The World Economic Forum’s Global Gender Gap Index 2025 provides a detailed assessment of gender parity across the globe. Evaluating 148 economies, the index captures both the progress and persistent inequalities across four core dimensions—economic participation, educational attainment, health outcomes, and political empowerment. Although recent findings reflect meaningful improvements, full gender parity remains a distant goal.
Overview Of The Global Gender Gap Index
- Framework and Methodology: Introduced in 2006 by the World Economic Forum (WEF), the Global Gender Gap Index serves as an annual benchmark for measuring gender-based disparities. It evaluates parity levels across four key domains: Economic Participation and Opportunity, Educational Attainment, Health and Survival, and Political Empowerment. Scores range from 0 to 1, with 1 indicating full equality.
- Key Findings in 2025: The global gender gap has narrowed to 68.8%, marking the most significant annual progress since the COVID-19 pandemic. Despite this, projections estimate that true gender parity will require an additional 123 years if current trends persist.
- Top Performers and Global Leaders: Iceland remains the global frontrunner for the 16th consecutive year, having closed 92.6% of its gender gap—the only country to surpass 90%. It is followed by Finland, Norway, the United Kingdom, and New Zealand.
Component-wise Global Gender Parity Scores
Top 10 countries closing the gender gap in 2025
| Rank 2025 | Country | Score 2025 (0–1, 1 = parity) |
|---|---|---|
| 1 | Iceland | 0.926 |
| 2 | Finland | 0.879 |
| 3 | Norway | 0.863 |
| 4 | United Kingdom | 0.838 |
| 5 | New Zealand | 0.827 |
| 6 | Sweden | 0.817 |
| 7 | Republic of Moldova | 0.813 |
| 8 | Namibia | 0.811 |
| 9 | Germany | 0.803 |
| 10 | Ireland | 0.801 |
- Health and Survival: This dimension has achieved near-complete parity, with a global gap closure of 96.2%, indicating minimal disparity in life expectancy and birth-related indicators.
- Educational Attainment: Parity in education has reached 95.1%, driven by increased female literacy and enrolment in secondary and tertiary education.
- Economic Participation and Opportunity: Despite progress, only 61.0% of the gender gap in this area has been closed globally. While women now comprise 41.2% of the global workforce, only 28.8% occupy senior leadership roles.
- Political Empowerment: This remains the weakest dimension, with only 22.9% of the gap closed. However, recent improvements in female political representation have positively influenced this subindex.
India’s Performance In The 2025 Index
India’s performance across the components of the Global Gender Gap Index
| Components | 2025 | 2024 | ||
|---|---|---|---|---|
| Score (0-1) | Rank | Score (0-1) | Rank | |
| Global Gap Gender Index | 0.644 | 131 | 0.641 | 129 |
| Economic Participation and Opportunity | 0.407 | 144 | 0.398 | 142 |
| Educational Attainment | 0.971 | 110 | 0.964 | 112 |
| Health and Survival | 0.954 | 143 | 0.951 | 142 |
| Political Empowerment | 0.245 | 69 | 0.251 | 65 |
- Overall Standing: India has fallen two places to rank 131 out of 148 countries. Despite a slight absolute improvement of 0.3 percentage points in its total score, India continues to be among the lowest-ranked South Asian nations with a gender parity score of 64.1%.
- Economic Participation and Opportunity: India’s score has improved to 40.7%, a rise of 0.9 percentage points from the previous year. Estimated income parity rose from 28.6% to 29.9%, contributing to a better performance in this domain.
- Educational Attainment: With a score of 97.1%, India has shown substantial advancement, supported by greater female literacy and increased female enrolment in tertiary education.
- Health and Survival: Improvements in the sex ratio at birth and healthy life expectancy have boosted India’s score in this subindex. However, gains in parity are offset by an overall decline in life expectancy for both genders.
- Political Empowerment: This subindex saw a regression, with India’s parity score dropping by 0.6 points. Female representation in Parliament declined from 14.7% to 13.8%, while the share of women in ministerial positions dropped from 6.5% to 5.6%.
Performance In South Asia
- Regional Standouts: Bangladesh significantly improved its standing, leaping 75 places to reach 24th globally—the highest in South Asia.
- Other Regional Rankings: Nepal ranked 125, Bhutan 119, Sri Lanka 130, Maldives 138, and Pakistan remained at the bottom at 148.
Key Gender-Related Indices
Gender Inequality Index (GII)
Released by the United Nations Development Programme (UNDP) through its Human Development Report, this index tracks gender disparities in reproductive health, societal and political participation, and labour market involvement. Scores range from 0 (equality) to 1 (maximum inequality). In 2023, India scored 0.403, ranking 102nd out of 172 countries.
Gender Development Index (GDI)
Also by UNDP, this index compares human development levels of men and women across health, education, and income. As per the 2025 report, India scored 0.631 for women and 0.722 for men, resulting in a GDI score of 0.874.
Global Gender Parity Index (GGPI)
Jointly developed by UNDP and UN Women, this index evaluates gender balance in four areas: health and well-being, education and skills, economic opportunity, and decision-making power. It presents a holistic picture of gender parity across sectors.
Women’s Empowerment Index (WEI)
Another collaboration between UNDP and UN Women, this index measures women’s autonomy and rights in health, education, public participation, leadership, and freedom from violence. A score closer to 1 indicates higher empowerment. India scored 0.52, reflecting moderate achievement.
Major Government Efforts to Bridge the Gender Gap
Beti Bachao Beti Padhao
This national campaign promotes the importance of valuing and educating girls. It focuses on improving the child sex ratio and enhancing girls’ access to education throughout the country.
Mahila Shakti Kendra
These centers operate at the grassroots level, offering information, guidance, and support to women. They connect women with skill training, employment, and welfare services.
Mahila Police Volunteers
Local women volunteers work with the police to report and prevent crimes against women. They serve as a vital link between women and law enforcement.
Rashtriya Mahila Kosh
This national fund provides low-interest loans to women from disadvantaged backgrounds, supporting them in starting small businesses and achieving financial independence.
Reservation in Political Bodies
One-third of seats in Panchayati Raj Institutions are reserved for women to strengthen their role in governance. In 2023, the 106th Constitutional Amendment Act extended this provision to the Lok Sabha, state legislative assemblies, and the Delhi Legislative Assembly, including reserved categories.
Support for Women Entrepreneurs
The government supports women-led enterprises through various schemes:
- Stand-Up India: Offers financial assistance to women starting new businesses.
- Mahila-e-Haat: An online marketplace for women entrepreneurs, SHGs, and NGOs to showcase their products.
- Entrepreneurship and Skill Development Programme (ESSDP): Trains women in vocational and business skills to enhance their economic participation.