Global gender gap at its narrowest in 20 years but parity still 120 years away. India in bottom 15

Iceland leads the WEF’s Global Gender Gap Index with 93% score, followed by Finland and Norway. Among 145 economies covered in the 20th edition, India stands at 131st.

New Delhi: The world is closer to gender-parity than ever since the World Economic Forum (WEF) started measuring the global gender gap in 2006, but complete parity is still 120 years away.

The Global Gender Gap Report 2026, released Wednesday, covers 145 countries. Iceland is still the world’s number one, with 93 percent of its gender gap closed. India stands at 131st spot, with 64.5 percent.

The WEF uses ‘gender gap’ as a composite statistical measure. It measures the relative difference between women and men across four areas— economic participation and opportunity, educational attainment, health and survival, and political empowerment.

For each indicator, the WEF compares outcomes for women with those for men. A 100 percent score would mean gender-parity has been achieved. A score of 70 percent means women, on average for that measure, women are at 70 percent of the corresponding male outcome. A 100 percent would mean complete parity.

Finland and Norway follow with 87.2 percent and 85.7 percent respectively. Namibia is fourth with 84.5 percent, followed by the UK, New Zealand, Sweden, Australia, Germany and Ireland. Australia cracked the top 10 for the first time.

According to the 2026 report, across the four dimensions, the world has achieved 69.2 percent parity, a slight increase from 68.8 percent in 2025.

But if the 97 economies tracked consistently since 2006 continue to progress at their historical pace, full gender parity is still 120 years away, the report says.

“Twenty years after the World Economic Forum first measured the global gender gap, the world is closer to parity than ever, but progress is fragile, with gains reversing in some areas,” the WEF said in a media brief.

World Economic Forum Managing Director Saadia Zahidi said twenty years of data show that gender parity is achievable. “Economies at every income level have made progress, so the barrier is not a lack of resources.”

“Parity is a foundation for growth and competitiveness, but it is not inevitable. To accelerate, governments and employers need to learn from the policies that work and apply them faster. A new economy demands a new approach to talent,” she said.

Across the 143 economies covered in both the 2025 and 2026 editions, the overall score increased by 0.4 percentage points. Education recorded the largest increase year on year, rising from 95.3 percent to 96.9 percent.

Economic participation score increased from 61.3 percent to 61.7 percent and health and survival improved from 96.1 percent to 96.2 percent. Political empowerment, however, moved in the opposite direction, sliding down from 22.5 percent to 22.1 percent.