Number of seats held by women in national parliaments in South Africa
South Africa: Number of seats held by women in national parliaments was 179 in 2026. ▲ Rising
Number of seats held by women in national parliaments in South Africa, 2000–2026
Source: United Nations Statistics Division, SDG Global Database.
Analysis
South Africa recorded 179 for number of seats held by women in national parliaments in 2026.
The figure is up 2.9% on the previous year and up 6.5% over ten years.
Over the whole period, number of seats held by women in national parliaments in South Africa peaked at 185 in 2022 and was at its lowest, 119, in 2001.
South Africa ranks 10th of 210 countries on this measure, in the top 10%.
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 South Africa, year by year
| Year | Value | Change |
|---|---|---|
| 2000 | 120 | — |
| 2001 | 119 | -0.8% |
| 2002 | 119 | +0.0% |
| 2003 | 119 | +0.0% |
| 2004 | 119 | +0.0% |
| 2005 | 131 | +10.1% |
| 2006 | 131 | +0.0% |
| 2007 | 131 | +0.0% |
| 2008 | 132 | +0.8% |
| 2009 | 132 | +0.0% |
| 2010 | 178 | +34.8% |
| 2011 | 178 | +0.0% |
| 2012 | 169 | -5.1% |
| 2013 | 169 | +0.0% |
| 2014 | 179 | +5.9% |
| 2015 | 166 | -7.3% |
| 2016 | 168 | +1.2% |
| 2017 | 167 | -0.6% |
| 2018 | 167 | +0.0% |
| 2019 | 168 | +0.6% |
| 2020 | 184 | +9.5% |
| 2021 | 182 | -1.1% |
| 2022 | 185 | +1.6% |
| 2023 | 185 | +0.0% |
| 2024 | 183 | -1.1% |
| 2025 | 174 | -4.9% |
| 2026 | 179 | +2.9% |
South Africa compared with similar countries
- South Africa's 179 is above the median for upper middle income countries, which is 31, 5.8× the median. (55 countries reporting)
- South Africa's 179 is above the median for Sub-Saharan Africa, which is 34, 5.3× the median. (45 countries reporting)
Biggest year-on-year movements
Years where Number of seats held by women in national parliaments in South 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 |
|---|---|---|---|
| 2010 | +34.8% | 132 | 178 |
Averages by decade
| Decade | Average | Lowest | Highest | Years |
|---|---|---|---|---|
| 2000s | 125.3 | 119 | 132 | 10 |
| 2010s | 170.9 | 166 | 179 | 10 |
| 2020s | 181.71 | 174 | 185 | 7 |
Countries ranked near South Africa
More gender data for South Africa
- Child population (UN estimates and projections) 17,151 (2030)
- Child population (UN estimates and projections) (0-14), annual growth 0.6591 % change on previous year (2030)
- Population 51,011 (2030)
- Working-age population (UN estimates and projections) 51,011 (2030)
- Population (UN estimates and projections), annual growth rate 1.07 % change on previous year (2030)
- Age population, age 00, female, interpolated 570,099 (2025)
- Age population, age 00, male, interpolated 589,533 (2025)
- Age population, age 01, female, interpolated 570,599 (2025)
- Age population, age 01, male, interpolated 589,626 (2025)
- Age population, age 02, female, interpolated 569,634 (2025)
Frequently asked questions
- What is number of seats held by women in national parliaments in South Africa?
- Number of seats held by women in national parliaments in South Africa was 179 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 South Africa?
- The highest recorded value was 185 in 2022.
- What is the lowest number of seats held by women in national parliaments recorded in South Africa?
- The lowest recorded value was 119 in 2001.
- How does South Africa rank for number of seats held by women in national parliaments?
- South Africa ranks 10th out of 210 countries with data for 2026.
- Is number of seats held by women in national parliaments rising or falling in South Africa?
- Over the last ten years it is up 6.5%. The long-run trend across the full record is rising.
- Where does this South 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.
Download this data
CSV · JSON — 27 observations, free to reuse under UN SDG Global Database (open, attribution requested).