Archive · 16 Sep 2026
India Retains 131st Rank as Iceland Leads Gender Gap Index
The World Economic Forum published its 2026 report on equality between women and men.
India was ranked 131st out of 145 countries.
Iceland had the highest ranking, followed by Finland and Norway.
India’s score improved a little, but its rank did not change.
India closed 64.5% of its measured gender gap, while the world average was 69.2%.
Much of India’s long-term improvement came from better educational attainment.
India also made progress in the share of professional and technical workers.
The report said the world could still need 120 years to reach complete gender equality.
India remained 131st among 145 countries in the World Economic Forum’s 2026 Global Gender Gap Index.
Iceland retained the top position, followed by Finland and Norway.
India’s gender parity score rose slightly to 64.5%, below the global average of 69.2%.
The World Economic Forum said 69.2% of the global gender gap has been closed, but full parity remains 120 years away.
India’s parity among professional and technical workers rose from 26.6% in 2006 to 49.9% in 2026.
- Who
- The World Economic Forum assessed gender parity across 145 countries, including India, Iceland, Finland and Norway.
- What
- The 2026 Global Gender Gap Index ranked India 131st and placed Iceland first.
- When
- The index was released on Wednesday in 2026.
- Where
- The index covers countries worldwide; the World Economic Forum is based in Geneva.
- Why
- The index measures progress toward gender parity across countries.
- India’s rank
- 131st out of 145 countries
- India’s parity score
- 64.5%
- Global parity score
- 69.2%, up 0.4 percentage points from the previous year
- Top three countries
- Iceland, Finland and Norway
- Lowest-ranked country
- Chad
- India’s long-term improvement
- Up 4.3 percentage points since 2006
- Economic participation score
- 41.2% for India