Share of women in parliament ipu in South Africa
South Africa: Share of women in parliament ipu was 44.86 in 2025. ▲ Rising
Share of women in parliament ipu in South Africa, 1997–2025
Source: Our World in Data.
Analysis
South Africa recorded 44.86 for share of women in parliament ipu in 2025.
The figure is up 0.4% on the previous year and up 6.8% over ten years.
Over the whole period, share of women in parliament ipu in South Africa peaked at 46.75 in 2020 and was at its lowest, 25, in 1997.
That places South Africa 16th out of 193 countries with data for 2025, putting it in the top 10%.
The long-run direction has been consistently rising across the 29 years of available data.
Share of women in parliament ipu in South Africa, year by year
| Year | Value | Change |
|---|---|---|
| 1997 | 25 | — |
| 1998 | 28.75 | +15.0% |
| 1999 | 30 | +4.3% |
| 2000 | 29.82 | -0.6% |
| 2001 | 29.82 | +0.0% |
| 2002 | 29.82 | +0.0% |
| 2003 | 29.82 | +0.0% |
| 2004 | 32.78 | +9.9% |
| 2005 | 32.75 | -0.1% |
| 2006 | 32.75 | +0.0% |
| 2007 | 33 | +0.8% |
| 2008 | 33 | +0.0% |
| 2009 | 44.5 | +34.8% |
| 2010 | 44.5 | +0.0% |
| 2011 | 42.25 | -5.1% |
| 2012 | 42.25 | +0.0% |
| 2013 | 42.25 | +0.0% |
| 2014 | 41.5 | -1.8% |
| 2015 | 42 | +1.2% |
| 2016 | 42 | +0.0% |
| 2017 | 41.84 | -0.4% |
| 2018 | 42.75 | +2.2% |
| 2019 | 46.35 | +8.4% |
| 2020 | 46.75 | +0.9% |
| 2021 | 46.58 | -0.4% |
| 2022 | 46.5 | -0.2% |
| 2023 | 45.86 | -1.4% |
| 2024 | 44.7 | -2.5% |
| 2025 | 44.86 | +0.4% |
South Africa compared with similar countries
- South Africa's 44.86 is above the median for upper middle income countries, which is 22.82, 2.0× the median. (58 countries reporting)
- South Africa's 44.86 is above the median for Sub-Saharan Africa, which is 23.34, 1.9× the median. (48 countries reporting)
Biggest year-on-year movements
Years where Share of women in parliament ipu 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 |
|---|---|---|---|
| 2009 | +34.8% | 33 | 44.5 |
Averages by decade
| Decade | Average | Lowest | Highest | Years |
|---|---|---|---|---|
| 1990s | 27.92 | 25 | 30 | 3 |
| 2000s | 32.81 | 29.82 | 44.5 | 10 |
| 2010s | 42.77 | 41.5 | 46.35 | 10 |
| 2020s | 45.88 | 44.7 | 46.75 | 6 |
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 share of women in parliament ipu in South Africa?
- Share of women in parliament ipu in South Africa was 44.86 in 2025, according to Our World in Data.
- What is the highest share of women in parliament ipu recorded in South Africa?
- The highest recorded value was 46.75 in 2020.
- What is the lowest share of women in parliament ipu recorded in South Africa?
- The lowest recorded value was 25 in 1997.
- How does South Africa rank for share of women in parliament ipu?
- South Africa ranks 16th out of 193 countries with data for 2025.
- Is share of women in parliament ipu rising or falling in South Africa?
- Over the last ten years it is up 6.8%. The long-run trend across the full record is rising.
- Where does this South Africa data come from?
- The figures come from Our World in Data, published as part of Share of women in parliament ipu. Statizoid updates them automatically from the source API.
Download this data
CSV · JSON — 29 observations, free to reuse under CC BY 4.0 (Our World in Data).