Women can sign a contract on the same terms as men by country

Women can sign contracts on their own, without permission or signatures from a husband or guardian.

Countries reporting
183
Highest
1 (1=yes; 0=no)
Afghanistan
Lowest
0 (1=yes; 0=no)
Eswatini
Median
1 (1=yes; 0=no)
Years covered
54
1970–2023
Data points
10,152

What the numbers show

Women can sign a contract on the same terms as men is currently reported for 183 countries. The highest value is 1 (1=yes; 0=no) in Afghanistan; the lowest is 0 (1=yes; 0=no) in Eswatini.

The median across all reporting countries is 1 (1=yes; 0=no), and the mean is 0.9891 (1=yes; 0=no).

Women can sign a contract on the same terms as men: full country ranking

#Country LatestYear 10-year changeTrend
1 Afghanistan 1 (1=yes; 0=no) 2023 unchanged flat
1 Angola 1 (1=yes; 0=no) 2023 unchanged volatile
1 Albania 1 (1=yes; 0=no) 2023 unchanged flat
1 United Arab Emirates 1 (1=yes; 0=no) 2023 unchanged flat
1 Argentina 1 (1=yes; 0=no) 2023 unchanged volatile
1 Armenia 1 (1=yes; 0=no) 2023 unchanged flat
1 Antigua and Barbuda 1 (1=yes; 0=no) 2023 unchanged flat
1 Australia 1 (1=yes; 0=no) 2023 unchanged flat
1 Austria 1 (1=yes; 0=no) 2023 unchanged flat
1 Azerbaijan 1 (1=yes; 0=no) 2023 unchanged flat
1 Burundi 1 (1=yes; 0=no) 2023 unchanged flat
1 Belgium 1 (1=yes; 0=no) 2023 unchanged rising
1 Benin 1 (1=yes; 0=no) 2023 unchanged flat
1 Burkina Faso 1 (1=yes; 0=no) 2023 unchanged flat
1 Bangladesh 1 (1=yes; 0=no) 2023 unchanged flat
1 Bulgaria 1 (1=yes; 0=no) 2023 unchanged flat
1 Bahrain 1 (1=yes; 0=no) 2023 unchanged flat
1 Bahamas 1 (1=yes; 0=no) 2023 unchanged flat
1 Bosnia and Herzegovina 1 (1=yes; 0=no) 2023 unchanged flat
1 Belarus 1 (1=yes; 0=no) 2023 unchanged flat
1 Belize 1 (1=yes; 0=no) 2023 unchanged flat
1 Bolivia 1 (1=yes; 0=no) 2023 unchanged rising
1 Brazil 1 (1=yes; 0=no) 2023 unchanged flat
1 Barbados 1 (1=yes; 0=no) 2023 unchanged flat
1 Brunei 1 (1=yes; 0=no) 2023 unchanged flat
1 Bhutan 1 (1=yes; 0=no) 2023 unchanged flat
1 Botswana 1 (1=yes; 0=no) 2023 unchanged volatile
1 Central African Republic 1 (1=yes; 0=no) 2023 unchanged flat
1 Canada 1 (1=yes; 0=no) 2023 unchanged flat
1 Switzerland 1 (1=yes; 0=no) 2023 unchanged flat
1 Chile 1 (1=yes; 0=no) 2023 unchanged volatile
1 China 1 (1=yes; 0=no) 2023 unchanged flat
1 Cote d'Ivoire 1 (1=yes; 0=no) 2023 unchanged flat
1 Cameroon 1 (1=yes; 0=no) 2023 unchanged flat
1 Democratic Republic of Congo 1 (1=yes; 0=no) 2023 volatile
1 Congo 1 (1=yes; 0=no) 2023 unchanged flat
1 Colombia 1 (1=yes; 0=no) 2023 unchanged flat
1 Comoros 1 (1=yes; 0=no) 2023 unchanged flat
1 Cape Verde 1 (1=yes; 0=no) 2023 unchanged volatile
1 Costa Rica 1 (1=yes; 0=no) 2023 unchanged flat
1 Cyprus 1 (1=yes; 0=no) 2023 unchanged flat
1 Czechia 1 (1=yes; 0=no) 2023 unchanged flat
1 Germany 1 (1=yes; 0=no) 2023 unchanged flat
1 Dominica 1 (1=yes; 0=no) 2023 unchanged flat
1 Denmark 1 (1=yes; 0=no) 2023 unchanged flat
1 Dominican Republic 1 (1=yes; 0=no) 2023 unchanged rising
1 Algeria 1 (1=yes; 0=no) 2023 unchanged flat
1 Ecuador 1 (1=yes; 0=no) 2023 unchanged rising
1 Egypt 1 (1=yes; 0=no) 2023 unchanged flat
1 Eritrea 1 (1=yes; 0=no) 2023 unchanged flat
1 Spain 1 (1=yes; 0=no) 2023 unchanged rising
1 Estonia 1 (1=yes; 0=no) 2023 unchanged flat
1 Ethiopia 1 (1=yes; 0=no) 2023 unchanged flat
1 Finland 1 (1=yes; 0=no) 2023 unchanged flat
1 Fiji 1 (1=yes; 0=no) 2023 unchanged flat
1 France 1 (1=yes; 0=no) 2023 unchanged flat
1 Micronesia (country) 1 (1=yes; 0=no) 2023 unchanged flat
1 Gabon 1 (1=yes; 0=no) 2023 unchanged flat
1 United Kingdom 1 (1=yes; 0=no) 2023 unchanged flat
1 Georgia 1 (1=yes; 0=no) 2023 unchanged flat
1 Ghana 1 (1=yes; 0=no) 2023 unchanged flat
1 Guinea 1 (1=yes; 0=no) 2023 unchanged flat
1 Gambia 1 (1=yes; 0=no) 2023 unchanged flat
1 Guinea-Bissau 1 (1=yes; 0=no) 2023 unchanged flat
1 Greece 1 (1=yes; 0=no) 2023 unchanged flat
1 Grenada 1 (1=yes; 0=no) 2023 unchanged flat
1 Guatemala 1 (1=yes; 0=no) 2023 unchanged flat
1 Guyana 1 (1=yes; 0=no) 2023 unchanged flat
1 Honduras 1 (1=yes; 0=no) 2023 unchanged flat
1 Croatia 1 (1=yes; 0=no) 2023 unchanged flat
1 Haiti 1 (1=yes; 0=no) 2023 unchanged volatile
1 Hungary 1 (1=yes; 0=no) 2023 unchanged flat
1 Indonesia 1 (1=yes; 0=no) 2023 unchanged rising
1 India 1 (1=yes; 0=no) 2023 unchanged flat
1 Ireland 1 (1=yes; 0=no) 2023 unchanged flat
1 Iran 1 (1=yes; 0=no) 2023 unchanged flat
1 Iraq 1 (1=yes; 0=no) 2023 unchanged flat
1 Iceland 1 (1=yes; 0=no) 2023 unchanged flat
1 Israel 1 (1=yes; 0=no) 2023 unchanged flat
1 Italy 1 (1=yes; 0=no) 2023 unchanged flat
1 Jamaica 1 (1=yes; 0=no) 2023 unchanged flat
1 Jordan 1 (1=yes; 0=no) 2023 unchanged flat
1 Japan 1 (1=yes; 0=no) 2023 unchanged flat
1 Kazakhstan 1 (1=yes; 0=no) 2023 unchanged flat
1 Kenya 1 (1=yes; 0=no) 2023 unchanged flat
1 Kyrgyzstan 1 (1=yes; 0=no) 2023 unchanged flat
1 Cambodia 1 (1=yes; 0=no) 2023 unchanged flat
1 Kiribati 1 (1=yes; 0=no) 2023 unchanged flat
1 Saint Kitts and Nevis 1 (1=yes; 0=no) 2023 unchanged flat
1 South Korea 1 (1=yes; 0=no) 2023 unchanged flat
1 Kuwait 1 (1=yes; 0=no) 2023 unchanged flat
1 Laos 1 (1=yes; 0=no) 2023 unchanged flat
1 Lebanon 1 (1=yes; 0=no) 2023 unchanged flat
1 Liberia 1 (1=yes; 0=no) 2023 unchanged rising
1 Libya 1 (1=yes; 0=no) 2023 unchanged flat
1 Saint Lucia 1 (1=yes; 0=no) 2023 unchanged flat
1 Sri Lanka 1 (1=yes; 0=no) 2023 unchanged flat
1 Lesotho 1 (1=yes; 0=no) 2023 unchanged volatile
1 Lithuania 1 (1=yes; 0=no) 2023 unchanged flat
1 Luxembourg 1 (1=yes; 0=no) 2023 unchanged rising
1 Latvia 1 (1=yes; 0=no) 2023 unchanged flat
1 Morocco 1 (1=yes; 0=no) 2023 unchanged flat
1 Moldova 1 (1=yes; 0=no) 2023 unchanged flat
1 Madagascar 1 (1=yes; 0=no) 2023 unchanged flat
1 Maldives 1 (1=yes; 0=no) 2023 unchanged flat
1 Marshall Islands 1 (1=yes; 0=no) 2023 unchanged flat
1 North Macedonia 1 (1=yes; 0=no) 2023 unchanged flat
1 Mali 1 (1=yes; 0=no) 2023 unchanged flat
1 Malta 1 (1=yes; 0=no) 2023 unchanged rising
1 Myanmar 1 (1=yes; 0=no) 2023 unchanged flat
1 Montenegro 1 (1=yes; 0=no) 2023 unchanged flat
1 Mongolia 1 (1=yes; 0=no) 2023 unchanged flat
1 Mozambique 1 (1=yes; 0=no) 2023 unchanged volatile
1 Mauritania 1 (1=yes; 0=no) 2023 unchanged flat
1 Mauritius 1 (1=yes; 0=no) 2023 unchanged flat
1 Malawi 1 (1=yes; 0=no) 2023 unchanged flat
1 Malaysia 1 (1=yes; 0=no) 2023 unchanged flat
1 Namibia 1 (1=yes; 0=no) 2023 unchanged volatile
1 Niger 1 (1=yes; 0=no) 2023 unchanged flat
1 Nigeria 1 (1=yes; 0=no) 2023 unchanged flat
1 Nicaragua 1 (1=yes; 0=no) 2023 unchanged flat
1 Netherlands 1 (1=yes; 0=no) 2023 unchanged flat
1 Norway 1 (1=yes; 0=no) 2023 unchanged flat
1 Nepal 1 (1=yes; 0=no) 2023 unchanged flat
1 New Zealand 1 (1=yes; 0=no) 2023 unchanged flat
1 Oman 1 (1=yes; 0=no) 2023 unchanged flat
1 Pakistan 1 (1=yes; 0=no) 2023 unchanged flat
1 Peru 1 (1=yes; 0=no) 2023 unchanged flat
1 Philippines 1 (1=yes; 0=no) 2023 unchanged volatile
1 Palau 1 (1=yes; 0=no) 2023 unchanged flat
1 Papua New Guinea 1 (1=yes; 0=no) 2023 unchanged flat
1 Poland 1 (1=yes; 0=no) 2023 unchanged flat
1 Puerto Rico 1 (1=yes; 0=no) 2023 unchanged flat
1 Portugal 1 (1=yes; 0=no) 2023 unchanged rising
1 Paraguay 1 (1=yes; 0=no) 2023 unchanged flat
1 Palestine 1 (1=yes; 0=no) 2023 unchanged flat
1 Qatar 1 (1=yes; 0=no) 2023 unchanged flat
1 Romania 1 (1=yes; 0=no) 2023 unchanged flat
1 Russia 1 (1=yes; 0=no) 2023 unchanged flat
1 Rwanda 1 (1=yes; 0=no) 2023 unchanged flat
1 Saudi Arabia 1 (1=yes; 0=no) 2023 unchanged flat
1 Sudan 1 (1=yes; 0=no) 2023 unchanged flat
1 Senegal 1 (1=yes; 0=no) 2023 unchanged flat
1 Solomon Islands 1 (1=yes; 0=no) 2023 unchanged flat
1 Sierra Leone 1 (1=yes; 0=no) 2023 unchanged volatile
1 El Salvador 1 (1=yes; 0=no) 2023 unchanged flat
1 San Marino 1 (1=yes; 0=no) 2023 unchanged flat
1 Somalia 1 (1=yes; 0=no) 2023 unchanged flat
1 Serbia 1 (1=yes; 0=no) 2023 unchanged flat
1 South Sudan 1 (1=yes; 0=no) 2023 unchanged flat
1 Sao Tome and Principe 1 (1=yes; 0=no) 2023 unchanged rising
1 Suriname 1 (1=yes; 0=no) 2023 unchanged volatile
1 Slovakia 1 (1=yes; 0=no) 2023 unchanged flat
1 Slovenia 1 (1=yes; 0=no) 2023 unchanged flat
1 Sweden 1 (1=yes; 0=no) 2023 unchanged flat
1 Seychelles 1 (1=yes; 0=no) 2023 unchanged flat
1 Syria 1 (1=yes; 0=no) 2023 unchanged flat
1 Chad 1 (1=yes; 0=no) 2023 unchanged flat
1 Togo 1 (1=yes; 0=no) 2023 unchanged rising
1 Thailand 1 (1=yes; 0=no) 2023 unchanged flat
1 Tajikistan 1 (1=yes; 0=no) 2023 unchanged flat
1 East Timor 1 (1=yes; 0=no) 2023 unchanged volatile
1 Tonga 1 (1=yes; 0=no) 2023 unchanged flat
1 Trinidad and Tobago 1 (1=yes; 0=no) 2023 unchanged flat
1 Tunisia 1 (1=yes; 0=no) 2023 unchanged flat
1 Turkey 1 (1=yes; 0=no) 2023 unchanged flat
1 Tanzania 1 (1=yes; 0=no) 2023 unchanged flat
1 Uganda 1 (1=yes; 0=no) 2023 unchanged flat
1 Ukraine 1 (1=yes; 0=no) 2023 unchanged flat
1 Uruguay 1 (1=yes; 0=no) 2023 unchanged flat
1 United States 1 (1=yes; 0=no) 2023 unchanged flat
1 Uzbekistan 1 (1=yes; 0=no) 2023 unchanged flat
1 Saint Vincent and the Grenadines 1 (1=yes; 0=no) 2023 unchanged flat
1 Venezuela 1 (1=yes; 0=no) 2023 unchanged flat
1 Vietnam 1 (1=yes; 0=no) 2023 unchanged flat
1 Vanuatu 1 (1=yes; 0=no) 2023 unchanged flat
1 Samoa 1 (1=yes; 0=no) 2023 unchanged flat
1 Yemen 1 (1=yes; 0=no) 2023 unchanged flat
1 South Africa 1 (1=yes; 0=no) 2023 unchanged volatile
1 Zambia 1 (1=yes; 0=no) 2023 unchanged flat
1 Zimbabwe 1 (1=yes; 0=no) 2023 unchanged volatile
187 Equatorial Guinea 0 (1=yes; 0=no) 2023 flat
187 Eswatini 0 (1=yes; 0=no) 2023 flat

About this data

Indicator
Women can sign a contract on the same terms as men
Unit
(1=yes; 0=no)
Source
Women, Business and the Law; World Bank – processed by Our World in Data
Licence
CC BY 4.0 (Our World in Data)
Coverage
188 places, 10,152 data points, 1970–2023
Last refreshed

Women can sign contracts on their own, without permission or signatures from a husband or guardian.