Key features of women's political empowerment in United States
United States: Key features of women's political empowerment was 0.829 in 2025. ▲ Rising
Latest (2025)
0.829
Change on year
down 4.5%
World rank
60th
of 176 countries
All-time high
0.909
in 2022
All-time low
0.301
in 1917
Years of data
126
1900–2025
Key features of women's political empowerment in United States, 1900–2025
Source: V-Dem (2026) – processed by Our World in Data.
Analysis
In 2025, key features of women's political empowerment in United States stood at 0.829.
That represents a change of down 4.5% on the previous year and down 7.7% over ten years.
Over the whole period, key features of women's political empowerment in United States peaked at 0.909 in 2022 and was at its lowest, 0.301, in 1917.
United States ranks 60th of 176 countries on this measure, in the middle of the range.
The long-run direction has been consistently rising across the 126 years of available data.
Key features of women's political empowerment in United States, year by year
| Year | Value | Change |
|---|---|---|
| 1900 | 0.303 | — |
| 1901 | 0.303 | +0.0% |
| 1902 | 0.303 | +0.0% |
| 1903 | 0.303 | +0.0% |
| 1904 | 0.303 | +0.0% |
| 1905 | 0.303 | +0.0% |
| 1906 | 0.303 | +0.0% |
| 1907 | 0.303 | +0.0% |
| 1908 | 0.303 | +0.0% |
| 1909 | 0.303 | +0.0% |
| 1910 | 0.303 | +0.0% |
| 1911 | 0.303 | +0.0% |
| 1912 | 0.303 | +0.0% |
| 1913 | 0.303 | +0.0% |
| 1914 | 0.303 | +0.0% |
| 1915 | 0.303 | +0.0% |
| 1916 | 0.303 | +0.0% |
| 1917 | 0.301 | -0.7% |
| 1918 | 0.301 | +0.0% |
| 1919 | 0.301 | +0.0% |
| 1920 | 0.374 | +24.3% |
| 1921 | 0.383 | +2.4% |
| 1922 | 0.383 | +0.0% |
| 1923 | 0.383 | +0.0% |
| 1924 | 0.383 | +0.0% |
| 1925 | 0.383 | +0.0% |
| 1926 | 0.383 | +0.0% |
| 1927 | 0.383 | +0.0% |
| 1928 | 0.383 | +0.0% |
| 1929 | 0.383 | +0.0% |
| 1930 | 0.388 | +1.3% |
| 1931 | 0.388 | +0.0% |
| 1932 | 0.399 | +2.8% |
| 1933 | 0.392 | -1.8% |
| 1934 | 0.392 | +0.0% |
| 1935 | 0.397 | +1.3% |
| 1936 | 0.386 | -2.8% |
| 1937 | 0.386 | +0.0% |
| 1938 | 0.386 | +0.0% |
| 1939 | 0.386 | +0.0% |
| 1940 | 0.419 | +8.5% |
| 1941 | 0.421 | +0.5% |
| 1942 | 0.435 | +3.3% |
| 1943 | 0.428 | -1.6% |
| 1944 | 0.428 | +0.0% |
| 1945 | 0.444 | +3.7% |
| 1946 | 0.46 | +3.6% |
| 1947 | 0.476 | +3.5% |
| 1948 | 0.47 | -1.3% |
| 1949 | 0.47 | +0.0% |
| 1950 | 0.479 | +1.9% |
| 1951 | 0.479 | +0.0% |
| 1952 | 0.481 | +0.4% |
| 1953 | 0.472 | -1.9% |
| 1954 | 0.475 | +0.6% |
| 1955 | 0.484 | +1.9% |
| 1956 | 0.492 | +1.7% |
| 1957 | 0.498 | +1.2% |
| 1958 | 0.494 | -0.8% |
| 1959 | 0.494 | +0.0% |
| 1960 | 0.524 | +6.1% |
| 1961 | 0.524 | +0.0% |
| 1962 | 0.531 | +1.3% |
| 1963 | 0.531 | +0.0% |
| 1964 | 0.541 | +1.9% |
| 1965 | 0.545 | +0.7% |
| 1966 | 0.561 | +2.9% |
| 1967 | 0.561 | +0.0% |
| 1968 | 0.559 | -0.4% |
| 1969 | 0.583 | +4.3% |
| 1970 | 0.645 | +10.6% |
| 1971 | 0.656 | +1.7% |
| 1972 | 0.663 | +1.1% |
| 1973 | 0.667 | +0.6% |
| 1974 | 0.689 | +3.3% |
| 1975 | 0.706 | +2.5% |
| 1976 | 0.725 | +2.7% |
| 1977 | 0.725 | +0.0% |
| 1978 | 0.724 | -0.1% |
| 1979 | 0.73 | +0.8% |
| 1980 | 0.798 | +9.3% |
| 1981 | 0.798 | +0.0% |
| 1982 | 0.803 | +0.6% |
| 1983 | 0.803 | +0.0% |
| 1984 | 0.804 | +0.1% |
| 1985 | 0.804 | +0.0% |
| 1986 | 0.815 | +1.4% |
| 1987 | 0.815 | +0.0% |
| 1988 | 0.822 | +0.9% |
| 1989 | 0.829 | +0.9% |
| 1990 | 0.842 | +1.6% |
| 1991 | 0.846 | +0.5% |
| 1992 | 0.864 | +2.1% |
| 1993 | 0.875 | +1.3% |
| 1994 | 0.877 | +0.2% |
| 1995 | 0.877 | +0.0% |
| 1996 | 0.878 | +0.1% |
| 1997 | 0.878 | +0.0% |
| 1998 | 0.882 | +0.5% |
| 1999 | 0.883 | +0.1% |
| 2000 | 0.885 | +0.2% |
| 2001 | 0.883 | -0.2% |
| 2002 | 0.884 | +0.1% |
| 2003 | 0.885 | +0.1% |
| 2004 | 0.894 | +1.0% |
| 2005 | 0.894 | +0.0% |
| 2006 | 0.897 | +0.3% |
| 2007 | 0.897 | +0.0% |
| 2008 | 0.901 | +0.4% |
| 2009 | 0.908 | +0.8% |
| 2010 | 0.902 | -0.7% |
| 2011 | 0.899 | -0.3% |
| 2012 | 0.9 | +0.1% |
| 2013 | 0.899 | -0.1% |
| 2014 | 0.9 | +0.1% |
| 2015 | 0.898 | -0.2% |
| 2016 | 0.898 | +0.0% |
| 2017 | 0.89 | -0.9% |
| 2018 | 0.897 | +0.8% |
| 2019 | 0.892 | -0.6% |
| 2020 | 0.905 | +1.5% |
| 2021 | 0.906 | +0.1% |
| 2022 | 0.909 | +0.3% |
| 2023 | 0.897 | -1.3% |
| 2024 | 0.868 | -3.2% |
| 2025 | 0.829 | -4.5% |
United States compared with similar countries
- United States's 0.829 is below the median for high income countries, which is 0.896, 93% of the median. (55 countries reporting)
Averages by decade
| Decade | Average | Lowest | Highest | Years |
|---|---|---|---|---|
| 1900s | 0.303 | 0.303 | 0.303 | 10 |
| 1910s | 0.3024 | 0.301 | 0.303 | 10 |
| 1920s | 0.3821 | 0.374 | 0.383 | 10 |
| 1930s | 0.39 | 0.386 | 0.399 | 10 |
| 1940s | 0.4451 | 0.419 | 0.476 | 10 |
| 1950s | 0.4848 | 0.472 | 0.498 | 10 |
| 1960s | 0.546 | 0.524 | 0.583 | 10 |
| 1970s | 0.693 | 0.645 | 0.73 | 10 |
| 1980s | 0.8091 | 0.798 | 0.829 | 10 |
| 1990s | 0.8702 | 0.842 | 0.883 | 10 |
| 2000s | 0.8928 | 0.883 | 0.908 | 10 |
| 2010s | 0.8975 | 0.89 | 0.902 | 10 |
| 2020s | 0.8857 | 0.829 | 0.909 | 6 |
Countries ranked near United States
- 57 Tanzania 0.834 compare
- 58 Argentina 0.832 compare
- 59 South Africa 0.83 compare
- 61 Dominican Republic 0.825 compare
- 62 North Macedonia 0.824 compare
- 63 Liberia 0.823 compare
More gender data for United States
- Child population (UN estimates and projections) 57,835 (2030)
- Child population (UN estimates and projections) (0-14), annual growth -0.4626 % change on previous year (2030)
- Population 297,814 (2030)
- Working-age population (UN estimates and projections) 297,814 (2030)
- Population (UN estimates and projections), annual growth rate 0.6312 % change on previous year (2030)
- Age population, age 00, female, interpolated 1.79 million (2025)
- Age population, age 00, male, interpolated 1.88 million (2025)
- Age population, age 01, female, interpolated 1.80 million (2025)
- Age population, age 01, male, interpolated 1.89 million (2025)
- Age population, age 02, female, interpolated 1.83 million (2025)
Frequently asked questions
- What is key features of women's political empowerment in United States?
- Key features of women's political empowerment in United States was 0.829 in 2025, according to V-Dem (2026) – processed by Our World in Data.
- What is the highest key features of women's political empowerment recorded in United States?
- The highest recorded value was 0.909 in 2022.
- What is the lowest key features of women's political empowerment recorded in United States?
- The lowest recorded value was 0.301 in 1917.
- How does United States rank for key features of women's political empowerment?
- United States ranks 60th out of 176 countries with data for 2025.
- Is key features of women's political empowerment rising or falling in United States?
- Over the last ten years it is down 7.7%. The long-run trend across the full record is rising.
- Where does this United States data come from?
- The figures come from V-Dem (2026) – processed by Our World in Data, published as part of Key features of women's political empowerment. Statizoid updates them automatically from the source API.
Download this data
CSV · JSON — 126 observations, free to reuse under CC BY 4.0 (Our World in Data).
About this data
Central estimate of the extent to which women enjoy civil liberties, can participate in civil society, and are represented in politics.