New Delhi: The World Economic Forum released its Global Gender Gap Report 2026 on September 16, marking the 20th edition of the annual assessment that tracks progress toward gender parity. India retained its position at 131st out of 145 economies with an overall score of 0.645, equivalent to 64.5 percent parity. The ranking places India just above Papua New Guinea and below Fiji, with only 14 countries ranked lower. Iceland secured the top spot for another consecutive year, followed by Finland and Norway, while Chad remained at the bottom of the list.
The index measures the gap between men and women across four core dimensions: Economic Participation and Opportunity, Educational Attainment, Health and Survival, and Political Empowerment. Scores range from 0 to 1, where 1 represents full parity. Globally, 69.2 percent of the gender gap has been closed. At the historical rate of progress recorded since the index began in 2006, the remaining gap is projected to take approximately 120 years to close completely.
India’s overall score improved by a marginal 0.001 points compared with the previous edition, leaving its rank unchanged from 2025. Since the first report in 2006, India has gained 4.3 percentage points in overall parity. The country’s strongest performances continue to appear in education and health, while economic participation and political representation remain the primary areas of shortfall.
India’s Detailed Performance Across the Four Dimensions
In Economic Participation and Opportunity, India scored 41.2 percent. Labour-force participation parity stood at 44.1 percent. Professional and technical worker parity reached 49.9 percent, a notable rise from 26.6 percent recorded in 2006. The share of women among legislators, senior officials and managers remained low at 13.1 percent. These figures highlight persistent barriers to women’s entry into higher-value employment and decision-making roles within the workforce.
Educational Attainment delivered one of India’s highest scores at 96.6 percent. This dimension, however, registered a slight decline of 0.5 percentage points from the previous year. Despite the minor drop, education remains a relative strength, reflecting near-parity in literacy and enrolment indicators tracked by the Forum.
Health and Survival scored 95.6 percent. The report notes continued challenges related to the sex ratio at birth, even as overall health indicators show comparatively high parity.
Political Empowerment scored 24.5 percent, placing India 67th globally in this specific dimension. Parliamentary representation parity measured 16.1 percent. Ministerial representation parity was 5.9 percent. The head-of-state indicator stood at 40.7 percent. While political empowerment ranks higher than the economic dimension for India, absolute levels of women’s representation in parliament and cabinet remain limited.
Global Top Performers and Regional Patterns
Iceland led the index with a score of 0.930, an improvement of 0.005 points and no change in rank. Finland followed at 0.872 (down 0.006) and Norway at 0.857 (down 0.006). Namibia rose four places to fourth with a score of 0.845 after a substantial gain of 0.034 points. The United Kingdom placed fifth at 0.842. New Zealand, Sweden, Australia, Germany and Ireland completed the top ten.
Several countries recorded large rank gains. Guatemala climbed 31 places, Ghana advanced 32 positions, Kenya rose 33 places, and Angola improved by 30 ranks. Australia gained five places, France jumped 13, and Singapore moved up 16. In contrast, Bangladesh experienced the steepest drop, falling 55 places after a score decline of 0.062. Cape Verde dropped 39 places, Peru 37, Eswatini 30, and Zambia 29.
Among larger economies, the United States ranked 47th with a score of 0.749, China placed 96th at 0.699, Japan 117th at 0.670, and Brazil 72nd at 0.715. In South Asia, Bangladesh ranked 79th, Nepal 120th, Bhutan 121st, Sri Lanka 129th, and Pakistan 143rd. India’s neighbours therefore show a mixed picture, with Pakistan near the bottom of the global list despite a score improvement of 0.028 points that lifted it five places.
Complete Ranking Overview of All 145 Economies
The full ranking from the 2026 report is as follows (rank, economy, gender gap score, score change, rank change):
1 Iceland 0.930 +0.005 –
2 Finland 0.872 –0.006 –
3 Norway 0.857 –0.006 –
4 Namibia 0.845 +0.034 +4
5 United Kingdom 0.842 +0.004 –1
6 New Zealand 0.828 +0.001 –1
7 Sweden 0.823 +0.006 –1
8 Australia 0.819 +0.027 +5
9 Germany 0.817 +0.013 –
10 Ireland 0.814 +0.013 –
11 Denmark 0.810 +0.019 +3
12 Spain 0.796 –0.001 –
13 Barbados 0.794 +0.008 +2
14 Lithuania 0.791 +0.008 +5
15 Republic of Moldova 0.791 –0.023 –8
16 Ecuador 0.790 +0.016 +9
17 Latvia 0.788 +0.010 +4
18 Mexico 0.787 +0.011 +5
19 Estonia 0.782 –0.017 –8
20 Philippines 0.780 –0.001 –
21 Costa Rica 0.779 –0.007 –5
22 France 0.779 +0.014 +13
23 Slovenia 0.778 +0.008 +6
24 Canada 0.777 +0.010 +8
25 Albania 0.775 +0.012 +11
26 Burundi 0.771 +0.016 +18
27 Switzerland 0.771 –0.014 –10
28 Rwanda 0.769 +0.008 +11
29 Chile 0.769 –0.008 –7
30 South Africa 0.766 –0.001 +3
31 Singapore 0.764 +0.015 +16
32 Portugal 0.763 –0.003 +2
33 Belgium 0.762 –0.011 –6
34 Colombia 0.761 +0.003 +7
35 Guyana 0.759 –0.010 –4
36 Bolivia (Plurinational State of) 0.758 +0.010 +12
37 Jamaica 0.757 –0.005 +1
38 Trinidad and Tobago 0.757 –0.015 –10
39 Serbia 0.754 –0.020 –13
40 Austria 0.753 +0.018 +16
41 Panama 0.753 +0.011 +10
42 Luxembourg 0.752 +0.007 +8
43 Liberia 0.751 –0.009 –3
44 Poland 0.751 +0.001 +1
45 Argentina 0.751 –0.011 –8
46 Netherlands 0.750 –0.007 –3
47 United States of America 0.749 –0.008 –5
48 Croatia 0.744 +0.015 +16
49 Zimbabwe 0.743 –0.004 –
50 Guatemala 0.740 +0.034 +31
51 Honduras 0.740 +0.013 +16
52 Belarus 0.740 +0.003 +2
53 Uruguay 0.740 +0.020 +18
54 United Republic of Tanzania 0.736 –0.001 +1
55 Thailand 0.735 +0.008 +11
56 Ghana 0.732 +0.029 +32
57 Suriname 0.732 –0.006 –5
58 Armenia 0.731 0.000 +1
59 Mozambique 0.728 –0.010 –6
60 Georgia 0.727 –0.003 +3
61 El Salvador 0.724 +0.016 +17
62 Bosnia and Herzegovina 0.723 +0.005 +11
63 Botswana 0.722 –0.009 –3
64 Slovakia 0.721 –0.002 +6
65 Kenya 0.721 +0.032 +33
66 Ukraine 0.721 –0.009 –4
67 Dominican Republic 0.721 –0.009 –6
68 Gabon 0.721 +0.022 +23
69 Cape Verde 0.721 –0.049 –39
70 Mongolia 0.719 –0.009 –5
71 Israel 0.717 +0.008 +5
72 Brazil 0.715 –0.004 –
73 Malta 0.715 –0.011 —
74 Montenegro 0.715 +0.010 +10
75 Greece 0.714 +0.006 +2
76 Eswatini 0.714 –0.034 –30
77 Czechia 0.712 +0.027 +25
78 Cyprus 0.712 +0.006 +4
79 Bangladesh 0.712 –0.062 –55
80 Bulgaria 0.710 +0.004 +3
81 Madagascar 0.709 –0.025 –23
82 North Macedonia 0.709 +0.010 +8
83 Italy 0.708 +0.004 +2
84 Viet Nam 0.707 –0.006 –10
85 Hungary 0.707 +0.023 +20
86 Paraguay 0.706 +0.003 +1
87 Angola 0.705 +0.037 +30
88 Kyrgyzstan 0.704 +0.007 +7
89 Lao PDR 0.703 +0.011 +7
90 Cameroon 0.703 +0.005 +3
91 United Arab Emirates 0.702 –0.022 –22
92 Belize 0.701 0.000 –3
93 Timor-Leste 0.701 –0.003 –7
94 Peru 0.700 –0.034 –37
95 Kazakhstan 0.700 +0.002 –3
96 China 0.699 +0.013 +7
97 Romania 0.698 +0.001 –3
98 Azerbaijan 0.697 +0.009 +2
99 Malawi* 0.695 n/a n/a
100 Lesotho 0.693 +0.005 –1
101 South Korea 0.693 +0.006 –
102 Mauritius 0.691 +0.014 +9
103 Comoros 0.689 +0.018 +12
104 Malaysia 0.689 +0.008 +4
105 Bahrain 0.689 +0.004 –1
106 Indonesia 0.687 –0.004 –9
107 Vanuatu 0.686 +0.007 +2
108 Zambia 0.684 –0.023 –29
109 Sierra Leone 0.683 +0.006 +3
110 Uzbekistan 0.682 +0.003 –
111 Brunei Darussalam 0.681 0.000 –4
112 Benin 0.681 +0.005 +1
113 Cambodia 0.680 –0.002 –7
114 Nigeria 0.676 +0.027 +10
115 Burkina Faso 0.676 +0.016 +5
116 Togo 0.675 +0.019 +5
117 Japan 0.670 +0.004 +1
118 Senegal 0.670 +0.001 –2
119 Maldives 0.669 +0.044 +19
120 Nepal 0.669 +0.021 +5
121 Bhutan 0.663 0.000 –2
122 Côte d’Ivoire 0.660 +0.013 +5
123 Gambia, Republic of the 0.660 –0.014 –9
124 Niger 0.655 +0.042 +18
125 Tunisia 0.650 –0.003 –2
126 Türkiye 0.649 +0.017 +9
127 Jordan 0.649 –0.006 –5
128 Lebanon 0.648 +0.016 +8
129 Sri Lanka 0.646 0.000 +1
130 Fiji 0.646 –0.002 –4
131 India 0.645 +0.001 –
132 Papua New Guinea 0.642 +0.003 +1
133 Kuwait 0.641 –0.006 –5
134 Oman 0.639 +0.001 –
135 Qatar* 0.638 n/a n/a
136 Tajikistan 0.638 –0.008 –7
137 Saudi Arabia 0.633 –0.010 –5
138 Egypt 0.632 +0.007 +1
139 Morocco 0.632 +0.004 –2
140 Mali 0.619 +0.002 –
141 Algeria 0.618 +0.004 –
142 Democratic Republic of the Congo 0.595 –0.006 +1
143 Pakistan 0.595 +0.028 +5
144 Iran (Islamic Republic of) 0.585 +0.002 +1
145 Chad 0.578 +0.007 +1
*Asterisks indicate economies for which score or rank change data were unavailable in the source report.
Key Takeaways from the 2026 Edition
The report underscores that no country has yet achieved full gender parity. The highest-scoring economies remain concentrated in Europe and parts of Africa and Latin America that have sustained long-term policy focus on women’s economic and political inclusion. Rapid climbers such as Kenya, Ghana, Guatemala and Angola demonstrate that measurable progress is possible within a single year when targeted reforms take effect.
For India, the stable rank of 131 combined with only a one-thousandth-point score increase signals that incremental gains in professional and technical roles have not yet translated into broader advances in labour-force participation or senior management representation. Education and health scores remain high, yet the slight regression in educational parity and ongoing concerns around the sex ratio at birth indicate areas requiring continued attention.
The World Economic Forum notes that closing the global gender gap at the current historical pace will require more than a century. With 145 economies assessed in the 2026 edition, the data provide a comprehensive benchmark for governments, businesses and civil society to measure progress and identify priorities. India’s position at 131st, alongside its sub-index scores of 41.2 percent economic, 96.6 percent educational, 95.6 percent health and 24.5 percent political, forms a clear snapshot of both relative strengths and the scale of remaining challenges as the index enters its third decade.
FAQs
1. What is India’s rank in the Global Gender Gap Index 2026?
India ranks 131st out of 145 economies in the World Economic Forum’s Global Gender Gap Index 2026. This is the same position India held in 2025. Only 14 countries are ranked lower than India.
2. What is India’s overall gender parity score and how does it compare with previous years?
India’s overall gender parity score stands at 0.645 (64.5 percent). The score improved by a marginal 0.001 points from the previous edition. Since the index began in 2006, India has gained a total of 4.3 percentage points in overall parity.
3. How did India perform across the four key dimensions of the Global Gender Gap Index 2026?
- Economic Participation and Opportunity: 41.2 percent (labour-force participation parity 44.1 percent; professional and technical workers 49.9 percent; legislators, senior officials and managers 13.1 percent)
- Educational Attainment: 96.6 percent (0.5 percentage points lower than the previous year)
- Health and Survival: 95.6 percent
- Political Empowerment: 24.5 percent (ranked 67th globally; parliamentary representation parity 16.1 percent; ministerial representation parity 5.9 percent; head-of-state indicator 40.7 percent)
4. Which countries ranked at the top and bottom of the Global Gender Gap Index 2026?
Iceland retained the top position with a score of 0.930, followed by Finland (0.872) and Norway (0.857). Namibia rose to fourth place. At the bottom of the ranking, Chad placed 145th with a score of 0.578, just below Iran (144th) and Pakistan (143rd).
5. What is the current status of the global gender gap and how long will it take to achieve full parity?
Globally, 69.2 percent of the gender gap has been closed across the 145 economies assessed. At the historical pace of progress recorded since 2006, the World Economic Forum estimates it will take approximately 120 years to reach full gender parity worldwide.
