Women in Power

0%
of countries have had a female head of state or government
92 / 193 countries · 30 countries represented now
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Data Insights

What eight decades of data tell us — before you explore the timeline.

48
firsts in 16 years

Half the breakthroughs happened in the last 16 years

27 countries elected their first female leader in the 2010s and 21 more in the 2020s — over half of all firsts since 1940.

Countries with first female head of state or government, by decade
92%
Europe leads

Europe leads; the gaps are geographic, not random

36 of 39 European countries have had a female leader, while the Americas trail at 77% — and only 32 nations are led by a woman today.

Europe
92%
Oceania
100%
Asia
86%
Africa
85%
Americas
77%
Share of countries that have ever had a female leader, by continent
7.0y→ 2.0y
tenure halved

Average tenure has more than halved

In the 1960s a female leader averaged 7 years in office; in the 2020s the average is just 2 — leadership is turning over far faster.

'40 '60 '70 '80 '90 '00 '10 '20 4.5 7.0 4.4 4.2 3.7 4.4 3.2 2.0
Average years in office, by decade of taking office
1960
it started

It started in Sri Lanka

Sirimavo Bandaranaike became the world's first female head of government in July 1960 — sixteen years before Isabel Perón became the first non-royal female head of state in Argentina.

India followed in 1966 with Indira Gandhi, and Israel with Golda Meir in 1969. The doors opened in South Asia and the Middle East first — not the West.

"The 1940s saw a single precedent — Khertek Anchimaa of the short-lived Tuvan People's Republic, largely forgotten by history."

Where They Lead

86 of 193 UN member states have had a female head of state or government

Head of State Head of Government Both

Continent by Continent

Every region tells a different story of leadership — and of progress.

Sort by:
Country existence
Head of State
Head of Government
Acting / Transitional
Continent Asia Europe Africa Americas Oceania