Proportion of seats held by women in national parliaments in South Africa
South Africa: Proportion of seats held by women in national parliaments was 44.8% in 2026. ▲ Rising
Proportion 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 44.8% for proportion of seats held by women in national parliaments in 2026.
That represents a change of up 0.3% on the previous year and up 6.5% over ten years.
Over the whole period, proportion of seats held by women in national parliaments in South Africa peaked at 46.7% in 2022 and was at its lowest, 29.8%, in 2001.
South Africa ranks 16th 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.
Proportion of seats held by women in national parliaments in South Africa, year by year
| Year | Value | Change |
|---|---|---|
| 2000 | 30.0% | — |
| 2001 | 29.8% | -0.6% |
| 2002 | 29.8% | +0.0% |
| 2003 | 29.8% | +0.0% |
| 2004 | 29.8% | +0.0% |
| 2005 | 32.8% | +9.8% |
| 2006 | 32.8% | +0.0% |
| 2007 | 32.8% | +0.0% |
| 2008 | 33.0% | +0.8% |
| 2009 | 33.0% | +0.0% |
| 2010 | 44.5% | +34.8% |
| 2011 | 44.5% | +0.0% |
| 2012 | 42.2% | -5.1% |
| 2013 | 42.2% | +0.0% |
| 2014 | 44.8% | +5.9% |
| 2015 | 41.5% | -7.3% |
| 2016 | 42.0% | +1.2% |
| 2017 | 42.2% | +0.4% |
| 2018 | 42.4% | +0.5% |
| 2019 | 42.8% | +0.8% |
| 2020 | 46.4% | +8.4% |
| 2021 | 45.8% | -1.1% |
| 2022 | 46.7% | +1.9% |
| 2023 | 46.2% | -1.0% |
| 2024 | 46.0% | -0.6% |
| 2025 | 44.6% | -3.0% |
| 2026 | 44.8% | +0.3% |
South Africa compared with similar countries
- South Africa's 44.8% is above the median for upper middle income countries, which is 25.4%, 1.8× the median. (55 countries reporting)
- South Africa's 44.8% is above the median for Sub-Saharan Africa, which is 23.0%, 1.9× the median. (45 countries reporting)
Biggest year-on-year movements
Years where Proportion 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% | 33.0% | 44.5% |
Averages by decade
| Decade | Average | Lowest | Highest | Years |
|---|---|---|---|---|
| 2000s | 31.4% | 29.8% | 33.0% | 10 |
| 2010s | 42.9% | 41.5% | 44.8% | 10 |
| 2020s | 45.8% | 44.6% | 46.7% | 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 people (2025)
- Age population, age 00, male, interpolated 589,533 people (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 proportion of seats held by women in national parliaments in South Africa?
- Proportion of seats held by women in national parliaments in South Africa was 44.8% in 2026, according to United Nations Statistics Division, SDG Global Database.
- What is the highest proportion of seats held by women in national parliaments recorded in South Africa?
- The highest recorded value was 46.7% in 2022.
- What is the lowest proportion of seats held by women in national parliaments recorded in South Africa?
- The lowest recorded value was 29.8% in 2001.
- How does South Africa rank for proportion of seats held by women in national parliaments?
- South Africa ranks 16th out of 210 countries with data for 2026.
- Is proportion 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 Proportion of seats held by women in national parliaments (% of total number of seats). 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).