ranked country in the region on the Political Empowerment subindex, with 42% of the gender gap now closed. On the Health and Survival subindex it has fully closed its gender gap, but on Educational Attainment it is the region’s second-worst performer. Since 2006, the country is the world’s most improved country on Political Empowerment and second-most improved on the overall Index.

Barbados (24) moves up nine places from last year, overtaking Cuba, Ecuador and Argentina on the regional rankings. This is mostly due to an increase of its Economic Participation and Opportunity score, resulting from a rise in the number of female legislators, senior officials and managers as well as professional and technical workers. It is now the best-performing country of the region and second in the world on this subindex. It has also fully closed its Health and Survival gender gap. Within the region, it scores above average on all subindexes except Political Empowerment. Cuba (29) moves up one spot from last year. This is partly due to an increase in the number of women in ministerial positions (from 23% to 31%). It has nearly closed the gender gap on the Educational Attainment subindex and ranks third in the region on Political Empowerment with 40% of the gender gap now closed. Ecuador (33) has regressed since last year, dropping 12 places in rank. This is partly due to a slight decrease in the female-to-male ratio of estimated earned income. In Health and Survival it has fully closed the gender gap. When compared to 2006, it is the second-most improved country in the region and the fourth-most improved of the world on the Economic Participation and Opportunity subindex.

Argentina (35) has slightly progressed since last year despite dropping four places in rank. This is due to a slight increase on the Political Empowerment subindex, resulting from more women in ministerial positions and an additional year with a female head of state. It has fully closed its gender gap on the Health and Survival subindex. Since 2006 it has improved across all subindexes except Educational Attainment, where there has been no change in score. Costa Rica (38) has improved over last year and moves up 10 places with 73% of the gender gap now closed. This is due to a near doubling of women in ministerial positions (from 25% to 41%). It has also fully closed its gender gap on the Educational Attainment subindex, but ranks among the bottom three in the region on Health and Survival. Since 2006, it has improved in all subindexes except Health and Survival where it has slightly regressed. Bahamas (40) drops five places since last year but slightly increased its score. It has closed the gender gap fully on the Educational Attainment and Health and Survival subindexes, and is the second-best performing country in the region on Economic Participation and Opportunity, with more than 82% of the gender gap now closed.

Colombia (42) has made progress over last year, moving up 11 places in rank. This is due to improvements in wage equality for similar work and estimated earned income. It is now the third-best performing country in the region on the Economic Participation an Opportunity subindex, with more than 74% of the gender gap now closed. Since 2006, it has made almost no improvement on Health and Survival and Political Empowerment and has actually regressed on Educational Attainment. Both Panama (44) and Trinidad and Tobago (46) made slight progress over last year, with more women in parliament. Both countries have also fully closed their gender gap on Health and Survival in 2015. In fact, since 2006, they have improved on all subindexes except Educational Attainment, where they have regressed. El Salvador (62) rises 22 places, with more women in parliament and in ministerial positions (from 7% to 21%). Since 2006 it has fully closed its Health and Survival gender gap and has improved across all indicators.

Jamaica (65) has dropped 13 places on the Economic Participation and Opportunity subindex, mostly due to recently available data for the number of female legislators, senior officials and managers. It has closed the gender gap fully on Health and Survival and is the most improved country of the region on this subindex since 2006. It has also improved on Political Empowerment but is the region’s least improved country on Economic Participation and Opportunity and on the overall Index. Guyana (66) follows and drops two places from last year, without any major changes in score besides slight improvements in literacy rate, wage equality and the number of women in ministerial positions. Its Educational Attainment and Health and Survival gender gaps remain fully closed but the country is the region’s second-worst performer on Economic Participation and Opportunity.

Mexico (71) moves up nine places from last year with more women in parliament. Slight improvements have also been made in estimated earned income and the number of female legislators, senior officials and managers, but it remains the region’s lowest-ranked country on the Economic Participation and Opportunity subindex, with less than 55% of the gender gap closed. Since 2006 it has fully closed its Health and Survival gender gap and ranks among the top five most-improved countries in the region on the overall Index and Political Empowerment subindex. It has slightly regressed on Educational Attainment. Chile (73) hasn’t changed in score despite dropping seven places from last year. The number of legislators, senior officials and managers has improved, as has the number of years with a female head of state, but there are fewer women in ministerial positions. It ranks among the bottom three in the region on Economic Participation and Opportunity. Since 2006 it has improved on all subindexes except Health and Survival and ranks among the region’s top five most-improved countries on Educational Attainment. Venezuela (78) moves up eight places in rank, with 69% its gender gap now closed. While it has regressed on Economic Participation and Opportunity, improvements have been made on Political Empowerment, as it has added more women in ministerial positions. Most of the progress made since 2006 has occurred on these two subindexes. Honduras (80) drops seven places in rank, with less wage equality for similar work. It has fully closed the gender gap on the Educational Attainment subindex. Since 2006 it has improved across all subindexes except Health and Survival where it has slightly regressed.

Brazil (85) has slightly regressed, dropping 14 places since 2014. This is likely due to a fall in the number of women in ministerial positions (from 26% to 15%). Yet its Educational Attainment and Health and Survival gender gaps remain fully closed, and, since 2006, it has improved across all subindexes, with the most progress being made on Political Empowerment. Dominican Republic (86) is ranked next and has similarly regressed, dropping eight places since last year. While improvements have been made to its Political Empowerment score, with more women in ministerial positions, Economic Participation and Opportunity has suffered, with less wage equality for similar work. Since 2006, it is the least improved country of the region and third least improved globally on the Educational Attainment subindex. It is also the region’s least improved on the Health and Survival subindex, ranking in the region’s bottom three today. Peru (89) has also regressed, dropping 44 places since last year. This is mostly due to halving the number of women in ministerial positions (from 44% to 22%). However, since 2006, it has improved across all subindexes except Health and Survival where it has regressed. It is the worst performing country of the region in this category, with 97% of the gender gap closed.

Uruguay (93) drops 11 places in 2015, with fewer female legislators, senior officials and managers. Some progress has been made in the percentage of women in parliament and in ministerial positions but the country is still one of the region’s three worst performers on these indicators. Since 2006 it has fully closed its gender gap on Health and Survival and has advanced across all subindexes. Suriname (94) follows, but has risen 15 places since last year. This can be attributed to an increase in the number of female legislators, senior officials and managers and the number of professional and technical workers, as well as a doubling of women in parliament (from 12% to 25%). Since 2012 it has fully closed its Health and Survival gender gap. Belize (103) drops three places from last year due to a slight decrease in female enrolment in secondary education. It is the worst performing country of the region on Political Empowerment, with less than 5% of the gender gap closed. The gender gap on the Health and Survival subindex has remained fully closed since 2007. Guatemala (106) has regressed, dropping 17 places from last year, with fewer women in ministerial positions. When compared to 2006, the country is the most improved of the region and third-most improved globally on the Economic Participation and Opportunity subindex. Similarly, while it is the region’s lowest-performing country on Educational Attainment, it has improved the most since 2006. The gender gap on Health and Survival remains fully closed. Paraguay (107) drops 26 places from last year and is the worst performing country of the region, with less than 67% of the gender gap closed. It has regressed across most of the indicators in Economic Participation and Opportunity—with wage equality for similar work being the exception. The number of women in ministerial positions has also nearly halved (from 25% to 8%) making it the second-worst performing country of the region on the Political Empowerment subindex. However, it improved on Health and Survival, fully closing the gender gap this year. Since 2006, it is the second-most improved country of the region on Educational Attainment but the least improved on Political Empowerment.

North America

North America has closed 74% of its overall gender gap, remaining the best performer on the global Index. It is also the best performer on the Economic Participation and Opportunity subindex, with 82% of the gender gap closed, and on the Educational Attainment subindex, where it has nearly achieved parity. On the Health and Survival subindex it ranks third in the world; yet on the Political Empowerment it ranks second-to-last, with less than 17% of the gender gap closed. In fact, when compared to 2006, North America is the second-least improved region on the overall index and on the Health and Survival and Political Empowerment subindexes. It is, however, the most improved region on the Economic Participation and Opportunity subindex.

The United States (28) falls eight places this year and drops out of the top 20, mostly due to a decrease on its Political Empowerment score, where it has demonstrated fewer women in ministerial positions (from 32% to 26%). On the Economic Participation and Opportunity subindex, the country also drops out of the top five, with slightly less wage equality for similar work. It ranks in the top 10 on the Estimated earned income and Professional and technical workers indicators, and top 25 on the Legislators, senior officials and managers indicator. The country has not reached full parity on either the Educational Attainment or Health and Survival subindexes. Over the past 10 years, its overall score has fluctuated, with a peak in 2014. It has improved across all subindexes except Health and Survival, where it has slightly regressed.

Canada (30) falls 11 places this year, mainly due to a decrease on its Economic Participation and Opportunity score, with less wage equality for similar work as well, as on its Political Empowerment score, where it has slightly less women in ministerial positions. It ranks among the top 25 on the labour force participation and estimated earned income indicators. The country continues to rank first in the world with full parity on the Educational Attainment subindex, but ranks below the regional average on Health and Survival, with less than 97% of the gender gap closed. Looking back to 2006, Canada’s overall score is characterized by similar fluctuations in score with a peak in 2014. Like the United States, Canada has improved on all subindexes except Health and Survival, where it has slightly regressed.

The Middle East and North Africa

The Middle East and North Africa region has closed almost 60% of the overall gender gap. However, it ranks last globally on the overall Index; on the Economic Participation and Opportunity subindex, with only 40% of the gender gap closed; and on the Political Empowerment subindex, with only 9% of the gender gap closed. Four of the five world’s lowest-ranking countries on this latter subindex belong to this region. On both Educational Attainment (93% of the gender gap closed) and Health and Survival (nearly 97% of the gender gap closed) it ranks fifth globally—surpassing Sub-Saharan Africa and Asia and the Pacific, respectively. Still, no country from the region has fully closed its gender gap on either subindex. When compared to 2006, the region has shown the most improvement on the Educational Attainment subindex, but the least improvement on the overall Index as well as on the Economic Participation and Opportunity and Political Empowerment subindexes. The region is also home to the best climber of the world on the Economic Participation and Opportunity subindex: Bahrain.

Israel (53) continues to hold the top spot in the Middle East and North Africa region and moves up 12 places on the overall ranking due to improvements on the Economic Participation and Opportunity, Health and Survival, and Political Empowerment subindexes It is the region’s best-performing country across all four subindexes. It is also the best performer on the Labour force participation and Legislators, senior officials and managers indicators, but the second-worst performer on the Wage equality for similar work indicator. The country is the region’s second most improved country on the Health and Survival subindex since 2006. Kuwait (117) drops four places this year. It is the region’s second-best performing country on Educational Attainment and the third-best performer on Economic Participation and Opportunity. On Health and Survival it is the lowest-performing country along with Qatar, with less than 96% of the gender gap closed. It has improved across all subindexes since 2006, with Educational Attainment and Health and Survival the exceptions. The United Arab Emirates (119) follows closely. It scores above the regional average across all subindexes except Health and Survival, where it is the third-lowest ranked country, with 96% of the gender gap closed. It ranks first in the region on literacy rate and third on wage equality for similar work. Since 2006 it has improved across all subindexes except Health and Survival. Next is Qatar (122), the region’s second-best performing on Economic Participation and Opportunity, but the second-lowest performer on Health and Survival and lowest performer on Political Empowerment, where it has closed only 1.3% of the gender gap.

Bahrain (123) scores above the regional average on Economic Participation and Opportunity, with the region’s highest score on the Wage equality for similar work indicator. It also scores above average on Educational Attainment with the second-highest score on the Enrolment in tertiary education indicator. It is the world’s most improved country on the Economic Participation and Opportunity subindex, and the second-most improved of the region on the overall Index since 2006. Nevertheless, it is also the least improved since 2006 on both the Educational Attainment and Political Empowerment subindexes. Tunisia (127) scores above the regional average across all subindexes and ranks best in the region for healthy life expectancy and second best on the percentage of female legislators, senior officials and managers. Since 2006, it has shown the region’s most improvement on the Health and Survival subindex. Algeria (128) is the region’s second-best performing country on Political Empowerment, with the highest percentage of women in parliament (32). In fact, it is the second-most improved country on this subindex when compared with its 2006 performance.

Mauritania (132) is the region’s second-best performing country on the Health and Survival subindex and the third-best performer on Political Empowerment where it has the highest percentage of women in ministerial positions (27). It is the most improved of the region in this subindex since 2006. Still, it is the second lowest performing country on Educational Attainment, with the lowest enrolment of women in tertiary education. Saudi Arabia (134) drops four places from last year, mainly due to a decrease on its Economic Participation and Opportunity and Health and Survival scores. It is the region’s third-best performing country on Educational Attainment, with parity across enrolment in primary, secondary, and tertiary education. Still, it ranks below the regional average across the rest of the subindexes. Since 2006, the country has shown the region’s largest improvement on the overall Index and the second-largest improvement on Economic Participation and Opportunity. On Educational Attainment, it is the fifth-most improved country in the world; however, it is the world’s fifth-least improved country on Health and Survival.

Oman (135) drops seven places from last year, due to regression on Economic Participation and Opportunity. It ranks above the regional average across all subindexes except Political Empowerment, where it is the third-lowest performing country of the region. Egypt follows in 136th position this year, with scores above average on all subindexes except Political Empowerment. Since 2006, the country has improved on three out of the four subindexes; the lone exception, the Health and Survival subindex. Lebanon (138) has improved over 2014, with the second highest percentage of female professional and technical workers in the region and more female ministers. Still, it is the region’s second-lowest performer on Political Empowerment, with only 3% of female parliamentarians. Morocco (139) is the third-best performing country of the region on Health and Survival, but also the third-lowest performing country on Educational Attainment, where it has closed less than 92% of the gender gap. Since 2006 it has improved across all subindexes except Economic Participation and Opportunity, where it is the world’s third-least improved country. Jordan (140) is the region’s third-lowest performing country on Economic Participation and Opportunity, with 35% of the gender gap closed. It ranks below the regional average across the rest of the subindexes except Educational Attainment. While improvements have been made on Educational Attainment and Political Empowerment since 2006, it is the world’s second-least improved country on the overall Index as well as on the Economic Participation and Opportunity subindex.

Syria (143) drops four places from last year and remains in the bottom five of the global ranking. It is the region’s second-lowest performing country on Economic Participation and Opportunity, with the region’s lowest score on the Labour force participation indicator. Yemen (145) continues to occupy the last place in the region and on the global Index since 2006. It is the lowest performing country of the region across the Economic Participation and Opportunity subindex and fourth-lowest in the world on Educational Attainment. It has made some improvements, though, and since 2006 it has been the most improved country of the region and fourth in the world on Educational Attainment. Still, it is also the least improved of the region and fourth-least improved of the world on the Health and Survival subindex.

Asia and the Pacific

The Asia and the Pacific region has closed more than 67% of its overall gender gap. It has improved its Political Empowerment performance since 2014 and remains first globally with more than 25% of the gender gap closed. However, the region ranks second from the bottom on the overall Index and Economic Participation and Opportunity subindex, with 54% of the gender gap closed. On Health and Survival, the region has regressed since 2014 and, once again, scores last with less than 95% of the gender gap closed. When compared to 2006, the region is the most improved on Political Empowerment and second-most improved on Educational Attainment and on the overall Index. It is the least improved on Health and Survival despite being home to three of the five most-improved countries on this subindex. Of the 24 countries in the region, 17 have improved and seven have regressed since 2006. The region is also home to one of the top five climbers on the overall Index and on Educational Attainment: Nepal.

The Philippines (7) has made progress from last year and continues to rank among the top 10 on the overall index and first in the region with 79% of its gender gap closed. This can be explained by an increase on its Economic Participation and Opportunity score, which is due to more female legislators, senior officials and managers as well as professional and technical workers. It now ranks third-best in the region on this subindex. Improvements have also been made on the Political Empowerment subindex, due to more women in ministerial positions. The Health and Survival gender gap remains fully closed while the Educational Attainment gap, which had been fully closed since 2006, reopens slightly. Since 2006, the country has progressed across all categories except Educational Attainment, where it has slightly regressed.

New Zealand (10) similarly improves and moves up three places from last year, joining the top 10 on the overall Index with more than 78% of its gender gap closed. The country has also improved on Economic Participation and Opportunity, with better wage equality for similar work and more equal estimated earned income. Improvements have also been made on Political Empowerment, and the country now ranks third best in the region in this subindex. Its Educational Attainment gender gap remains fully closed. Since 2006, the country has progressed across all categories except Health and Survival where it has slightly regressed. Australia (36) follows and drops 12 places from where it ranked in 2014, with 73% of the gender gap now closed. This can be explained by a decrease on its Economic Participation and Opportunity score, due to a drop in estimated earned income. Since 2006, its Educational Attainment gender gap has remained fully closed. The country has shown progress across all subindexes except Health and Survival where it has slightly regressed. Lao PDR (52) moves up by eight places, closing 71% of its overall gender gap. The country has increased its Economic Participation and Opportunity score, with improvements to the Estimated earned income indicator score, and now ranks second best in the region on this subindex. Its Educational Attainment score has also improved, due to higher literacy rates and more equal enrolment in secondary and tertiary education.

Singapore (54) moves up five places from last year due to improvements to its Economic Participation and Opportunity score, where it has increased wage equality for similar work and added more female legislators, senior officials and managers as well as professional and technical workers. The country now ranks first in the region on this subindex. Yet on Educational Attainment and Political Empowerment it scores below the regional average. Singapore has made progress across all subindexes since 2006 and is the most improved country in the region on Economic Participation and Opportunity. Mongolia (56) falls twelve spots from last year. The decrease can mainly be seen on the Political Empowerment score, with fewer women in ministerial positions (from 17% to 11%). The Health and Survival gender gap remains fully closed. When compared to 2006, the country has demonstrated improvements across all subindexes except Educational Attainment where it has regressed. Thailand (60) moves down one rank but slightly improves its overall score, due to an increase on the Economic Participation and Opportunity subindex—in particular, more female legislators, senior officials and managers in the workforce. The country’s Health and Survival gender gap is fully closed. When compared to 2006, the country has shown progress across all subindexes except Political Empowerment, where it has regressed.

Bangladesh (64) moves up four places from 2014 to 2015, showing improvement across all subindexes except Economic Participation and Opportunity. After a steady increase in score from 2006 to 2010, the country has regressed on this subindex since 2013. Its Educational Attainment score continues to rise, due to higher literacy rates and enrolment in tertiary education. On the Health and Survival subindex, the country ranks first in the region and, since 2006, is the second most-improved country in the world. Improvements have also been made on Political Empowerment, with more years with a female head of state; since 2006, it has been the second-most improved country of the region on this subindex. Bangladesh is also the region’s second-most improved country on the overall Index.

Vietnam (83) has fallen seven places on the overall ranking. While its Economic Participation and Opportunity, Political Empowerment and Health and Survival scores have remained almost unchanged, its Educational Attainment score has decreased. This may be attributed to a decrease in female literacy rates. Sri Lanka (84) drops five positions—it has less wage equality for similar work and fewer female legislators, senior officials and managers. The country’s Political Empowerment performance has also regressed, with fewer years with a female head of state, even though there are now more women in ministerial positions. The Health and Survival gender gap is fully closed. Since 2006 the country is the region’s least improved country on the overall Index, and the least improved in the world, on the Political Empowerment subindex.

Brunei Darussalam (88) moves up by 10 places from 2014, with an improved Economic Participation and Opportunity score due to more female legislators, senior officials and managers as well as female professional and technical workers. However, it ranks last in the world on Political Empowerment, with no women in ministerial positions or years with a female head of state. China (91) drops four places from last year, slightly regressing in score due to a decrease in female sex ratio at birth. It is the world’s lowest-ranked country on this indicator. China has slightly improved its Economic Participation and Opportunity performance, with more wage equality for similar work, as well as its Political Empowerment score, where it has seen an increase in the percentage of women in ministerial positions. Since 2006 it has shown progress across all subindexes except Health and Survival where it is now the third-least improved country in the world. Indonesia (92) moves up five places, due to a near doubling of women in ministerial positions (from 12% to 23%). Since 2006, the country has been steadily improving across all subindexes except Economic Participation and Opportunity, where it has regressed.

Japan (101) moves up three places from 2014 due to a similar near doubling of women in ministerial positions (from 11% to 22%). The Health and Survival gap remains unchanged since 2012, at almost 98%, and the Economic Participation and Opportunity score has decreased since 2014, due to lower wage equality for similar work and fewer female legislators, senior officials and managers. Since 2006 the country has demonstrated progress across all subindexes except Health and Survival where it has slightly regressed. India (108) moves up six positions from 2014 with more than double the percentage of women in ministerial positions (from 9% to 22%). It now ranks second in the region on this subindex. While the Educational Attainment and Health and Survival scores have also improved, the country ranks third-lowest in the region and third-lowest in the world on both subindexes. Economic Participation and Opportunity has declined due to a decrease in wage equality for similar work and less female labour force participation, placing the country third-lowest in the region. Since 2006 the country has improved across most subindexes, and in fact is the region’s most-improved country on Political Empowerment. Nevertheless, it has regressed on Economic Participation and Opportunity and is the world’s least-improved country on the Health and Survival subindex.

Cambodia (109) slightly improves its Economic Participation and Opportunity score, showing consecutive growth with more wage equality for similar work. The country has also improved on the Political Empowerment subindex, adding more women in ministerial positions. While higher literacy rates have boosted Educational Attainment, it is the region’s second-lowest ranking country on this subindex. The country has reached gender parity on the Health and Survival subindex. Since 2006 the country has improved across all subindexes. Nepal (110) moves up two spots from last year, with improved Economic Participation and Opportunity and Educational Attainment scores. There have been no major fluctuations on Health and Survival but its Political Empowerment score has decreased slightly. Since 2006 the country has improved across all subindexes, and ranks as the second-most improved country in the world on Educational Attainment and third-most improved globally on the overall Index and on Health and Survival. It is also the region’s second-most improved on Economic Participation and Opportunity.

Malaysia (111) slightly improves in score despite falling four places in rank. Improvements across Economic Participation and Opportunity are a likely cause but the country has slightly regressed on Political Empowerment, where it now ranks third lowest. It has also regressed slightly on the Educational Attainment subindex; in fact, since 2006, it is the world’s least improved country on this subindex. Over the last decade it has also regressed on both Health and Survival and Political Empowerment. The Maldives (113) drops eight places in rank due, in part, to less equal estimated earned income and fewer women in ministerial positions. The country ranks above the regional average across all subindexes except Political Empowerment, where less than 6% of its gender gap has closed.

Korea, Rep. (115) moves up two places with 65% of its overall gender gap now closed. This is likely triggered by progress across nearly all indicators on the Economic Participation and Opportunity subindex. Regarding Political Empowerment however, there has been a near halving of women in ministerial positions (from 12% to 6%). When compared to 2006, the country has improved across all subindexes, with the most progress being made on the Economic Participation and Opportunity subindex. Bhutan (118) also moves up two positions in rank, with the most improvement being made on Educational Attainment, which has been boosted by a higher literacy rate and enrolment in tertiary education. Its Heath and Survival and Political Empowerment scores remain the same as last year. Fiji (121) has seen more estimated earned income and a greater number of women in ministerial positions. Full gender parity has been reached on the Health and Survival subindex.

Iran, Islamic Rep. (141) slightly regresses and joins the world’s bottom five on the overall Index. It is also the region’s second lowest performer on the Economic Participation and Opportunity and Political Empowerment subindex, with under 36% and 4% of the respective gender gaps closed. When compared to 2006 it has made almost no improvements in any category and has actually regressed on the Economic Participation and Opportunity and Health and Survival subindexes. Pakistan (144) has slightly improved its 2014 performance, but still ranks second–to-last in the world on the overall Index. On the Economic Participation and Opportunity subindex, the country has improved wage equality for similar work but still remains last in the region and, when compared to 2006, has improved the least of any country in the region. Similarly, improved literacy rates and enrolment in tertiary education have boosted educational attainment but the country remains last in the regional rankings. When compared to 2006, though, it is the region’s second-most advanced on this subindex. It is also one of the top five most-improved countries in the world on the Health and Survival subindex.

Sub-Saharan Africa

By 2015, the Sub-Saharan Africa region has closed 68% of its overall gender gap, showing a slight increase compared to 2014. Out of six regions measured, it ranks fourth behind North America, Europe and Central Asia, and Latin America and the Caribbean. The region has closed 97% of its Health and Survival gap, showing the second absolute largest increase compared to last year. Eighty-four percent of its Educational Attainment gender gap has closed, the largest absolute improvement over 2014. This year, 69% of its Economic Participation and Opportunity gender gap and 19% of the gap on the Political Empowerment have been closed. Since 2006, the region (17 countries were included from 2006 to 2015) has experienced an increase of its overall score from 0.64 to 0.67, which is the fourth-largest absolute increase after North America, Latin America and the Caribbean and Europe and Central Asia. On the Economic Participation and Opportunity and Political Empowerment subindexes, the region has demonstrated the fourth largest absolute increase, and the third-largest absolute improvement on the Educational Attainment subindex. On Health and Survival however, the region improved more than any of the five regions. Thirty-one countries from the region are included in the 2015 index; three—Benin, Cameroon and The Gambia—are new this year. In 2015, Rwanda (6), Namibia (16) and South Africa (17) rank among the top 20 countries on the overall Index, with Namibia climbing from 40th in 2014 into the top 20 for the first time. Mali (137) and Chad (142) are among the 10 countries at the bottom.

Among the top 20 performing countries on the Economic Participation and Opportunity subindex are Burundi, Malawi, Ghana, Rwanda and Botswana. Nine countries from Sub-Saharan Africa are in the top 20 on the Labour force participation indicator, with Malawi, Mozambique, Rwanda and Burundi demonstrating a higher representation of women in the labour force than men. Globally, Rwanda is the country with the best wage equality for similar work, followed by Norway and then Zambia. Namibia and Lesotho are the only two countries from the region that have closed their Educational Attainment and Health and Survival gender gaps. Botswana, Lesotho, Namibia, and Swaziland are among the world’s 25 countries that have fully closed their Educational Attainment gender gaps, while Benin and Chad rank the lowest overall on that subindex. Six of the 10 lowest-ranked countries on the literacy rate indicator are from the region. Whereas 16 countries in the region have closed their gender gap for primary education, only nine have closed it for secondary education and seven for tertiary education. On the Health and Survival subindex, Namibia, Cape Verde, Zimbabwe, Lesotho, South Africa, Uganda, Angola and Mauritius are among the 40 countries that have closed their gender gap. In 141st position, Mali ranks among the 10 lowest-performing countries on that subindex. On the Political Empowerment subindex, Rwanda and South Africa are the two countries from the region in the top 20. Rwanda, Senegal, South Africa and Namibia are among the 10 top-ranked countries on the Women in parliament indicator. In fact, Rwanda is ranked first globally and one of only two countries (including Bolivia) worldwide that have more women in parliament than men.

Rwanda (6) is included in the Global Gender Gap Index for the second year and gained one place in 2015. It is the strongest performer from the region and the only country from the region ranked in the top 10. Its high ranking can be explained by Rwanda’s strong performance on the Political Empowerment subindex (7th) and good performance on the Economic Participation and Opportunity subindex (14th). However, this performance is slightly offset by lower scores and wider gender gaps on Health and Survival and Educational Attainment. Rwanda has closed its gender gap on the Labour force participation, Enrolment in primary education, Sex ratio at birth and Women in parliament indicators. It is also the best-performing country overall on the Perceived wage equality for similar work indicator.

Namibia (16) climbed from 40th in 2006 to 16th in 2015 on the overall Index, the region’s largest overall score improvement. The country is also the region’s best climber on the Economic Participation and Opportunity subindex compared to 2006. It is one of two countries from the region that has closed its gender gaps on the Educational Attainment and Health and Survival subindexes. The country has also closed its literacy rate gender gap. Compared to 2006, the country has improved on all four subindexes. Following Namibia, South Africa (17) is the third Sub-Saharan country in the top 20. Compared to last year, South Africa increased its overall performance by one ranking due to improvements on the Economic Participation and Opportunity and Political Empowerment subindexes. Its gender gap on Health and Survival subindex remains closed. The country ranks 85th on the Educational Attainment subindex and 72nd on the Economic Participation and Opportunity subindex.  On the Political Empowerment subindex, South Africa is among the top 20 performers, ranking 14th, due to high scores on both the Women in parliament and Women in ministerial positions indicators.

Burundi (23) is ranks in the top five on Economic Participation and Opportunity and shows a strong performance on Political Empowerment (28). Compared to last year, scores on three of four subindexes have decreased—the exception being Political Empowerment. The country is one of four countries that has closed its gender gap on the Labour Participation indicator, but is among the 10 lowest-performing countries with regard to enrolment in both primary and tertiary education. Mozambique (27) remains at the same rank as last year despite a slight increase of its overall score. It, too, is one of four countries that have closed the gender gap on the Labour force participation indicator. Yet it is among the 20 lowest-performing countries globally on the Literacy rate and Enrolment in primary and tertiary education indicators. Kenya (48) dropped eleven places on the overall rankings this year, mostly due to a decrease on both the Wage equality for similar work and Women in ministerial positions indicators. The country ranks 25th on the Economic Participation and Opportunity subindex, 62nd on the Political Empowerment subindex, 85th on the Health and Survival subindex, and 113th on the Educational Attainment subindex.

Tanzania (49) moves two places down from last year despite no changes to its overall score. Compared to last year, it has slightly improved its performance on Educational Attainment, Health and Survival and Economic Participation and Opportunity subindexes, while decreasing slightly on Political Empowerment. Tanzania is the country with the biggest decrease overall on the Economic pillar over the last 10 years. Tanzania ranks 5th overall on the Labour force participation and 10th on the Estimated earned income indicators, while it is the lowest-performing country from the region on the Legislator, senior officials and managers indicator. Cape Verde (50) maintains its position this year despite a slight overall score increase. Cape Verde demonstrates a particularly strong performance on Health and Survival where it has closed its gender gap. It ranks 25th on the Political Empowerment subindex, where it has the region’s highest percentage—53%–of women in ministerial positions. Botswana (55) moves a few places down from last year. The country closed its Educational Attainment gap and continues to demonstrate a strong performance on the Economic Participation and Opportuniy subindex, ranking 15th. It has closed its literacy gender gap. Compared to 10 years ago, Botswana is the country that has made the region’s biggest improvement on the Health and Survival subindex but also the largest decrease on the Political Empowerment subindex.

Zimbabwe (57) climbed six places from 2014 to 2015. This is mainly due to an increase in performance on the Educational Attainment subindex; in particular, improvements on the Literacy rate and Enrolment in secondary and tertiary education indicators (Zimbabwe has closed its gender gap on Enrolment in primary education). Zimbabwe is one of eight countries in the region that has closed its gender gap on Health and Survival. Uganda (58) climbed 30 places this year and is the region’s third-most improved country from 2014. The country has also improved its Economic Participation and Opportunity, Educational Attainment and Health and Survival subindex scores, while it its Political Empowerment subindex performance has decreased. Uganda is among the top 10 performers on the Labour force participation indicator, but is the region’s lowest-ranked performer on the Estimated earned income indicator. Lesotho (61) drops 23 places in the ranking compared to last year. Though the country has closed its Educational Attainment and Health and Survival gaps, it ranks 68th on both the Economic Participation and Opportunity and Political Empowerment subindexes; on the former subindex, the country experienced its second lowest score of the past 10 years. Lesotho is one of four countries from the region that has closed its literacy gender gap. Ghana (63) climbed 38 places in 2015 and improved its performance on all subindexes. It has shown the region’s second-largest improvement after Namibia. Ghana improved most noticeably on the Economic participation and Opportunity subindex and is among the top 10 countries on the Labour force participation indicator and the region’s best performer on the Legislators, senior officials and managers indicator, where it has closed the gender gap.

Next are Malawi (68), Senegal (72) and Madagascar (74). Malawi drops 34 places compared to last year, mainly due to a decline on the Economic Participation and Opportunity and Political Empowerment subindexes, though it improved, slightly, its performance on the other two subindexes. The country is one of four countries that have closed the gender gap on the Labour force participation indicator. Senegal has slightly improved its performance over the last year with increased scores for all subindexes except for Health and Survival, which fell slightly in 2015. Madagascar sees a significant drop of 33 places in the ranking compared to last year. The country decreased its score on both the Economic Participation and Opportunity and Political Empowerment subindexes, while showing a stable performance on the Health and Survival subindex and a slight increase on the Educational Attainment subindex.

Due to a lack of data Cameroon (90) was not included in last year’s Report. In 2013, however, it ranked 100th, which means that it gained 10 places over the last two years, mainly because of improvements on the Political Empowerment subindex. Similarly, The Gambia (98) re-enters the rankings after a gap of two years due to newly available data. When last included in 2012, the country ranked 93rd. The Gambia has experienced a slight decrease on its Economic Participation and Opportunity, Health and Survival and Political Empowerment subindex scores compared to 2012. On the other hand, it has improved its Educational Attainment performance. It is the region’s lowest-performing country on the Professional and technical workers indicator.

Swaziland (102), included for the first time in 2014, improved its Educational Attainment score, whereas its Economic Participation and Opportunity and Heath and Survival subindexes scores fell. Swaziland is the second-lowest performing country on Health and Survival, ahead of Mali. It has maintained the same score on the Political Empowerment subindex.

Next are Liberia (112), Burkina Faso (114) and Zambia (116). Liberia is included for the second time in the rankings and has dropped one place from 2014 despite a slight overall increase of its score The country’s performance on the Economic Participation and Opportunity subindex decreased, while its Educational Attainment and Political Empowerment subindex scores improved slightly. Its Health and Survival score remains unchanged. Liberia is the world’s worst performing country on the Literacy rate indicator. Burkina Faso fell four places this year, but is the country that has shown the largest improvement on the Educational Attainment subindex over the last 10 years. Zambia climbed three places from 2014, and is among the top 10 on the wage equality survey. Mauritius (120) follows, though it has dropped 14 places from 2014 due to decreases on the Economic Participation and Opportunity and Political Empowerment subindexes. The country has closed its gender gap on the Health and Survival subindex. It is the lowest performing country from the region on the Labour force participation indicator.

Ethiopia (124) has moved up three places from 2014. The country ranks 44th on the Political Empowerment subindex and 59th on the Health and Survival subindex, but only 108th on the Economic Participation and Opportunity and 140th on the Educational Attainment subindexes. Ethiopia has seen the region’s biggest improvement on the Political Empowerment subindex since 2006. Nigeria (125) lost seven places in 2015, due to a decrease on all subindexes except the Educational Attainment subindex. However, the country has demonstrated the region’s largest decrease on this subindex over the last 10 years. Today, it ranks 61st on the Economic Participation and Opportunity subindex. It is among the 10 worst performing countries on the Educational Attainment subindex and has the region’s lowest percentage of female parliamentarians. Angola (126) has dropped five places despite an overall score improvement. The country has closed its gender gap on the Health and Survival subindex and ranks 38th on the Political Empowerment subindex. Angola is among the five lowest performing countries on the Educational Attainment subindex and ranks 116th on the Economic Participation and Opportunity subindex. Angola is the lowest performing country on the Perceived wage equality for similar work and Enrolment in primary education indicators. However, it does rank among the world’s top 25 countries on the Women in parliament indicator.

Benin (129) re-enters the rankings after a one-year absence due to missing data. The country ranks 33rd on the Economic Participation and Opportunity subindex and is second-to-last on the Educational Attainment subindex. It is also second-to-last on the Literacy rate indicator and part of the bottom 10 countries on the Enrolment in primary, secondary and tertiary education indicators. Included for the first time last year, Guinea (131) made small progress in its overall performance this year. The final positions in the region are occupied by Côte d’Ivoire (133), Mali (137) and Chad (142). Côte d’Ivoire gained three places over last year. The country is among the bottom 10 countries on the Educational Attainment subindex. It is the fifth-lowest performing country on the Enrolment in secondary education indicator. Mali gained one place in rank over 2014, improving on all four subindexes except the Health and Survival subindex. Mali has seen the region’s largest score decrease since 2006 on both the overall Index as well as on the Health and Survival subindex. This year, Mali is also the worst performing country globally on the Healthy life expectancy indicator. Chad continues to be the region’s lowest ranked country on the overall Index, as well as the lowest-performing country overall on the Educational Attainment subindex.