Archive · 16 Sep 2026
Global Gender Gap Narrows, But Parity Remains 120 Years Away
The World Economic Forum measures how close countries are to treating women and men equally.
Its 2026 report says the world has closed 69.2% of the gender gap.
This means many differences have improved, but full equality is still far away.
At the current speed, it could take about 120 years to reach overall parity.
The biggest remaining differences are in jobs, income, and political power.
Education and health are much closer to equality.
India closed 64.5% of its gender gap and ranked 131st out of 145 economies.
Iceland was ranked first, followed by Finland and Norway.
The World Economic Forum said the global gender gap was 69.2% closed in 2026, up 0.4 percentage points from the previous year.
At the current pace, full global gender parity is estimated to remain 120 years away.
Political empowerment and economic participation remain the widest global gaps, with 22.1% and 61.7% closed, respectively.
India closed 64.5% of its overall gender gap and ranked 131st among 145 economies, including 143rd for economic participation.
Iceland remained the top-ranked economy for the 17th consecutive year, followed by Finland and Norway.
- Who
- The World Economic Forum assessed gender parity across 145 economies, including India.
- What
- Its 2026 Global Gender Gap Report found that 69.2% of the global gender gap had been closed, while full parity remained about 120 years away.
- When
- The report was published in 2026 and compared results with the previous edition and with 2006 data.
- Where
- The assessment covered 145 economies worldwide, with specific findings for India and Southern Asia.
- Why
- The report said progress remains slow because economic participation and political empowerment continue to have the largest gender gaps.
- Global gap closed
- 69.2% in 2026
- Estimated time to overall parity
- 120 years at the current pace
- Economic participation gap closed
- 61.7% globally; full parity estimated in 129 years
- Political empowerment gap closed
- 22.1% globally; full parity estimated in 194 years
- India’s overall ranking
- 131st among 145 economies
- India’s economic participation ranking
- 143rd, with a parity score of 41.2%
- Top-ranked economy
- Iceland, which closed 93% of its gender gap