South Africa vs Sweden: Share of women in parliament
South Africa
44.7%
in 2025
Sweden
45.0%
in 2025
South Africa rank
14th
Sweden rank
12th
Share of women in parliament over time
- South Africa
- Sweden
How they compare
Sweden currently reports 45.0% against 44.7% in South Africa, a difference of 0.3%.
Across all 123 years both countries report, Sweden has been ahead every year.
South Africa ranks 14th and Sweden ranks 12th of 174 countries.
Sweden has averaged higher in every one of the 13 decades both report.
Head to head by decade
| Decade | South Africa | Sweden | Difference | Ahead |
|---|---|---|---|---|
| 1900s | 0.0% | 0.0% | 0.0% | — |
| 1910s | 0.0% | 0.0% | 0.0% | — |
| 1920s | 0.0% | 1.3% | 1.3% | Sweden |
| 1930s | 0.8% | 1.8% | 1.0% | Sweden |
| 1940s | 1.0% | 6.4% | 5.4% | Sweden |
| 1950s | 1.6% | 11.8% | 10.2% | Sweden |
| 1960s | 1.6% | 13.9% | 12.4% | Sweden |
| 1970s | 0.8% | 20.3% | 19.4% | Sweden |
| 1980s | 1.9% | 30.9% | 29.0% | Sweden |
| 1990s | 16.0% | 38.6% | 22.6% | Sweden |
| 2000s | 32.7% | 45.5% | 12.8% | Sweden |
| 2010s | 42.8% | 44.8% | 2.0% | Sweden |
| 2020s | 45.8% | 46.4% | 0.6% | Sweden |
Averages of every year both report within each decade.
Frequently asked questions
- Which has higher share of women in parliament, South Africa or Sweden?
- Sweden, at 45.0% against 44.7% in South Africa as of 2025.
- What is the difference in share of women in parliament between South Africa and Sweden?
- 0.3%, with Sweden ahead.
- How many years of comparable data are there for South Africa and Sweden?
- 123 years are reported by both, from 1900 to 2025.
- How do South Africa and Sweden rank globally for share of women in parliament?
- South Africa ranks 14th and Sweden ranks 12th of 174 countries.
- Where does this data come from?
- V-Dem (2026) – processed by Our World in Data, published as Share of women in parliament. Statizoid refreshes it automatically from the source and publishes the full history for both places.
Individual pages
About this data
Percentage of women in the lower or single chamber of the legislature.