Number of seats held by women in national parliaments in Sub-Saharan Africa (inc. Sudan)

Sub-Saharan Africa (inc. Sudan): Number of seats held by women in national parliaments was 2,249 in 2022. ▲ Rising

Latest (2022)
2,249
Change on year
up 5.0%
Rank
9th
of 42 groups
All-time high
2,249
in 2022
All-time low
724
in 2000
Years of data
22
2000–2022

Number of seats held by women in national parliaments in Sub-Saharan Africa (inc. Sudan), 2000–2022

5001.0k1.5k2.0k2000201120222000: 7242001: 7792002: 8232003: 9122004: 9952005: 1.1k2006: 1.3k2007: 1.3k2008: 1.4k2009: 1.4k2010: 1.5k2011: 1.6k2012: 1.8k2013: 1.8k2014: 2.0k2015: 2.0k2016: 2.1k2017: 2.2k2018: 2.2k2019: 2.2k2021: 2.1k2022: 2.2k

Source: United Nations Statistics Division, SDG Global Database.

Analysis

Sub-Saharan Africa (inc. Sudan) recorded 2,249 for number of seats held by women in national parliaments in 2022. That is the highest value across all 22 years on record.

The figure is up 5.0% on the previous year and up 27.9% over ten years.

Over the whole period, number of seats held by women in national parliaments in Sub-Saharan Africa (inc. Sudan) peaked at 2,249 in 2022 and was at its lowest, 724, in 2000.

Sub-Saharan Africa (inc. Sudan) ranks 9th of 42 groups on this measure, in the top quarter.

The long-run direction has been consistently rising across the 22 years of available data.

Number of seats held by women in national parliaments in Sub-Saharan Africa (inc. Sudan), year by year

Annual values for Number of seats held by women in national parliaments (number) in Sub-Saharan Africa (inc. Sudan), 2000 to 2022.
Year Value Change
2000 724
2001 779 +7.6%
2002 823 +5.6%
2003 912 +10.8%
2004 995 +9.1%
2005 1,069 +7.4%
2006 1,276 +19.4%
2007 1,318 +3.3%
2008 1,368 +3.8%
2009 1,377 +0.7%
2010 1,476 +7.2%
2011 1,585 +7.4%
2012 1,759 +11.0%
2013 1,802 +2.4%
2014 1,975 +9.6%
2015 1,951 -1.2%
2016 2,072 +6.2%
2017 2,190 +5.7%
2018 2,188 -0.1%
2019 2,225 +1.7%
2021 2,141 -3.8%
2022 2,249 +5.0%

Averages by decade

DecadeAverage LowestHighest Years
2000s 1,064 724 1,377 10
2010s 1,922 1,476 2,225 10
2020s 2,195 2,141 2,249 2

Countries ranked near Sub-Saharan Africa (inc. Sudan)

  1. 6 France 208 compare
  2. 7 Germany 205 compare
  3. 8 Ethiopia 202 compare
  4. 9 Uganda 189 compare
  5. 10 South Africa 179 compare
  6. 11 South Sudan 178 compare
  7. 12 Egypt 160 compare

See the full ranking of 252 places →

More gender data for Sub-Saharan Africa (inc. Sudan)

All data for Sub-Saharan Africa (inc. Sudan) →

Frequently asked questions

What is number of seats held by women in national parliaments in Sub-Saharan Africa (inc. Sudan)?
Number of seats held by women in national parliaments in Sub-Saharan Africa (inc. Sudan) was 2,249 in 2022, according to United Nations Statistics Division, SDG Global Database.
What is the highest number of seats held by women in national parliaments recorded in Sub-Saharan Africa (inc. Sudan)?
The highest recorded value was 2,249 in 2022.
What is the lowest number of seats held by women in national parliaments recorded in Sub-Saharan Africa (inc. Sudan)?
The lowest recorded value was 724 in 2000.
How does Sub-Saharan Africa (inc. Sudan) rank for number of seats held by women in national parliaments?
Sub-Saharan Africa (inc. Sudan) ranks 9th out of 42 groups with data for 2022.
Is number of seats held by women in national parliaments rising or falling in Sub-Saharan Africa (inc. Sudan)?
Over the last ten years it is up 27.9%. The long-run trend across the full record is rising.
Where does this Sub-Saharan Africa (inc. Sudan) 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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Number of seats held by women in national parliaments in Sub-Saharan Africa (inc. Sudan). Statizoid, drawing on United Nations Statistics Division, SDG Global Database. Retrieved 17 September 2026, from https://gender.statizoid.com/stat/number-of-seats-held-by-women-in-national-parliaments-number/sub-saharan-africa-inc-sudan/

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About this data

Indicator
Number of seats held by women in national parliaments (number)
Source
United Nations Statistics Division, SDG Global Database
Licence
UN SDG Global Database (open, attribution requested)
Coverage
252 places, 6,448 data points, 2000–2026
Last refreshed