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The 10 Countries Closest to Equality Between Women and Men |
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The World Economic Forum published its 20th Global Gender Gap Report on September 16. Iceland leads for the 17th straight year. Fourth place goes to Namibia, a lower-middle-income country, ahead of Britain, Sweden and Germany. |
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Source: World Economic Forum, Global Gender Gap Report 2026 (released September 16, 2026). Share of the gender gap closed, 145 economies. |
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| What's Surprising |
Namibia has closed 84.5% of its gender gap. That is its best rank since the index began in 2006, up four places in a year. It is the only country in the top ten that is not high-income.
The cause is politics. Since March 2025, Namibia’s president, vice president and speaker of parliament have all been women. It is one of 12 countries with at least as many women as men in cabinet.
Japan runs the story in reverse. It has its first woman prime minister and ranks 117th of 145, last in the G7. The index counts 50 years of leaders, a whole cabinet and a whole parliament. One appointment barely moves it.
| What's Not Surprising |
Europe holds seven of the ten spots. Iceland, Finland, Norway and Sweden have made every top ten since 2006. Iceland is the only country past 90%.
The ranking is decided by politics and pay. Worldwide, the health and education gaps are both more than 96% closed. The economic gap is 61.7% closed. The political gap is 22.1% closed. Iceland scores 95.4% on politics. No other country reaches 73%.
Meanwhile, the United States. It fell from 42nd to 47th, its score down from 75.6% to 74.9%. North America’s political score dropped 3.3 points, mostly on fewer women in cabinet. Canada rose to 24th.
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120 years How long the world needs to close the gender gap at the pace of the last 20 years. |
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5.8 points Iceland’s lead over Finland in second. It is exactly the distance from Finland to Ireland in tenth. |
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22.1% Share of the political gender gap closed worldwide. Health and education are both past 96%. |
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117th Japan’s rank under its first woman prime minister. Last in the G7. |
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47th The United States, down five places in a year. France is 22nd. Canada is 24th. |
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Five countries dropped out of this edition for lack of data, among them Ethiopia, Nicaragua and Sudan. Moldova fell out of the top ten. Watch Tokyo and Washington: the index counts every cabinet seat, not just the top job. The next report is due in 2027. We’ll be watching. |
