Published by the World Economic Forum (WEF), the Global Gender Gap Report 2025 reveals a mixed picture of progress and persistent disparities. While some countries have surged ahead in gender parity, others continue to struggle—including India.
What Is the Global Gender Gap Report?
The Global Gender Gap Report assesses how close countries are to achieving gender equality across four key areas:
- Economic Participation & Opportunity (jobs, wages, leadership)
- Educational Attainment (access to schooling, literacy)
- Health & Survival (life expectancy, sex ratio)
- Political Empowerment (women in parliament and leadership)
Each country receives a score between 0 (no equality) and 1 (complete equality), expressed as a percentage.
Key Highlights from the 2025 Report
- Global Gender Gap Closed: 68.8% (up from 68.4% in 2024)
- Time to Full Equality: Estimated 123–132 years at the current pace
- Most Progress:
- Political Empowerment (+0.7%)
- Economic Participation (+0.4%)
Subindex Performance (Global Average):
- Health & Survival: 96.2% closed
- Educational Attainment: 95.1%
- Economic Participation: 61.0%
- Political Empowerment: 22.9%
Top 5 Countries for Gender Equality in 2025
| Rank | Country | Score |
|---|---|---|
| 1 | Iceland | 0.926 |
| 2 | Finland | 0.879 |
| 3 | Norway | 0.863 |
| 4 | United Kingdom | 0.838 |
| 5 | New Zealand | 0.827 |
🔹Iceland retains its top spot for the 16th consecutive year.
🔹European nations dominate the top 10 rankings.
Bottom 5 Countries in 2025
| Rank | Country | Score |
|---|---|---|
| 148 | Pakistan | 0.567 |
| 147 | Sudan | 0.570 |
| 146 | Chad | 0.571 |
| 145 | Iran | 0.583 |
| 144 | Guinea | 0.595 |
🇮🇳 Where Does India Stand?
- India’s Rank: 131st out of 148 countries (down from 129 in 2024)
- Overall Score: 64.4% gender gap closed
Subindex Breakdown:
- Economic Participation: 40.7% (↑ 0.9 pts)
- Earned income parity: 29.9%
- Labour force participation: 45.9% (steady)
- Educational Attainment: 97.1% (strong improvement)
- Health & Survival: Improved (better sex ratio & life expectancy)
- Political Empowerment: 5.9% (↓ from 2024)
- Women in Parliament: 13.8%
- Women Ministers: 5.6%
India in South Asia:
- Ahead of: Maldives (138), Pakistan (148)
- Behind: Bhutan (119), Nepal (125), Sri Lanka (130)
Fastest Improvers in 2025
Countries that made the most progress:
- Saudi Arabia
- Mexico
- Ecuador
- Bangladesh (Ranked 24th, ahead of India)
- Ethiopia
Why Gender Equality Matters
Achieving gender parity isn’t just a moral imperative—it boosts national productivity, innovation, and economic resilience.
Yet, at the current rate, the world won’t achieve full gender parity until 2150. The slowest progress continues in Political Empowerment and Economic Participation—especially for women in leadership and decision-making roles.
The Global Gender Gap Report 2025 shows progress, but it’s too slow. For countries like India, the report is a wake-up call to invest in inclusive policies, especially around economic inclusion and political representation of women.
FAQs
Q1. What is the Global Gender Gap Report?
It’s an annual report by the World Economic Forum that measures gender equality in economic, educational, health, and political domains.
Q2. What is India’s rank in the Gender Gap Report 2025?
India ranks 131st out of 148 countries, with 64.4% of the gender gap closed.
Q3. Which country ranks #1 in the Gender Gap Report 2025?
Iceland, with a score of 0.926, is the most gender-equal country in the world.
Q4. What is the main takeaway from the 2025 report?
While progress has been made globally, political empowerment and economic opportunities for women remain the biggest challenges.