Women and Proportional Representation
Women in Legislatures Around the World
Following are percentages of women in the main legislature of various democracies. "PR" refers to having a form of proportional representation. "District$" (highlighted in orange) refers to use of winner-take-all, single-seat districts electing one representative. "Mixed" refers to a mix of systems.
| Country |
% Women |
Election Date |
System |
| Sweden |
41% |
9/94 |
PR |
| Finland |
39% |
3/91 |
PR |
| Norway |
36% |
9/89 |
PR |
| Denmark |
33% |
12/90 |
PR |
| Netherlands |
29% |
9/89 |
PR |
| Germany |
26% |
10/94 |
PR* |
|
South Africa |
25% |
4/94 |
PR |
|
Iceland |
24% |
4/91 |
PR |
|
Austria |
21% |
10/90 |
PR |
| Switzerland |
18% |
10/91 |
PR |
|
Slovak Republic |
18% |
12/92 |
PR |
|
Spain |
16% |
12/93 |
PR |
|
Italy |
15% |
3/9 |
Mixed** |
|
Latvia |
14% |
12/93 |
PR |
|
Bulgaria |
13% |
10/91 |
PR |
|
Estonia |
13% |
9/92 |
PR |
|
Russia |
13% |
12/93 |
Mixed* |
|
Ireland |
12% |
11/92 |
PR*** |
|
United States |
11% |
11/94 |
District# |
|
Czech Republic |
10% |
12/92 |
PR |
|
Poland |
10% |
10/91 |
PR
| |
Belgium |
9% |
11/91 |
PR
| |
Portugal |
9% |
10/91 |
PR |
| United Kingdom |
9% |
4/92 |
District# |
| Australia |
8% |
1991 |
District$ |
| Hungary |
7% |
4/90 |
Mixed |
| Lithuania |
7% |
11/92 |
PR |
| France |
6% |
3/93 |
District$ |
|
Greece |
5% |
4/90 |
PR
| | * 50% by single-seat, plurality election
| |
** 75% by single-seat, plurality election
| |
*** Preference Voting
| |
# Single-seat districts, elected by plurality
| |
$ Single-seat districts, with majority provision
|
source: Inter-Parliamentary Union and The Center for Voting and Democracy
|