Context:
India ranked 131 out of 148 countries in the World Economic Forum’s Global Gender Gap Report 2025. India’s parity score stood at 64.1%, a marginal improvement of 0.3 points over last year, yet it slipped two ranks from 129 in 2024. The report emphasizes persistent structural gender gaps in India despite progress in education and health indicators.
South Asia Rankings 2025
- Best Performer: Bangladesh (Rank 24, jumped 75 places)
- India: Among the lowest in the region, trailing behind Nepal, Sri Lanka, and Bhutan.
Global Context
- Global gender gap closed to 68.8% in 2025 — the strongest improvement since the pandemic.
- At current progress rates, full gender parity is 123 years away.
- Top 5 countries in gender parity:
- Iceland (1st, 16th year in a row)
- Finland
- Norway
- United Kingdom
- New Zealand
India’s Performance by Subindex
- Economic Participation & Opportunity
- Labour force participation (female): 45.9% (no change from 2024)
- Persistent gaps in wage equality and leadership roles
- Educational Attainment
- Parity score: 97.1%
- Improvements in female literacy and tertiary education enrollment
- Health and Survival
- Improved sex ratio at birth and healthy life expectancy
- Higher parity despite overall life expectancy falling for both genders
- Political Empowerment
- No major gains; remains one of India’s weakest dimensions of gender parity
