Number of seats held by women in national parliaments in Middle Africa
Middle Africa: Number of seats held by women in national parliaments was 386 in 2026. ▲ Rising
Number of seats held by women in national parliaments in Middle Africa, 2000–2026
Source: United Nations Statistics Division, SDG Global Database.
Analysis
In 2026, number of seats held by women in national parliaments in Middle Africa stood at 386. That is the highest value across all 27 years on record.
That represents a change of up 2.9% on the previous year and up 43.0% over ten years.
Over the whole period, number of seats held by women in national parliaments in Middle Africa peaked at 386 in 2026 and was at its lowest, 73, in 2002.
Middle Africa ranks 30th of 42 groups on this measure, in the middle of the range.
The long-run direction has been consistently rising across the 27 years of available data.
Number of seats held by women in national parliaments in Middle Africa, year by year
| Year | Value | Change |
|---|---|---|
| 2000 | 83 | — |
| 2001 | 84 | +1.2% |
| 2002 | 73 | -13.1% |
| 2003 | 99 | +35.6% |
| 2004 | 150 | +51.5% |
| 2005 | 164 | +9.3% |
| 2006 | 175 | +6.7% |
| 2007 | 160 | -8.6% |
| 2008 | 168 | +5.0% |
| 2009 | 208 | +23.8% |
| 2010 | 211 | +1.4% |
| 2011 | 207 | -1.9% |
| 2012 | 238 | +15.0% |
| 2013 | 233 | -2.1% |
| 2014 | 280 | +20.2% |
| 2015 | 270 | -3.6% |
| 2016 | 270 | +0.0% |
| 2017 | 284 | +5.2% |
| 2018 | 270 | -4.9% |
| 2019 | 278 | +3.0% |
| 2020 | 290 | +4.3% |
| 2021 | 302 | +4.1% |
| 2022 | 311 | +3.0% |
| 2023 | 350 | +12.5% |
| 2024 | 362 | +3.4% |
| 2025 | 375 | +3.6% |
| 2026 | 386 | +2.9% |
Biggest year-on-year movements
Years where Number of seats held by women in national parliaments in Middle Africa changed far more than this series normally does. A large move can be a real event or a change in how the figure was measured — the source note below says who published it.
| Year | Change | From | To |
|---|---|---|---|
| 2004 | +51.5% | 99 | 150 |
Averages by decade
| Decade | Average | Lowest | Highest | Years |
|---|---|---|---|---|
| 2000s | 136.4 | 73 | 208 | 10 |
| 2010s | 254.1 | 207 | 284 | 10 |
| 2020s | 339.43 | 290 | 386 | 7 |
Countries ranked near Middle Africa
More gender data for Middle Africa
- Proportion of seats held by women in national parliaments 23.1% (2026)
- Proportion of women aged 15-49 years with anaemia 41.7% (2023)
- Proportion of women aged 15-49 years with anaemia, pregnant 45.6% (2023)
- Proportion of women aged 15-49 years with anaemia, non-pregnant 41.2% (2023)
- Proportion of women in managerial positions - 13th ICLS 49.0% (2025)
- Ratio for female members of parliaments (Ratio of the proportion of) 0.5% (2026)
- Ratio for female members of parliaments (Ratio of the proportion of) 0.5% (2026)
Frequently asked questions
- What is number of seats held by women in national parliaments in Middle Africa?
- Number of seats held by women in national parliaments in Middle Africa was 386 in 2026, according to United Nations Statistics Division, SDG Global Database.
- What is the highest number of seats held by women in national parliaments recorded in Middle Africa?
- The highest recorded value was 386 in 2026.
- What is the lowest number of seats held by women in national parliaments recorded in Middle Africa?
- The lowest recorded value was 73 in 2002.
- How does Middle Africa rank for number of seats held by women in national parliaments?
- Middle Africa ranks 30th out of 42 groups with data for 2026.
- Is number of seats held by women in national parliaments rising or falling in Middle Africa?
- Over the last ten years it is up 43.0%. The long-run trend across the full record is rising.
- Where does this Middle Africa data come from?
- The figures come from United Nations Statistics Division, SDG Global Database, published as part of Number of seats held by women in national parliaments (number). Statizoid updates them automatically from the source API.
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CSV · JSON — 27 observations, free to reuse under UN SDG Global Database (open, attribution requested).