Facts and figures

World

Women in National Parliaments, as of 31st October 2008

Lower House and Upper House combined
Total MPs	44,168
Gender breakdown known for	44,091
Men	35,991
Women	8,100
Percentage of women	18.4%

Source: Inter Parliamentary Union

Only 31 women preside over one of the Houses of the 189 existing Parliaments, 76 of which are bicameral. Women therefore occupy only 11.7% of the total number of 265 posts of Presiding Officers of Parliament or of one of its Houses
In the year 1994, women became Presiding officers of Parliaments in five countries for the first time in the country's parliamentary history. Those five countries are South Africa, Antigua and Barbuda, El Salvador, Mexico, and Panama
In Kuwait, no woman candidate was elected in the 2008 elections. Two women were appointed to the 16-member cabinet sworn- in in June 2008. As cabinet ministers also sit in parliament, there are two women out of a total of 65 members
From 1945 to 1995, the percentage of women MPs worldwide has increased four-fold (from 3% to 11.6%)

The number of countries with no women ministers has declined from 19 to 13.
Two countries have surpassed the 50 per cent mark for women in ministerial positions: Finland with 58 per cent and Norway with 55.6 women ministers. Grenada comes in third with 50 per cent. The three front runners are closely tailed by Sweden, France, South Africa, and Spain; countries in which the leadership has voiced a strong political commitment to gender equality.
Twenty-two counties have over 30 per cent of women in cabinet posts: 12 of these countries are in Europe and six in the Latin America and Caribbean region. In 2005, only 17 countries - mostly in Europe - topped the 30 per cent mark.
The regional picture for women ministers shows progress for the Americas and the Nordic States since 2005. The Americas have pushed their average up from 17 to 23 per cent, and the Nordics also boast a five percentage point increase, from 42.5 to 47.5 per cent. Meanwhile, the Arab States have seen a one percentage point increase to 8 per cent, and Asia remains stagnant, also around the 8 per cent mark.
For women Speakers of Parliament, the totals are lower, at roughly 10 per cent. Among elected Heads of State, women account for almost 5 per cent.

India ranks 105th in terms of women's actual seats in the governance. In the lower house or Parliament only 9.1% are women, in the Upper house, i.e. the Rajya Sabha the percentage is 9.9% (IPU March '08)
In Nepal, 32.57% of the CA members, 17.4% of the Council of Ministers, and 9.82% of the Central working committee members of political parties are women.
In Nepal, highest numbers of women CA members (74 of 197 women members) belong to CPN-Maoist. (Election Commission of Nepal)
Pakistan became the first South Asian country to have a woman as the head of the parliament, elected in the year 2008.
In Afghanistan, since 2003, 101 political parties have been established, out of which 3 are headed by women.
In Sri Lanka, reveals that, in 2006, the representation of women in Local Government Councils averaged; 3% in Municipal Councils 3.4% in Urban Councils, and 1.6% in Pradeshiya Sabha (Department of Elections, Sri Lanka)
Sri Lanka was the first South Asian country in which women got franchise, i.e., in the year 1931, and Bangladesh the last one, in the year 1972