WPS Index Executive Summary

Tracking sustainable peace
through inclusion, justice,

and security for women
Security
Inclusion
Justice
Women
SUMMARY Peace and
Security
Index
2023/24
Countries and index scores by rank, 2023/24 WPS Index
RANK COUNTRY SCORE RANK COUNTRY SCORE RANK COUNTRY SCORE
1 Denmark .932 60 Sri Lanka .743 121 Philippines .612

2 Switzerland .928 61 Kuwait .742 122 Honduras .610
3 Sweden .926 63 Cyprus .739 122 Libya .610
4 Finland .924 64 Cabo Verde .738 122 Namibia .610
4 Iceland .924 64 Fiji .738 125 Lesotho .605
4 Luxembourg .924 64 Malaysia .738 126 Zimbabwe .604
7 Norway .920 67 Saudi Arabia .737 127 Angola .598
8 Austria .911 68 Chile .736 128 India .595
9 Netherlands .908 69 Belarus .733 128 Lebanon .595
10 New Zealand .904 70 Kazakhstan .729 128 Togo .595
11 Australia .902 71 Trinidad and Tobago .721 131 Bangladesh .593
11 Belgium .902 72 Maldives .720 131 Gabon .593
13 Estonia .892 73 Nicaragua .717 132 Colombia .582
13 Ireland .892 73 Peru .717 134 Mozambique .580
15 Singapore .887 75 Oman .715 135 Gambia .575
16 Lithuania .886 76 Samoa .711 136 Côte d’Ivoire .573
17 Canada .885 77 Jamaica .710 137 Guatemala .569
18 Czechia .884 78 Viet Nam .707 138 Benin .566
19 Portugal .877 79 Lao PDR .704 138 El Salvador .566
20 Latvia .872 80 Israel .703 140 Iran .557
21 Germany .871 80 Qatar .703 141 Zambia .556
22 United Arab Emirates .868 82 Bhutan .700 142 Mexico .551
23 Japan .866 82 China .700 143 Uganda .544
24 France .864 82 Indonesia .700 144 Sierra Leone .543
25 Croatia .862 85 Tonga .697 145 Guinea .539
26 United Kingdom .860 86 Bolivia .696 146 Ethiopia .521
27 Poland .859 87 Suriname .694 146 Malawi .521
27 Spain .859 88 Puerto Rico .692 148 Comoros .519
29 Slovakia .856 89 Paraguay .691 149 Kenya .511
30 South Korea .848 90 Tajikistan .690 150 Congo .507
31 Malta .846 91 South Africa .688 151 Mauritania .506
32 Hungary .835 92 Jordan .679 152 Madagascar .505
32 Serbia .835 93 Mauritius .678 153 Djibouti .504
34 Italy .827 94 Uzbekistan .674 154 Liberia .500
35 Bulgaria .826 95 Kyrgyzstan .673 155 Papua New Guinea .487
36 Slovenia .824 96 Tunisia .669 156 Guinea-Bissau .483
37 United States .823 97 Azerbaijan .667 156 Palestine .483
38 Taiwan .818 98 Dominican Republic .666 158 Burkina Faso .481
39 Georgia .812 99 Türkiye .665 158 Mali .481
39 Hong Kong .812 100 Kosovo .664 158 Pakistan .481
41 Montenegro .808 100 Solomon Islands .664 161 Cameroon .466
42 Romania .800 100 Timor-Leste .664 162 Nigeria .465
43 Seychelles .799 103 Rwanda .663 163 Chad .462
44 North Macedonia .798 104 Botswana .659 164 Sudan .460
45 Albania .796 105 Belize .657 165 Myanmar .451
46 Mongolia .794 106 Ecuador .655 166 Niger .442
47 Barbados .779 107 Tanzania .652 167 Haiti .431
48 Armenia .772 108 Ghana .651 168 Iraq .424
49 Guyana .769 109 Sao Tome and Principe .648 169 Somalia .417
50 Argentina .768 110 Cambodia .645 170 Eswatini .415
51 Greece .766 110 Egypt .645 171 Syrian Arab Republic .407
52 Thailand .764 112 Nepal .644 172 Burundi .394
53 Moldova .758 112 Vanuatu .644 173 South Sudan .388
54 Panama .757 114 Morocco .637 174 Democratic Republic of
55 Bosnia and Herzegovina .754 115 Brazil .630 the Congo .384
56 Bahrain .752 116 Venezuela .628 175 Central African Republic .378
56 Russian Federation .752 117 Ukraine .626 176 Yemen .287
58 Turkmenistan .750 118 Algeria .622 177 Afghanistan .286
59 Uruguay .748 119 Equatorial Guinea .619 Possible scores range from a low of 0 to a high of 1.
119 Senegal .619 Please see the inside back cover for an alphabetical
60 Costa Rica .743 list of countries and ranks.
Foreword
T his fourth edition of the Women, Peace, and Security (WPS) Index ranks and
scores 177 countries on women’s status. Our results show that countries where
women are doing well are also more peaceful, democratic, prosperous, and better
prepared to adapt to the impacts of climate change. In fact, these impacts are more
strongly correlated with women’s status than they are with GDP.
Bridging insights from gender and development with those from peace and
security, the WPS Index distills performance across 13 indicators into a single
comparable measure across countries. It stands alone in considering diverse pil-
lars of women’s status—ranging from economic participation, to health, to risks
of violence. For example, it brings together education and perceptions of safety,
parliamentary representation and maternal mortality, and legal protection and
proximity to armed conflict.
With its scores, rankings, and robust data, the WPS Index offers a valuable tool
for people working on issues of women, peace, and security. Policymakers can use
it to pinpoint where resources are needed. Academics can use it to study trends
within indicators and across regions. Journalists can use it to give context and per-
spective to their stories. And activists can use it to hold governments accountable
for their promises on advancing the status of women.
The world today is grappling with the climate emergency, the rise of authoritar-
ian and antidemocratic forces, large-scale forced displacement, devastating armed
conflicts, and the multiple consequences of the COVID-19 pandemic. These com-
pounding and multilayered crises undermine the status of women and threaten to
roll back decades of progress. The WPS Index reinforces prioritizing investment in
women as essential to protecting the security and well-being of everyone in society.
The well-being of women and the well-being of nations go hand in hand. We
hope that the WPS Index will advance a shared global agenda for women’s inclu-
sion, justice, and security.
Melanne Verveer Elena Ortiz

Executive Director Research Manager and
Georgetown Institute for Lead Author, WPS Index
Women, Peace and Security Georgetown Institute for
Women, Peace and Security
i
Georgetown University’s Institute for Women, Peace and Security (GIWPS) seeks to pro-
mote a more stable, peaceful, and just world by focusing on the important role women play in
preventing conflict and building peace, growing economies, and addressing global threats like
climate change and violent extremism. The institute pursues this mission through research that is
accessible to practitioners and policy-makers, global convenings, strategic partnerships, and nurtur-
ing of the next generation of leaders. Melanne Verveer, the first U.S. ambassador for global wom-
en’s issues, is the Institute’s executive director. Hillary Rodham Clinton is the institute’s honorary
founding chair.
The Peace Research Institute Oslo (PRIO) conducts research on the conditions for peaceful
relations between states, groups, and people. Researchers at PRIO seek to understand the processes
that bring societies together or split them apart. Founded in 1959, PRIO is an independent research
institution known for its effective synergy of basic and policy-relevant research. In addition to such
research, PRIO conducts graduate training and promotes peace through conflict resolution, dia-
logue and reconciliation, public information, and policy-making activities.
The work on the index and report was conducted by a team led by Elena Ortiz, WPS Index Research
Manager and Lead Author (GIWPS). The report team comprised Milorad Kovacevic (consultant)
with Michael Gottschalk (International Monetary Fund), who were responsible for construction of
the index, and Lexah Caraluzzi, Ava Kawamura, and Ziwen Lu (GIWPS), who provided extensive
research analysis, writing, and support. GIWPS partnered with Siri Aas Rustad and Anna Marie
Obermeier (PRIO), who conducted significant research and analysis and wrote parts of the report.
Work on the report was facilitated by the excellent communications and administrative support of
Sarah Rutherford and Melissa Shields (GIWPS).
For valuable guidance and review, we thank GIWPS Executive Director Melanne Verveer, along
with Managing Director Carla Koppell and Research Director Jessica Smith. We are grateful to
Jessica Anania (GIWPS), Robert Nagel (GIWPS), Louise Olsson (PRIO), and Torunn Tryggestad
(PRIO) for additional reviews of the draft report.
Finally, we would like to acknowledge the generous funding of the Government of Norway’s
Ministry of Foreign Affairs, which made this work possible.
Copyright © 2023
Georgetown Institute for Women, Peace and Security
1412 36th Street NW
Washington, DC 20007 USA
Creative Commons Attribution Non-Commercial 4.0
Suggested citation: Georgetown Institute for Women, Peace and Security and Peace Research Institute Oslo. 2023.
Women, Peace, and Security Index 2023/24: Tracking sustainable peace through inclusion, justice, and security for women. Summary.
Washington, DC: GIWPS and PRIO.
Editing and production: Communications Development Inc., Washington, DC

Cover design: Debra Naylor, Naylor Design Inc.
Overview
T he Women, Peace, and Security (WPS) Index 2023/24, the fourth since the
inaugural 2017/18 index, ranks 177 countries and economies on women’s sta-
tus (see box 1). As the only index to bring together indicators of women’s inclusion,
justice, and security, the WPS Index is a valuable measure of women’s status that
As the only index to combine can be used to track trends, guide policymaking, and hold governments account-
indicators of women’s able for their promises to advance women’s rights and opportunities.
The WPS Index reveals glaring disparities around the world. All countries on
inclusion, justice, and
the index have room for improvement, and many perform considerably better or
security, the WPS Index can worse on some indicators of women’s status than on others. These cases underline
be used to track trends, guide the importance of measuring women’s status in its many dimensions. Societies
where women are doing well are also more peaceful, democratic, prosperous, and
policymaking, and hold
better prepared to adapt to the impacts of climate change, according to correla-
governments accountable for tions between our WPS Index and other global indices. The outcomes on these
promises to advance women’s global indices are more strongly correlated with women’s status than they are with
national income, underlining the importance of investing in women.
rights and opportunities
The structure of the 2023/24 WPS Index has been updated. Four indicators are
new or different in this edition: access to justice, maternal mortality, political vio-
lence targeting women (PVTW), and proximity to conflict. The index structure, as
well as these changes, are described in box 1.
Global rankings and major patterns

The range of scores on the WPS Index is vast, with Denmark at the top scoring
more than three times higher than Afghanistan at the bottom (figure 1). All of
the top dozen countries are in the Developed Country group, and notably, all five
Nordic countries rank among the top seven. All countries in the top quintile are
in the Developed Countries group or the Central and Eastern Europe and Central
1
2 | WOMEN, PEACE, AND SECURITY INDEX 2023/24
BOX 1 The structure of the WPS Index
The Women, Peace, and Security (WPS) Index captures 13 The WPS Index captures 13 indicators of women’s
indicators of women’s status classified under three dimen- status classified under three dimensions
sions: inclusion (economic, social, political); justice (formal
and informal discrimination); and security (at the individ-
ual, community, and societal levels) (see figure). It combines Ab
s en
performance across indicators and dimensions to generate a ce
country’s score, between 0 and 1, and establish its ranking.1 on M
A
of ss to ortalit
n
tio a
Emp l in n
Parliamentar hon en i
cc rnal ias
Cell loym clus
e nta
leg
ci a t i o
The data come from recent and highly reputable sources—U N
yr eu t
e
te on b
e
Finan duca
al
ep s
s
agencies, the World Bank, the Gallup World Poll, and more.
re
di s
S
J
on
just
E
crim
Table 1.1 in chapter 1 and statistical table 1 at the end of the
us
p
si
ice
Inclu
tic
Women,
ination
full report provide detailed definitions and source informa-
y
e
tion. While all indicators represent the most recent values Peace, and
available, data collection cannot keep pace with evolving Security
global events, so the impacts of current crises and conflicts Index
may not be consistently accounted for across our data.
Four indicators are new or different in this edition. In the S e c u r it y
justice dimension, these include access to justice (a measure In
ti m ce
ate p le n
of women’s ability to exercise their rights in practice, which Po a rt n e r v i o
l it i C o m m u y s a f e t y n
replaces our former indicator of discriminatory gender cal nit me
viole n g wo
n c e t a r g e ti
norms) and maternal mortality. In the security dimension, P rox
imity to conflict
these include political violence targeting women (capturing
the number of events per 100,000 women) and proximity
Note: See table 1.1 for indicator definitions and statistical table 1 for
to conflict (estimating the share of women who live within main data sources.
50 kilometers of armed conflict, which replaces our former Source: Authors.
indicator of organized violence, which estimated the num- The 2023/24 WPS Index also ranks seven new countries
ber of battle-related deaths per 100,000 people). and economies: Guinea-Bissau, Puerto Rico, Samoa, Sey-
Some of these changes were made because previous indi- chelles, Solomon Islands, Taiwan, and Vanuatu.
cators are no longer being updated, while others respond
to the emergence of better indicators since 2017, when the Note
1. See appendix 1 in the full report for discussion of the methodology.
WPS Index was initially designed.
Asia region except for the United Arab Emirates, in the Middle East and North
Africa region, which ranks 22nd. At the other end of the rankings, 11 of the bot-
tom dozen countries— a ll except Eswatini— are classified as Fragile States, and 7
are in Sub-Saharan Africa. Afghanistan, the Democratic Republic of the Congo,
Iraq, Syria, and Yemen have been among the bottom dozen countries since the
inaugural 2017/18 WPS Index.
Of all country groups and regions, the Fragile States group performs worst (fig-
ure 2). On average in these countries, 1 woman in 5 has experienced recent inti-
mate partner violence, 6 women in 10 live in proximity to conflict, and maternal
deaths stand at approximately 540 per 100,000 live births, more than double the
global average of 212. Sub-Saharan Africa performs only slightly better overall
than the Fragile States group. The Middle East and North Africa region performs
third-worst overall but has the widest range of performance, with the United Arab
Emirates ranking 22nd and Yemen 176th. The Developed Countries group does
best, performing considerably better than the global average on all 13 indicators.
FIGURE 1 The dozen best and worst performers on the WPS Index
Best performers Worst performers

Denmark .932 Afghanistan .286
Switzerland .928 Yemen .287
Sweden .926 Central African Rep. .378
Finland .924 Congo, Dem. Rep. .384
Iceland .924 South Sudan .388
Luxembourg .924 Burundi .394
Norway .920 Syria .407
Austria .911 Eswatini .415
Netherlands .908 Somalia .417
New Zealand .904 Iraq .424
Australia .902 Haiti .431
Belgium .902 Niger .442
.900 .910 .920 .930 .940 .100 .200 .300 .400 .500
WPS Index score
Note: Possible index scores range from a low of 0 to a high of 1. See statistical table 1 for data sources, detailed scores, and date ranges.
Source: Authors’ estimates.
FIGURE 2 A wide range of performance on the WPS Index across and within country groups and regions
WPS Index score
1.000
Denmark
Estonia United Arab Emirates
.900
South Taiwan
Korea Seychelles
Barbados
.800
Sri Lanka
Kazakhstan
.700 Kosovo
Israel Timor-Leste
Global index average: .650 Brazil
.600
Ukraine Bangladesh
Iran
.500 Liberia
Myanmar
Myanmar
.400
Haiti
Central African
.300 Republic
Afghanistan Yemen Afghanistan
.200
Developed Central & East Asia & Latin America South Middle East & Sub-Saharan Fragile
Countries Eastern Europe the Pacific & the Asia North Africa Africa States
& Central Asia Caribbean
Best Group average Worst
Note: Possible index scores range from a low of 0 to a high of 1. The countries near the yellow dots have a WPS Index score that is closest to the average for the
country group or region. See statistical table 1 for data sources and scores and appendix 2 in the full report for countries in each group and region. Countries
in the Fragile States group are also included in their regional group.
Mixed performance across dimensions

A country’s overall WPS Index score is determined by averaging its scores on the
inclusion, justice, and security dimensions. Unpacking scores on each dimension
reveals that some countries perform relatively better or worse on certain dimensions
(figure 3). Viet Nam has the greatest variation across the three dimensions, ranking
relatively well (24th) on security due to strong perceptions of community safety but
falling to 154th on justice due to high levels of son bias and maternal mortality.
Wide disparities in indicators of women’s inclusion

Within the inclusion dimension, disparities are especially stark for women’s
employment and financial inclusion. Although women’s employment— both for-
mal and informal— averages 53 percent globally, it ranges from 90 percent in Mad-
Rates of women’s financial agascar, Solomon Islands, and Burundi to just 6 percent in Yemen. Of the top 10
inclusion exceed 95 percent countries on this indicator, 5 are in Sub-Saharan Africa.
On women’s financial inclusion, rates exceed 95 percent in 30 countries but
in 30 countries but
plunge to 10 percent or lower in 8 countries. In Afghanistan and South Sudan,
plunge to 10 percent or fewer than 5 percent of women have access to their own bank account. Globally,
lower in 8 countries women’s financial inclusion is on the rise, expanding from 56 percent in 2014 to
71 percent as of the most recent data for 2021.1 Over the same period, 50 countries
have seen increases of at least 10 percentage points in financial inclusion, led by
FIGURE 3 Countries with the most variation in rank across dimensions of the
WPS Index
Viet Nam
Israel
Jordan
Ukraine
Colombia
El Salvador
Maldives
Tunisia
Ecuador
Tonga
Mauritania
Bhutan
0 50 100 150 200

Dimension rank (higher is worse)
Inclusion Justice Security
Note: Ranks range from 1 to 177, and higher is worse. Countries are ordered by highest average rank differ-
ence between dimensions. See statistical table 1 for data sources, detailed scores, and date ranges.
Lesotho and Moldova, whose rates rose from less than 20 percent to more than
60 percent (figure 4). Contributing to this rise in financial inclusion is the prolif-
eration of digital finance platforms that enable women to manage their money
remotely and independently.2 Financial inclusion is critical to women’s empower-
ment and agency, as women without their own bank account are constrained in
making decisions about their livelihoods, accessing critical resources, and leaving
abusive relationships.3
Justice for women: Informal and formal barriers

The current index includes two new indicators within the justice dimension—
The 2023/24 WPS Index women’s access to justice (replacing the discriminatory norms indicator) and
includes two new indicators maternal mortality— a nd both reveal a wide range of performance across coun-
tries. On a scale of 0 to 4, the access to justice indicator scores countries on the
in the justice dimension
extent to which women have secure and effective paths toward justice, including
(women’s access to justice the ability to bring cases to court, participate in fair trials, and seek proper redress
and maternal mortality), and and defense measures when their rights are violated.4
No country has a perfect score on access to justice, though Denmark scores
both reveal a wide range of
highest at 3.96. Afghanistan scores lowest on this indicator, with its score of 0.37
performance across countries driven by the Taliban’s oppressive regime that has severely restricted women’s
ability to safely and fairly pursue justice. Of the country groups and regions, the
Developed Countries group scores highest overall in access to justice, at 3.53, fol-
lowed by Sub-Saharan Africa, at 2.21 (figure 5).
While the access to justice indicator captures whether women can exercise their
rights in practice, the absence of legal discrimination indicator assesses barriers
in the law. Unsurprisingly, these two indicators, which together account for both
informal and structural barriers to women’s justice, are strongly connected: coun-
tries with weak formal protections tend to be countries where women are unable
FIGURE 4 Countries with the greatest improvement in women’s financial inclusion from 2014 to 2021
Financial inclusion (%)
100
80
60
40
20
0
ne
ay
ia
va
on
ay
ru
ia
ar
go
ria
an
al
ga
di
nd
bw
oo
th
ng
rg
en
nm
Pe
gu
do
gu
ist
ai
be
To
ab
In
ne
so
ga
eo
Co
er
kr
m
ba
jik
ru
ra
ol
Li
G
ya
Se
Le
m
Ar
U
U
m
Pa
M
U
Ta
M
Ca
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2021 2014
Note: Countries are ordered according to highest financial inclusion rates in 2021. See statistical table 1 for data sources, detailed scores, and date ranges.
Source: Authors’ estimates based on World Bank. 2022. “The Global Findex Database 2021.” Washington, DC: World Bank. Accessed April 2023. https://www
.worldbank.org/en/publication/globalfindex.
FIGURE 5 Women’s access to justice varies greatly within country groups and regions
Score
4.0 Denmark
Seychelles Czechia Costa Rica Vanuatu
United
3.5 States Tunisia
Bhutan
3.0
Zimbabwe
2.5 Canada
Bosnia and
Angola
Herzegovina Peru Maldives
2.0 China
Global average: 2.27 Guinea-
Bissau Egypt
1.5
1.0
Cambodia
South
0.5 Sudan
Turkmenistan Nicaragua Syria
Afghanistan Afghanistan
0.0
Developed Sub-Saharan Central & Latin America South East Asia & Fragile Middle East &
Countries Africa Eastern Europe & the Asia the Pacific States North Africa
& Central Asia Caribbean
Best Group average Worst
Note: Possible scores range from a low of 0 to a high of 4. The countries near the yellow dots have a WPS Index score that is closest to the average for the
country group or region. See statistical table 1 for data sources, detailed scores, and date ranges and appendix 2 in the full report for countries in each group
and region. Countries in the Fragile States group are also included in their regional group.
to seek adequate, safe, and fair paths to justice. Nine of the dozen worst-performing
countries in access to justice also score below the global average on absence of legal
discrimination. At the other end of the spectrum, 13 of the 14 countries with fully
equal legal codes for women and men score higher than 3 points out of 4 on access
to justice.
Of the country groups and regions, the Middle East and North Africa performs
worst on both legal discrimination and access to justice. Iran, Jordan, Kuwait, Pal-
estine, Qatar, Syria, and Yemen have no criminal penalties for sexual harassment
in the workplace.5 In 10 countries in the region, women are legally required to
obey their husbands.
However, there are notable country exceptions to linked performance on the
two indictors. For example, Nicaragua has relatively strong legal protections for
women, scoring in the second quintile on absence of legal discrimination, but its
performance on access to justice is the fourth worst in the world. Contributing
to the poor performance on access to justice is Nicaragua’s recent elimination of
special police stations and courts serving women, as well as legal changes that
now subject perpetrators of violence against women to family counseling rather
than legal sanctions, fostering an environment of impunity and dissuading women
from reporting crimes and pursuing justice.6 A similar contrast is evident in Hong
Kong, Lao PDR, and Mexico, underlining that laws on paper cannot ensure justice
for women if systems of legal accountability and accessibility are weak.
Women’s security: At home, in the community, and across society

The security dimension considers risks to women’s safety at the household, com-
munity, and societal levels. Intimate partner violence, which captures violence
within the home, ranges from 45 percent of ever-partnered women in Iraq to

2 percent in Singapore and Switzerland. However, the most recent national esti-
mates are several years old, last compiled by the World Health Organization and
UN Women in 2018, before the COVID-19 pandemic, which exacerbated intimate
partner violence around the world.7 In addition, intimate partner violence is often
underestimated because of barriers to reporting, such as lack of trust in authorities
and fear of shame or victim blaming.8
The community safety indicator captures women’s perceptions of security in
their neighborhood. Nearly two-thirds (64 percent) of women worldwide report
Nearly two-thirds (64 percent) feeling safe walking alone in their neighborhood at night, though rates vary con-
of women worldwide report siderably in both directions. In Kuwait, Singapore, the United Arab Emirates,
China, and Turkmenistan, rates exceed 90 percent. In Gambia, Eswatini, and
feeling safe walking alone in
Lesotho, rates drop to about a quarter or less. At the regional level, women in East
their neighborhood at night Asia and the Pacific report the highest perceptions of community safety, at 83 per-
cent, while Latin America and the Caribbean has the lowest, at 40 percent. Nota-
bly, this region also has the highest rates of PVTW events and the second-highest
share of women living in proximity to conflict (after the Fragile States group),
highlighting the connection between instability at the societal level and feelings
of safety at the neighborhood level.
Strong correlations between women’s status and peace, democracy, climate

resilience, and justice
Women’s inclusion, justice, and security are vital in building resilient, peaceful,
and sustainable societies and thus matter for everyone. As the only global index
that brings together issues of women’s inclusion, justice, and security, the WPS
Index is a critical tool for making an empirical case for links between these dimen-
sions and the overall well-being of society.
This is evident in the strong correlations between the WPS Index and other
widely recognized global indices measuring outcomes that may seem distinct from
“women’s issues,” ranging from human development to climate change resilience,
peace, and fragility. Notably, these outcomes are more strongly correlated with
women’s status than they are with GDP, underlining the importance of investing
in women.9
The strongest correlations with the WPS Index are found for the Human Devel-
opment Index (.900; figure 6), the University of Notre Dame Global Adaptation
Index (ND-GAIN, .900) of climate change preparedness, and the Fragile States
Index (.898).
Political violence against women: Escalating risks and repercussions

Women’s rights are the backbone of resilient, peaceful, and democratic societies.
While women’s leadership and participation in government, pro-democracy move-
ments, and human rights campaigns have grown in recent decades, escalating
risks of political violence threaten to stall and even roll back progress. Meanwhile,
new and emerging threats, such as the rapid proliferation of artificial intelligence,
introduce unprecedented and often incalculable gendered impacts that multiply
these risks.
Political violence takes many forms, from the physical and sexual to the digital.
Political violence can target women who actively participate in politics— c ivil ser-
vants, journalists, activists, demonstrators, and voters— as well as women who are
not engaged in politics but who are attacked by political actors.
FIGURE 6 Strong correlations between rank on the WPS Index and rank on indices of human development and
climate change preparedness
Human Development Index ND-GAIN Index of Climate Adaptation

Normalized WPS Index rank Normalized WPS Index rank

Denmark Denmark
1 1
Correlation = .900 Correlation = .900

Serbia
.8 .8 Spain
Guyana Hong Armenia
Kong
Turkmenistan
Sri Lanka
.6 .6
Israel Paraguay
Rwanda Turkey
.4 .4 Cambodia
Zimbabwe
Bangladesh
.2 Mexico .2
Cameroon
Iraq Iraq
0 0
Afghanistan Afghanistan
0 .2 .4 .6 .8 1 0 .2 .4 .6 .8 1
Normalized Human Development Index rank Normalized GAIN Index rank
Note: The axes refer to country ranks, not index scores. Since the indices cover different numbers of countries, the ranks are adjusted for the total number of
countries in the index. On both axes, 0 represents the worst-performing country and 1 the best for the respective index.
Source: Authors’ estimates based on data from UNDP (United Nations Development Programme). 2022. Human Development Report 2021/22: Uncertain
Times, Unsettled Lives: Shaping Our Future in a Transforming World. https://hdr.undp.org/system/files/documents/global-report-document/hdr2021-22pdf_1.
pdf. ND-GAIN (Notre Dame Global Adaptation Initiative). 2023. “Rankings.” Accessed June 30, 2023. https://gain.nd.edu/our-work/country-index/rankings/.
Physical and sexual political violence against women

Physical political violence against women encompasses attacks that inflict bodily
harm. These attacks can be nonsexual (gun violence, beatings, murders, abduc-
tions, mob violence) or sexual (rape, sexual harassment, forced sterilization, forced
abortion). Physical attacks are often intended to scare, shame, or silence women
who are participating in civic spaces.
Nonsexual physical violence: Perpetrators, forms, and targets

Perpetrators of nonsexual physical violence against women include state and non-
state actors, ranging from government officials to armed rebel groups and individ-
uals, all pursuing their own politically motivated agendas.
Physical political violence often targets women who are not actively involved
in politics. In June 2023, members of the Barrio 18 gang murdered 41 inmates in
a Honduran women’s prison.10 Also in 2023, a group of armed suspected jihad-
ists with ties to Al-Qaeda and the Islamic State kidnapped more than 40 women
in Burkina Faso who were searching for food.11 Attacks such as these generally
attempt to instill fear and portray governments as unable to protect their citizens.12
Women participating in politics are also vulnerable to violence specifically because
of their political activities and the causes or policies they support. For example:
• In 2023, two male colleagues harassed and beat Senegalese lawmaker Amy
Ndiaye Gniby after she criticized an opposition religious figure. Ndiaye was
pregnant at the time, and the attackers kicked her in the belly, resulting in
injuries requiring her hospitalization.13
• In 2023, an unknown assailant threw acid in the face of Lilia Patricia Cardozo,
a Colombian women’s rights defender. Cardozo is the director of Plataforma
Feminista Boyacense, a nongovernmental organization concerned with domes-
tic and gender-based violence.14
• In 2022, Taliban forces abducted, beat, and tortured Afghan women’s rights
defenders Parwana Ibrahimkhel, Tamana Zaryab Paryani, and three of Par
yani’s sisters who participated in a protest for women’s rights to education,
work, and freedom near Kabul University.15
Sexual violence: Threats within and outside conflict settings

Sexual violence, another instrument of physical political violence against women,
Sexual violence as an occurs both within and outside conflict settings. While sexual violence is perpe-
instrument of physical political trated against people of all genders, women are disproportionately targeted.
Conflict-related sexual violence—when armed actors within a conflict perpe-
violence occurs both within
trate sexual violence to assert political dominance and instill fear in opposition
and outside conflict settings groups16 —is a tactic of intimidation, results in lasting trauma, and amplifies violent
and disproportionately patriarchal dominance in militarized conflicts, enabling ongoing violence against
women.17 In Colombia, women activists exposed the wartime use of sexual vio-
targets women
lence by the Revolutionary Armed Forces of Colombia (FARC) to punish outspoken,
politically engaged women.18 In the second quarter of 2021 alone, the Colombian
attorney general received 43,493 reports of sexual violence, 86 percent of them per-
petrated against women.19 Today, Colombian women face continued risk of violence
as conflict persists between the government and rebel forces.20 In Myanmar, thou-
sands of Rohingya women have been raped by members of the military as part of a
broader campaign of ethnic cleansing, also highlighting how ethnic discrimination
can amplify the risk of conflict-related sexual violence against women.21
Sexual political violence occurs in diverse political settings, including many
that are unrelated to conflict. In a survey of politicians, political candidates, and
party supporters participating in Uganda’s 2016 and 2018 councilor elections,
80 percent of women reported having experienced rape or unwanted sexual con-
tact compared with 20 percent of men.22 Similarly, Kenya has seen rampant sexual
violence against women politicians during election cycles. In 2022, three women
presidential candidates were the targets of sexual harassment, online and offline,
intended to dissuade them from running.23 Many attacks were part of a coordi-
nated propaganda campaign in support of the Islamic State and al-Shabaab.24
Restrictions on women’s reproductive autonomy is another form of political
violence and can be embedded within political agendas to control population
demographics. For example, the Chinese government continues to forcibly ster-
ilize Uyghur women, with reported plans to target at least 80 percent of interned
Uyghur women. 25 Since 2013, the Nigerian government has forced more than
10,000 women impregnated by members of Boko Haram to have an abortion.26
Digital threats: Evolving forms and risk of political violence against women online
The spread of digital technologies has expanded the scope of political violence
beyond the physical domain. Technology-facilitated gender-based violence is dis-
tinct from digital violence in that it targets people specifically because of their gen-
der, especially women.27 Attacks on women are often politically motivated; perpe-
trators identify women as targets because of the policies they advocate, the content
they publish, the campaigns they pioneer, or the leadership positions they pursue.
Instances of online political violence are increasing. In a 2020 global survey

of more than 700 women journalists by the International Center for Journalists
(ICFJ) and the United Nations Educational, Scientific and Cultural Organization
(UNESCO), 73 percent of respondents reported suffering technology-facilitated
gender-based violence during their career.28 In another global survey of journal-
ists, editors, and other news workers in 125 countries conducted by Columbia
University and the ICFJ after the COVID-19 lockdowns and the subsequent rise in
the use of digital platforms, 20 percent of respondents reported worsening trends
in violence.29
Technology-facilitated gender-based violence is also increasing at the regional
and national levels. In a 2020 survey of 100 East African women journalists, two-
thirds of them reported experiencing worse online attacks during the COVID-19
pandemic than before it.30 Between 2019 and 2020, the number of attacks target-
ing politicians in Quebec, Canada, rose 450 percent, with women enduring more
targeted abuse than men.31
Political violence against women and the WPS Agenda

Political violence against women has direct implications for the international
Political violence against Women, Peace, and Security Agenda (WPS Agenda). The agenda is grounded in
women has direct implications four pillars—protection, prevention, participation, and relief and recovery32— all of
which are undermined by political violence. As political violence against women
for the international Women,
increasingly shapes modern conflicts, and the consequences proliferate, addressing
Peace, and Security Agenda: political violence against women must be embedded in all efforts to implement the
when women are not WPS Agenda. When women are not protected from political violence and when
political violence is not prevented, women cannot participate in peace processes or
protected from political
in relief and recovery.
violence they cannot Protection underlines the importance of guarding women and girls from violence,
participate in peace processes while prevention emphasizes strengthening strategies that reduce women’s vulnera-
bility to conflict-related violence, such as bolstering legal protections and supporting
or in relief and recovery
women peacebuilders. These pillars must also account for the impacts of political
violence against women, which can undermine prospects for peace by amplifying
security risks. For example, armed groups specifically target women peacebuilders
and human rights defenders, undercutting the goals of both protection and preven-
tion. In Libya, armed rebels murdered lawyer and human rights activist Hanan Al-
Barassi for her activism against the sexual violence perpetrated by armed groups.33
Participation requires women’s meaningful inclusion in peace and security deci-
sion making. Implementing the WPS Agenda depends on women’s active engage-
ment and leadership in formal institutions, politics, and civil society. Women’s par-
ticipation in reaching peace agreements is associated with fuller implementation of
agreed measures and greater durability of peace.34 Freedom from political violence
is essential to these outcomes.
Relief and recovery consider the specific needs of women following conflict and
the active role that women must play in guiding humanitarian and reconstruction
efforts. Inclusive reconstruction efforts and institution building require women to
be able to safely contribute and lead, which political violence renders impossible.
For example, in early 2021, four women aid workers supporting women’s voca-
tional training were murdered in Pakistan by suspected members of the Pakistani
Taliban.35 In Afghanistan in April 2023, the Taliban banned women aid workers,36
who have since faced harassment, intimidation, and detention.
Political violence against women undermines progress on critical global agen-
das yet is notably absent in the language of many international frameworks.
Policymakers must view political violence as a peace and security issue, as a sus-
tainable development issue, as an environmental justice issue, and as a human
rights issue.
No single actor can eliminate political violence against women. The constantly
expanding reach and ever-evolving forms of such violence demand systemic, mul-
tipronged approaches that ensure women’s immediate safety and tackle the under-
lying inequalities that condition and give rise to gendered risks for women. Key
priorities for policymakers include:
• Deepening international cooperation on addressing political violence against
women.
• Criminalizing all forms of political violence against women.
• Expanding monitoring and reporting.
• Training government officials, election management authorities, and commu-
nity organizers on how to identify, report, and respond to political violence
against women.
• Holding private social media companies accountable for preventing technology-
facilitated gender-based violence.
• Scaling up support for survivors.
Women exposed to armed conflict in 2022

The year 2022 was the deadliest in terms of battle-related deaths from armed con-
The year 2022 was the deadliest flict since 1994, the year of the Rwandan genocide. Living in proximity to conflict-
in terms of battle-related deaths affected areas undermines women’s inclusion, justice, and security. Multiple stud-
ies have shown that armed conflict increases maternal deaths,37 amplifies risks
from armed conflict since
of gender-based violence,38 leads to disproportionate levels of school dropouts for
1994, the year of the Rwandan girls,39 and creates barriers to women’s livelihood opportunities.40 These conse-
genocide, and approximately quences, among many others, threaten women’s immediate safety while reducing
their long-term prosperity and opportunities, thus widening gender gaps and pre-
600 million women
venting gender-equitable recovery.
(15 percent of all women) In 2022, approximately 600 million women—15 percent of women in the world
lived near armed conflict —lived within 50 kilometers of armed conflict, more than double the levels in the
1990s.41 Comparing countries’ rates of proximity to conflict against their overall
WPS Index score reveals two main takeaways (figure 7). First, there is a negative
correlation between proximity to conflict and the WPS Index score, suggesting
that countries where women are doing well tend to be countries where women
are not exposed to armed conflict; the reverse is also true. Second, countries expe-
riencing the two major conflicts of 2022— the civil war in Ethiopia and Russia’s
invasion of Ukraine— dominate in battle-related deaths, whereas other countries,
including Afghanistan, Myanmar, Syria, and Yemen, experienced fewer battle-
related deaths but had larger shares of women living in proximity to conflict. Rus-
sia’s invasion of Ukraine resulted in more than 81,500 state-based battle-related
deaths, while the civil war in Ethiopia, although receiving far less international
attention, resulted in more than 100,000 battle-related deaths.42 This is the highest
number of state-based battle-related deaths in a single conflict year since the Iraqi
government offensive in Kurdistan in 1988.43
Going beyond national borders: Subnational analyses of Colombia

and Ethiopia
The WPS Index relies on national averages, which paint a broad picture of wom-
en’s status across countries. But national averages conceal variation within country
borders. This year, we explored the findings of subnational analyses for Colombia
FIGURE 7 WPS Index scores are related to proximity to conflict and battle-related deaths, 2021 and 2022
WPS Index score
.850
.750
Saudi Arabia
.650
Ukraine
Mexico
.550 Guinea Ethiopia Sierra Leone
Djibouti
Papua New Guinea
Palestine Myanmar
Mali
.450
Syria
Iraq
Congo, Somalia
Dem. Rep. South Sudan
Central African Rep.
.350
Yemen
Afghanistan
.250
0 20 40 60 80 100
Women living within 50 kilometers of armed conflict in 2021 and 2022 combined (%)
Countries with women exposed to armed conflict in 2021 and 2022 (size of bubble represents number of battle-related deaths in 2022)
Countries with women exposed to armed conflict in 2021 but not in 2022 (number of battle-related deaths is not indicated)
Source: Authors’ estimates based on data from UCDP (Uppsala Conflict Data Program). 2023. “UCDP Georeferenced Event Dataset (GED) Global Version 23.1.”
Accessed July 2023. Calculated by PRIO.
and Ethiopia, with subnational index scores that capture how women’s inclusion,
justice, and security vary by location within each country (33 departments in
Colombia and 11 regions in Ethiopia). Colombia and Ethiopia were selected because
both are conflict-affected countries with strong relevance to the WPS Agenda and
because sufficient data were available for analysis at the subnational level. In both
countries, women’s status varies significantly according to their location. In Colom-
bia, areas most affected by conflict and those with higher Indigenous and Afro-
Colombian populations tend to score lower. In Ethiopia, scores are low across the
board, and even the best-performing regions perform poorly on some indicators.
Colombia: Decades of conflict threaten women’s status

More than 8.8 million people in Colombia— approximately 17 percent of the
population— have been officially registered as victims of armed conflict, most of
them forcibly displaced women and children.44 Conflict has affected women’s sta-
tus and security in varying and often disproportionate ways, especially through
increased risks of gender-based violence and displacement. More than two women
in five in Colombia have experienced some form of gender-based violence related
to the conflict, though such violence is likely underreported.45
Insecurity of women at the national level builds on insecurity at the com-
munity and household levels. Nearly two-thirds of women nationally report not
feeling safe walking alone in their neighborhood at night, while pervasive impu-
nity, enabled by weak and corrupt law enforcement systems, has contributed to
widespread domestic violence.46 Conflict exacerbates this pattern.47
The range of subnational scores across Colombia’s departments is wide, with
top-ranking Santander scoring .783, and bottom-ranking Casanare scoring .534
(figure 8).48 Santander’s strong performance can be attributed to women’s high
rates of education, internet use, and financial inclusion, along with low rates of
maternal mortality and proximity to conflict.
Casanare has the lowest life expectancy for women among departments49 and
is 1 of 11 departments with no female members in the House of Representatives.
Casanare performs particularly poorly on the security dimension. It has the sec-
ond-highest prevalence of intimate partner violence in the country, and 80 percent
of women live within 50 kilometers of armed conflict.
Ethiopia: Continuing conflict harms women in multiple ways

Ethiopia’s long history of conflict has disproportionately harmed women by restrict-
ing their access to education, creating livelihood barriers, and amplifying risks of
gender-based violence. As of 2022, two-thirds of women in Ethiopia lived within
50 kilometers of armed conflict. In Tigray and Addis Ababa, every woman was
exposed to armed conflict (figure 9). While the subnational index does not fully
account for the impacts of the recent civil war, it nonetheless identifies areas within
the country where women’s inclusion, justice, and security are most under threat
and where more investment in improving women’s status is urgently needed.
The Southern Nations, Nationalities, and Peoples Region (SNNPR) was the best-
performing region in the country, with a score of .541, and Afar was the worst
performing, with a score of .389. SNNPR performs well on indicators related to
employment and parliamentary representation, as well as those within the secu-
On average in Ethiopia’s Afar rity dimension. In SNNPR, 52 percent of women are employed, and as of 2019,
region, women have not women made up 41 percent of SNNPR’s members of the House of People’s Repre-
sentatives. Despite its high overall score, SNNPR performs poorly on indicators of
completed even a year of
education and financial inclusion.
school, only about one woman Afar’s low score reflects its poor performance on several indicators: on aver-
in four has access to her own age, women have not completed even a year of school, only about one woman
in four has access to her own bank account, and more than four women in five
bank account, and more than
live within 50 kilometers of armed conflict. Low school completion is attributable
four women in five live within largely to early pregnancy and to girls’ disproportionate responsibility for domestic
50 kilometers of armed conflict care duties. One girl in four ages 15–19 in Afar becomes pregnant,50 and half of
girls who marry while in school drop out.51 Exacerbating the situation is women’s
proximity to conflict. In 2022, 84 percent of women lived within 50 kilometers of
at least one conflict event.
Need data disaggregated by sex and other characteristics

Subnational index analysis offers a valuable tool for assessing and responding to
disparities in women’s status within national borders. Indeed, results from Colom-
bia and Ethiopia show that the challenges facing women vary by geography and
are often concealed by national averages. Data disaggregated by both sex and geog-
raphy are required for subnational analysis and for guiding effective policy and
programming— but are also extremely rare. Better, high-quality data disaggre-
gated along these lines—as well as along others, such as race, ethnicity, and socio-
economic status— are essential to identifying gaps and ensuring that no woman
is left behind.
FIGURE 8
Performance on the subnational WPS Index varies widely across Colombia’s departments
L A GUAJIR A 11
MAGDALENA2
One of three departments where
Women hold more than no women live within 50 km of conflict
half (60%) of the seats
ATL ÁNTICO27 One of 11 departments where no women
in the regional parliament
hold a seat in the regional parliament SANTANDER1
Nearly all women More than half of
(99%) live within women (57%) have 90% of women have their
50 km of conflict internet access own bank account
San Andrés y Third highest for women’s Nearly 70% have internet access
Providencia
education (12 years)
8 La Guajira Women have an average of
12 years of schooling
Atlántico Magdalena
CÓRDOBA3 Cesar AR AUCA31
17
Third-lowest prevalence of Sucre
12 All women live within
intimate partner violence in
50 km of conflict
the country (39.3 reported Norte de
Santander Among the bottom third of
cases per 100,000 women)
Córdoba 28 departments for intimate
But more than half of men Bolívar
20 partner violence (178.2 cases
believe that a woman’s primary
per 100,000 women)
role is marriage and children
Chocó
Antioquia Santander
21 Arauca CASANARE33
CHOCÓ9
At the bottom of
Lowest rate of women’s employment Boyacá Colombia’s subnational index
Casanare
(27%) Risaralda Caldas 5
25 7 Second-highest prevalence
Cundinamarca
Fifth-highest maternal mortality 26 of intimate partner violence
Vichada
(128.2 deaths per 100,000 live births), Quindío 22 (254 reported cases
well above the Latin America and
19 Bogotá per 100,000 women)
Tolima
the Caribbean average (85.0) Valle del Cauca 15
29
Meta
10 GUAINÍA23
CAUCA32 Cauca Guainía
One of the five
Huila worst-performing
All women live within Guaviare
13 24 departments for women’s
50 km of conflict Nariño education, internet
6
access, parliamentary
Putumayo Caquetá Vaupés representation, and
PUTUMAYO30 18 maternal mortality
Fifth-worst son bias

(106.6 boys ages 0–4 VAUPÉS14
for every 100 girls)
One of three departments with
One of 11 departments Amazonas
where no women hold BOGOTÁ4 0 maternal deaths per 100,000 live births
a seat in the regional Third worst for women’s education
parliament Highest for women’s education (9 years of schooling on average)
(13 years)
Only department in which
fewer than a quarter of men
believe that a woman’s primary
role is marriage and children WPS Index score
.783
AMAZONAS16
Third-highest maternal mortality

Note: Numbers are each department’s rank on the subnational WPS Index. (169.6 deaths per 100,000 live births)
See the online appendix (https://giwps.georgetown.edu/index-colombia/)
Low rate of proximity to conflict (2%)
for data sources, detailed scores, and date ranges.
.534
Source: Authors’ estimates based on analysis in chapter 3.
FIGURE 9
Performance on the subnational WPS Index varies less in Ethiopia than in Colombia
TIGR AY9
AMHAR A8 AFAR11
All women live within 50 km of conflict
Highest prevalence of discriminatory norms Second-highest women’s employment Among the three worst-performing
(46% of men agree that a husband is justified rate (67%) regions for women’s education,
in beating his wife for the listed reasons) employment, and intimate partner violence
Third-worst for women’s education (average
of less than 2 years of schooling)
DIRE DAWA 3
Tigray
Among the five worst-performing
regions for maternal mortality and son bias
BENISHANGUL-GUMUZ2
One of two regions where less than 40%
Highest rate of women’s of women live within 50 kilometers of
employment (69%) armed conflict
Afar
Second-highest rate of parliamentary
representation (44%) Amhara
HAR ARI7
Despite ranking in the bottom five regions, has

the second-highest rate of cellphone use (84%)
Benishangul-
Gumuz Second-highest prevalence of intimate
Dire partner violence (1 woman in 4)
Dawa No women hold a seat in the regional parliament
Addis Ababa Harari
Gambella Oromia
Somali
Southern Nations,
Nationalities, and
Peoples Region
GAMBELL A4
Third highest for women’s education

One of four regions where women
average more than 5 years of schooling
Second-lowest maternal mortality SOMALI5
(0.34 death per 1,000 women) at
Women average less than
about half the national average (0.67)
1 year of schooling
ADDIS ABABA 6
Highest maternal mortality
OROMIA10 All women live within (1.19 deaths per 1,000 women)
SNNPR1 50 km of armed conflict
Highest rate of intimate partner Along with Dire Dawa, has
Best-performing region
violence (more than 1 woman in 4) the worst son bias (122 boys
overall (index score of 0.541)
Second-highest maternal mortality ages 0–4 for every 100 girls)
Yet women average only
(0.88 death per 1,000 women)
2.1 years of schooling
Only about a third of
WPS Index score
women have their own
bank account .541
Note: Numbers are each region’s rank on the subnational WPS Index. See the online appendix (https://giwps.georgetown
.edu/index-ethiopia/) for data sources, detailed scores, and date ranges. Most of the data for the subnational indicators
are for 2019 and so do not account for the 2020–2022 civil war; proximity to conflict data are for 2022.
.389
Source: Authors’ estimates based on analysis in chapter 3.
Notes
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STATISTICAL TABLE 1 Country performance and ranking on the Women, Peace, and Security Index and indicators
INCLUSION JUSTICE SECURITY

Political
Maternal violence
mortality targeting
ratio Son bias women
Absence Access (deaths (number Intimate (events Proximity
WPS WPS Financial Cellphone Parliamentary of legal to per of sons partner Community per to
Index Index Education inclusion Employment use representation discrimination justice 100,000 born per violence safety 100,000 conflict
rank score (years) (%) (%) (%) (%) (score) (score) live births) 100 girls) (%) (%) women) (%)
2016– 2018– 2020– 2021–
2023 Country 2023 2021a 2021 2022a 2022 2023 2023 2022 2020 2022 2018 2022a 2022 2022
TOP QUINTILE
1 Denmark .932 13.2 100.0 77.0 100.0 43.6 100.0 3.960 4.7 105.7 3.0 78.0 0.000 0.0
2 Switzerland .928 13.5 99.0 78.4 91.0 39.3 88.1 3.893 7.4 105.1 2.0 85.0 0.000 0.0
3 Sweden .926 12.8 100.0 80.0 100.0 46.4 100.0 3.806 4.5 105.7 6.0 74.0 0.000 0.0
4 Finland .924 13.0 99.1 77.7 100.0 45.5 97.5 3.419 8.3 105.2 8.0 78.0 0.000 0.0
4 Iceland .924 13.9 100.0 78.6 100.0 47.6 100.0 3.344 2.7 b 106.1 3.0 74.0 0.000 0.0
c
4 Luxembourg .924 13.0 98.2 73.0 94.0 35.0 100.0 3.856 6.5 105.2 4.0 88.0 0.000 0.0
7 Norway .920 13.1 100.0 78.6 100.0 46.2 96.9 3.118 1.7 b 106.2 4.0 86.0 0.000 0.0
8 Austria .911 12.0 100.0 72.2 95.0 40.6 96.9 3.397 5.2 105.5 4.0 82.0 0.000 0.0
9 Netherlands .908 12.4 99.5 77.2 92.0 37.8 100.0 3.479 4.3 105.2 5.0 72.0 0.000 0.0
10 New Zealand .904 12.9 99.2 78.2 96.0 50.0 97.5 3.583 7.0 105.3 4.0 42.0 0.000 0.0
11 Australia .902 12.8 100.0 75.2 94.0 44.5 96.9 3.703 2.9 b 105.6 3.0 54.0 0.000 0.0
11 Belgium .902 12.3 98.7 69.9 93.0 43.3 100.0 3.897 4.8 104.8 5.0 56.0 0.000 0.0
13 Estonia .892 13.8 99.6 79.0 100.0 27.7 97.5 3.444 5.2 106.1 4.0 71.0 0.000 0.0
13 Ireland .892 11.8 99.5 70.8 92.0 27.4 100.0 3.745 5.0 105.5 3.0 78.0 0.000 0.0
15 Singapore .887 11.6 96.9 75.9 100.0 29.1 82.5 3.251 7.5 106.0 2.0 94.0 0.000 0.0
16 Lithuania .886 13.6 90.4 79.3 95.0 28.4 93.8 3.721 8.7 105.2 5.0 61.0 0.000 0.0
17 Canada .885 13.9 99.5 75.1 85.0 35.2 100.0 2.607 11.0 105.4 3.0 61.0 0.000 0.0
18 Czechia .884 12.7 93.4 75.1 99.0 23.8 93.8 3.849 3.4 b 105.3 4.0 67.0 0.000 0.0
19 Portugal .877 9.6 90.2 76.7 92.0 36.1 100.0 3.177 11.8 105.5 4.0 72.0 0.000 0.0
20 Latvia .872 13.6 97.6 74.8 100.0 29.0 100.0 3.527 18.3 106.5 6.0 62.0 0.000 0.0
21 Germany .871 13.8 100.0 76.9 88.0 35.5 100.0 3.901 4.4 105.6 3.0 d 71.0 0.007 0.0
22 United Arab Emirates .868 12.5 86.7 55.7 100.0 50.0 82.5 2.107 9.3 104.6 17.9 e 93.0 0.000 0.0
23 Japan .866 13.3 98.8 77.0 91.0 15.5 78.8 3.614 4.3 105.1 4.0 70.0 0.000 0.0
24 France .864 11.4 100.0 72.7 88.0 36.8 100.0 3.436 7.9 104.9 5.0 69.0 0.003 0.0
25 Croatia .862 11.9 90.0 66.1 89.0 31.8 93.8 3.323 4.8 106.0 4.0 71.0 0.000 0.0
26 United Kingdom .860 13.4 99.9 75.4 92.0 31.5 97.5 3.265 9.8 105.5 4.0 74.0 0.006 0.0
27 Poland .859 13.3 95.7 70.6 91.0 27.5 93.8 2.582 2.0 b 106.0 3.0 65.0 0.000 0.0
27 Spain .859 10.5 97.5 64.8 96.0 41.0 100.0 3.796 3.4 b 106.3 3.0 78.0 0.004 0.0
29 Slovakia .856 12.9 94.0 74.1 96.0 22.0 85.0 3.426 4.8 105.4 6.0 58.0 0.000 0.0
30 Republic of Korea .848 11.9 98.7 65.2 98.0 19.1 85.0 3.396 8.1 105.8 8.0 75.0 0.000 0.0
31 Malta .846 12.0 95.3 71.2 97.0 27.8 91.3 3.362 2.9 b 106.7 4.0 57.0 0.000 0.0
32 Hungary .835 12.1 86.9 76.3 92.0 13.1 96.9 3.172 15.1 105.8 6.0 64.0 0.000 0.0
32 Serbia .835 11.0 89.8 64.5 86.0 34.8 93.8 3.110 10.2 106.9 4.0 64.0 0.000 0.0
34 Italy .827 10.6 97.1 55.7 97.0 33.0 97.5 3.751 4.6 105.9 4.0 64.0 0.007 0.0
35 Bulgaria .826 11.5 84.3 72.5 89.0 24.2 90.6 3.088 7.1 106.0 6.0 54.0 0.000 0.0
SECOND QUINTILE
36 Slovenia .824 12.8 98.2 75.5 94.0 31.5 96.9 3.521 4.5 106.4 3.0 85.0 0.095 0.0
37 United States .823 13.7 96.8 70.0 98.0 27.9 91.3 3.514 21.1 104.8 6.0 61.0 0.025 0.0
38 Taiwan .818 10.2 f 93.6 65.6 95.0 42.5 g 91.3 3.411 44.8 f 106.9 7.0 f 81.0 0.009 0.0
39 Georgia .812 12.9 70.7 60.9 94.0 18.4 88.1 2.986 27.6 106.7 3.0 74.0 0.000 0.0
39 Hong Kong .812 11.8 98.2 66.9 97.0 17.1 h 91.9 1.967 34.8 f 107.7 3.0 86.0 0.000 0.0
41 Montenegro .808 11.8 67.6 c 51.5 95.0 28.4 85.0 2.863 6.2 107.1 4.0 80.0 0.000 0.0
42 Romania .800 11.0 65.7 59.5 93.0 18.9 90.6 2.811 10.1 105.5 7.0 58.0 0.000 0.0

Political
Maternal violence
mortality targeting
2016– 2018– 2020– 2021–
2023 Country 2023 2021a 2021 2022a 2022 2023 2023 2022 2020 2022 2018 2022a 2022 2022
43 Seychelles .799 10.2 70.2 f 78.3 84.3 f 22.9 76.3 3.877 3.3 b 103.6 11.7 f 63.0 f 0.000 0.0
44 North Macedonia .798 9.7 79.9 51.7 93.0 42.5 85.0 2.331 3.0 b 107.7 4.0 64.0 0.000 0.0
45 Albania .796 11.7 45.7 63.6 92.0 35.7 91.3 3.150 8.3 107.2 6.0 57.0 0.000 0.0
46 Mongolia .794 9.9 99.0 59.7 100.0 17.1 90.6 2.584 39.5 104.5 12.0 41.0 0.000 0.0
47 Barbados .779 10.3 72.3 f 76.1 91.3 f 32.7 80.0 3.106 39.1 103.5 27.0 d 61.9 f 0.000 0.0
48 Armenia .772 11.3 52.2 71.4 97.0 35.5 87.5 3.116 27.2 109.1 5.0 80.0 0.000 21.5
49 Guyana .769 8.7 72.3 f 41.4 91.3 f 36.6 86.9 2.554 111.9 103.7 10.0 61.9 f 0.000 0.0
50 Argentina .768 11.4 73.8 62.7 90.0 44.4 79.4 2.514 44.9 105.1 4.0 41.0 0.030 0.0
51 Greece .766 11.1 93.4 55.0 93.0 21.0 100.0 3.365 7.7 106.4 5.0 56.0 0.038 0.0
52 Thailand .764 8.6 92.7 74.6 94.0 14.4 78.1 1.709 28.6 106.4 9.0 54.0 0.000 4.1
53 Moldova .758 11.9 62.9 79.1 86.0 38.6 87.5 2.754 12.3 106.3 9.0 59.0 0.058 0.0
54 Panama .757 10.8 43.1 59.0 83.0 22.5 79.4 2.914 49.5 105.5 8.0 51.0 0.000 0.0
55 Bosnia and Herzegovina .754 9.8 70.4 46.3 88.0 17.5 85.0 2.188 5.7 106.8 3.0 57.0 0.000 0.0
56 Bahrain .752 10.8 75.4 c 48.4 99.8 i 22.5 68.1 1.399 15.9 103.9 18.1 e 65.2 f 0.000 0.0
56 Russian Federation .752 12.8 90.1 73.8 96.0 17.8 73.1 1.624 13.7 105.7 6.0 d 50.0 0.015 3.8
58 Turkmenistan .750 10.9 35.5 c 56.3 f 89.0 j 25.9 78.7 f 0.655 5.2 106.7 7.2 e 91.0 j 0.000 0.0
59 Uruguay .748 9.3 75.7 71.1 95.0 26.9 88.8 3.229 18.6 105.6 4.0 41.0 0.057 0.0
60 Costa Rica .743 8.9 61.1 52.2 95.0 47.4 91.9 3.572 22.0 104.5 7.0 36.0 0.077 0.0
60 Sri Lanka .743 10.8 89.3 38.7 82.0 5.3 65.6 2.507 28.8 104.4 4.0 52.0 0.000 0.0
61 Kuwait .742 8.1 73.5 c 52.4 f 100.0 6.3 35.0 2.676 7.2 104.8 18.1 e 96.0 0.000 0.0
63 Cyprus .739 12.4 92.7 71.4 97.0 14.3 94.4 3.370 68.4 106.5 3.0 58.0 0.480 0.0
64 Cabo Verde .738 6.0 55.0 f 58.4 65.6 f 41.7 86.3 2.318 42.2 103.3 11.0 54.9 f 0.000 0.0
64 Fiji .738 11.0 77.3 f 44.4 94.3 f 10.9 82.5 2.661 38.1 107.1 23.0 76.5 f 0.000 0.0
64 Malaysia .738 10.6 87.5 60.8 93.0 14.7 50.0 2.611 21.1 106.6 13.1 e 48.0 0.000 0.0
67 Saudi Arabia .737 10.7 63.5 52.4 f 100.0 19.9 71.3 1.413 16.2 105.1 18.0 e 82.0 0.006 3.2
68 Chile .736 10.8 86.6 56.6 97.0 32.7 80.0 3.283 15.0 104.2 6.0 28.0 0.061 0.0
69 Belarus .733 12.2 81.3 c 79.1 88.0 j 34.7 75.6 0.846 1.1 b 105.8 6.0 56.0 j 0.194 0.0
70 Kazakhstan .729 12.4 83.6 62.5 f 93.0 25.6 75.6 2.327 13.4 106.5 6.0 58.0 0.119 0.0
71 Trinidad and Tobago .721 11.7 73.6 c 58.4 91.9 f 33.8 75.0 2.882 26.6 104.1 8.0 57.7 f 1.031 0.0
THIRD QUINTILE
72 Maldives .720 7.1 74.2 c 53.2 71.2 f 4.6 73.8 2.015 56.7 105.0 6.0 64.4 f 0.000 0.0
73 Nicaragua .717 7.4 21.6 57.5 72.0 51.6 k 86.3 0.659 77.9 103.5 6.0 50.0 0.000 0.0
73 Peru .717 9.3 53.0 69.4 81.0 38.8 95.0 2.101 68.5 104.1 11.0 37.0 0.017 1.8
75 Oman .715 12.1 63.5 l 42.9 89.9 f 9.9 38.8 2.574 17.0 104.3 18.1 e 65.2 f 0.000 0.0
76 Samoa .711 11.8 70.4 f 43.5 84.6 f 13.0 75.0 2.083 f 59.1 107.6 18.0 72.6 f 0.000 0.0
77 Jamaica .710 9.7 71.6 69.9 93.0 31.0 74.4 3.299 98.9 103.9 7.0 60.0 1.123 0.0
78 Viet Nam .707 8.0 52.8 82.0 94.0 30.3 88.1 1.748 124.3 111.1 m 10.0 79.0 0.000 0.0
79 Lao PDR .704 5.0 37.9 61.7 81.0 22.0 88.1 1.683 126.1 105.3 8.0 53.0 0.000 0.0
80 Israel .703 13.4 91.9 74.0 96.0 24.2 80.6 3.442 2.8 b 105.4 6.0 77.0 0.066 97.2
80 Qatar .703 11.6 61.6 l 65.5 89.9 f 4.4 29.4 2.149 7.6 103.9 18.0 e 65.2 f 0.000 0.0
82 Bhutan .700 4.5 27.7 n 78.9 61.8 f 16.9 75.0 3.189 60.0 104.8 9.0 58.7 f 0.000 0.0
82 China .700 7.3 87.3 56.8 f 100.0 o 24.9 78.1 1.980 23.1 111.3 m 8.0 91.0 0.008 0.0
82 Indonesia .700 8.2 52.3 58.7 71.0 21.6 70.6 2.281 172.9 106.1 9.0 73.0 0.000 14.3
85 Tonga .697 11.5 77.3 f 64.4 94.3 f 7.1 58.8 2.017 f 125.6 108.1 17.0 76.5 f 0.000 0.0
86 Bolivia .696 9.2 63.3 75.8 91.0 48.2 88.8 2.008 160.9 104.2 18.0 37.0 0.066 0.9
87 Suriname .694 9.9 72.3 f 50.5 91.3 f 29.4 73.8 2.686 96.5 104.0 8.0 61.9 f 0.322 0.0

Political
Maternal violence
mortality targeting
2016– 2018– 2020– 2021–
2023 Country 2023 2021a 2021 2022a 2022 2023 2023 2022 2020 2022 2018 2022a 2022 2022
88 Puerto Rico .692 10.9 f 66.1 41.9 93.0 28.2 p 83.8 2.729 f 34.3 104.8 f 6.8 f 40.0 0.873 0.0
89 Paraguay .691 8.9 55.3 65.2 91.0 16.8 94.4 2.349 71.1 105.0 6.0 42.0 0.118 1.4
90 Tajikistan .690 10.9 39.4 36.4 66.0 26.6 78.8 0.851 16.6 106.3 14.0 90.0 0.000 35.8
91 South Africa .688 9.7 86.2 46.0 89.0 46.1 88.1 3.292 126.8 104.0 13.0 27.0 0.078 14.8
92 Jordan .679 10.1 34.1 14.2 86.0 13.3 46.9 2.510 41.3 104.9 13.0 75.0 0.000 0.0
d
93 Mauritius .678 10.0 89.4 46.3 89.0 20.0 89.4 2.622 84.4 103.5 18.4 58.0 0.152 0.0
94 Uzbekistan .674 11.7 38.8 44.7 79.0 30.0 70.6 1.810 30.2 108.0 7.3 e 79.0 0.029 0.0
95 Kyrgyzstan .673 11.6 43.8 61.2 94.0 20.0 76.9 1.896 50.4 105.7 13.0 59.0 0.148 5.7
96 Tunisia .669 6.9 28.7 25.9 84.0 16.2 64.4 3.266 36.6 105.2 10.0 49.0 0.000 6.8
97 Azerbaijan .667 10.2 38.8 75.8 83.0 18.6 78.8 1.527 40.8 112.2 m 5.0 67.9 f 0.000 22.4
98 Dominican Republic .666 9.6 49.0 58.3 86.0 25.7 86.3 2.273 107.3 104.4 10.0 32.0 0.071 0.0
99 Türkiye .665 7.9 62.5 34.5 95.0 17.4 82.5 1.867 17.3 105.1 12.0 48.0 0.007 34.5
100 Kosovo .664 8.3 f 47.4 19.5 94.0 35.8 91.9 2.327 201.9 f 106.9 5.0 77.0 0.120 0.0
100 Solomon Islands .664 6.5 f 58.5 f 90.0 72.1 f 8.0 56.9 2.675 122.2 107.0 28.0 62.2 f 0.000 0.0
100 Timor-Leste .664 4.7 58.5 f 38.2 72.1 f 40.0 86.3 1.972 203.9 107.1 28.0 62.2 f 0.000 0.0
103 Rwanda .663 4.0 45.0 c 55.2 56.8 f 54.7 k 83.8 2.607 258.9 102.6 23.0 75.0 j 0.000 17.1
104 Botswana .659 10.3 53.9 57.8 88.0 11.1 63.8 2.658 185.9 103.2 17.0 26.0 0.000 0.0
105 Belize .657 9.0 52.3 n 50.5 81.9 f 23.9 79.4 2.091 f 129.8 105.2 8.0 56.1 f 0.496 0.0
106 Ecuador .655 8.8 57.9 63.0 80.0 38.7 89.4 2.452 65.8 104.7 8.0 27.0 0.022 58.6
FOURTH QUINTILE
107 Tanzania .652 5.9 46.0 83.5 72.0 37.4 81.3 2.679 238.3 103.0 24.0 57.0 0.003 17.3
108 Ghana .651 7.8 62.6 81.0 87.0 14.5 75.0 2.808 263.1 103.8 10.0 56.0 0.095 1.6
109 Sao Tome and Principe .648 5.6 55.0 f 48.7 f 65.6 f 14.5 83.1 2.736 146.2 102.7 18.0 54.9 f 0.000 0.0
110 Cambodia .645 4.4 32.5 80.0 79.0 19.3 81.3 1.103 218.0 105.2 9.0 56.0 0.012 0.0
110 Egypt .645 9.8 24.2 17.7 80.0 22.9 50.6 1.659 16.8 105.4 15.0 80.0 0.005 5.0
112 Nepal .644 4.2 49.9 30.5 86.0 33.9 80.6 2.793 174.4 105.0 11.0 55.0 0.088 4.0
112 Vanuatu .644 7.0 f 67.6 f 45.1 75.2 f 1.9 55.6 3.543 94.4 107.0 29.0 66.8 f 0.000 0.0
114 Morocco .637 5.0 32.7 25.6 88.0 21.4 75.6 3.032 71.9 104.7 10.0 59.0 0.032 0.0
115 Brazil .630 8.3 80.9 54.5 91.0 17.7 85.0 2.209 72.2 104.5 6.0 39.0 0.298 42.9
116 Venezuela .628 11.4 79.7 55.5 77.0 22.1 q 85.0 1.370 259.2 105.3 8.0 40.0 0.126 30.7
117 Ukraine .626 11.5 80.7 67.7 100.0 20.4 85.0 2.532 16.5 106.3 9.0 55.0 0.321 81.0
118 Algeria .622 7.7 31.2 17.8 91.0 6.8 57.5 2.120 77.7 104.6 9.4 d 46.0 0.000 20.3
119 Equatorial Guinea .619 4.2 62.0 f 53.2 f 75.3 f 27.0 51.9 1.405 212.3 103.1 29.0 58.8 f 0.000 0.0
119 Senegal .619 1.6 50.3 47.5 78.0 46.1 72.5 2.951 260.9 103.1 12.0 46.0 0.034 0.0
121 Philippines .612 9.2 47.4 54.0 94.0 27.5 78.8 2.626 78.2 107.7 6.0 65.0 0.056 75.3
122 Honduras .610 6.8 28.9 48.9 83.0 27.3 75.0 1.949 71.8 105.1 7.0 51.0 0.987 24.3
122 Libya .610 8.5 59.6 c 36.1 100.0 16.5 50.0 0.734 72.1 105.7 18.3 e 57.0 0.119 1.6
122 Namibia .610 7.5 69.3 60.1 80.0 35.6 86.3 2.917 214.6 101.1 16.0 31.0 0.075 0.0
125 Lesotho .605 6.6 62.4 54.7 75.0 26.0 78.1 2.646 566.2 r 102.8 16.0 21.0 0.000 0.0
126 Zimbabwe .604 8.3 54.0 64.8 81.0 33.6 86.9 2.678 356.8 102.4 18.0 32.0 0.046 0.0
127 Angola .598 4.2 22.3 n 77.8 65.6 f 33.6 79.4 2.198 221.9 102.7 25.0 54.9 f 0.011 3.8
128 India .595 6.3 77.6 34.6 55.0 14.7 74.4 2.396 102.7 107.5 18.0 58.0 0.018 11.6
128 Lebanon .595 8.5 16.6 30.9 95.0 6.3 58.8 1.897 20.6 105.3 8.9 d 46.0 0.071 0.0
128 Togo .595 3.4 44.3 69.3 70.0 19.8 81.9 1.540 399.0 102.8 13.0 48.0 0.000 10.3
131 Bangladesh .593 6.8 43.5 40.5 75.0 20.9 49.4 1.433 123.0 105.0 23.0 71.0 0.022 28.1
131 Gabon .593 7.8 61.3 56.5 f 84.0 17.6 95.0 2.978 226.6 102.1 22.0 33.0 0.085 0.0

Political
Maternal violence
mortality targeting
2016– 2018– 2020– 2021–
2023 Country 2023 2021a 2021 2022a 2022 2023 2023 2022 2020 2022 2018 2022a 2022 2022
132 Colombia .582 9.0 56.2 53.3 89.0 29.4 84.4 2.430 74.8 104.5 12.0 36.0 0.475 66.1
134 Mozambique .580 2.4 38.7 85.1 45.0 43.2 82.5 1.841 127.1 102.0 16.0 46.0 0.119 12.1
135 Gambia .575 3.8 28.1 66.3 81.0 8.6 69.4 3.147 458.2 103.2 10.0 25.0 0.000 0.0
136 Côte d'Ivoire .573 4.7 37.4 65.5 84.0 15.9 95.0 2.183 479.9 103.0 16.0 47.0 0.014 0.0
137 Guatemala .569 5.2 34.3 43.0 74.0 19.4 73.8 1.433 95.5 103.9 7.0 47.0 0.510 11.4
138 Benin .566 3.3 39.8 68.8 66.0 25.7 83.8 3.060 522.6 r 104.1 15.0 49.0 0.135 0.0
138 El Salvador .566 6.8 29.2 54.1 80.0 27.4 88.8 1.558 42.8 104.8 6.0 72.0 0.482 99.1
140 Iran .557 10.6 85.1 13.7 80.0 5.6 31.3 1.458 22.0 105.3 18.0 63.0 0.123 54.5
141 Zambia .556 7.2 45.0 63.9 69.0 15.0 81.3 1.844 134.7 101.1 28.0 41.0 0.030 0.0
142 Mexico .551 9.1 42.3 51.4 79.0 50.1 k 88.8 1.602 59.1 103.9 10.0 40.0 0.822 94.3
BOT TOM QUINTILE

143 Uganda .544 4.9 65.1 39.7 77.0 33.8 81.3 1.775 284.1 102.9 26.0 46.0 0.117 25.5
144 Sierra Leone .543 3.5 24.8 62.6 55.0 13.0 72.5 3.069 442.8 103.3 20.0 47.0 0.000 23.0
145 Guinea .539 1.3 24.0 49.8 79.0 29.6 73.8 1.317 553.4 r 104.5 21.0 57.0 0.014 5.3
146 Ethiopia .521 2.2 38.7 62.3 46.0 38.8 76.9 2.537 266.7 105.5 27.0 49.0 0.031 67.4
146 Malawi .521 4.1 38.1 71.3 57.0 20.7 80.0 2.800 380.7 101.4 17.0 41.0 0.095 0.0
148 Comoros .519 4.0 29.3 52.8 56.0 16.7 65.0 0.964 217.0 103.2 8.0 51.0 0.480 0.0
149 Kenya .511 6.1 75.4 75.3 81.0 24.6 80.6 2.515 530.0 r 102.2 23.0 43.0 0.209 41.0
150 Congo .507 5.6 43.8 49.8 f 62.0 15.9 78.8 1.275 282.4 102.6 33.8 e 41.0 0.033 8.0
151 Mauritania .506 4.6 16.1 33.9 68.0 20.3 48.1 1.072 463.8 103.3 19.7 e 49.0 0.000 0.0
152 Madagascar .505 4.9 25.2 90.1 38.0 17.8 69.4 1.903 391.5 103.9 35.0 d 35.0 0.041 0.0
153 Djibouti .504 4.3 f 8.8 l 16.0 56.8 f 23.1 71.3 2.230 234.5 103.7 26.9 e 48.4 f 0.000 54.4
154 Liberia .500 3.9 44.2 52.3 61.0 9.7 81.3 2.672 652.3 r 103.9 27.0 29.0 0.038 0.0
155 Papua New Guinea .487 4.1 58.5 f 50.0 f 72.1 f 1.7 60.0 2.274 191.8 107.7 31.0 62.2 f 0.346 22.6
156 Guinea-Bissau .483 2.4 39.5 f 59.0 62.0 f 13.7 42.5 1.805 725.1 r 104.1 19.4 f 51.6 f 0.094 0.0
156 Palestine .483 9.9 25.9 15.1 87.0 21.2 s 26.3 2.242 20.4 105.1 19.0 67.0 0.646 100.0
158 Burkina Faso .481 1.6 30.7 44.9 70.0 o 16.9 82.5 2.147 263.8 104.1 11.0 45.0 0.440 60.1
158 Mali .481 2.4 41.2 56.9 76.0 28.6 63.8 2.032 440.2 103.3 18.0 75.0 0.232 76.7
158 Pakistan .481 3.9 13.5 25.3 32.0 20.1 58.8 1.527 154.2 105.5 16.0 56.0 0.013 40.0
161 Cameroon .466 4.8 49.3 78.0 71.0 31.1 60.0 2.006 437.8 103.0 22.0 40.0 0.264 65.4
162 Nigeria .465 6.1 35.0 58.9 76.0 4.2 66.3 2.526 1,047.0 r 103.8 13.0 52.0 0.179 69.6
163 Chad .462 1.5 22.6 57.5 38.0 25.9 66.3 1.042 1,063.0 r 104.2 16.0 47.0 0.079 22.4
164 Sudan .460 3.4 10.0 n 55.7 f 58.4 f 22.1 t 29.4 1.480 270.4 104.1 17.0 48.4 f 0.179 38.8
165 Myanmar .451 6.1 46.2 52.7 90.0 15.0 u 58.8 1.128 178.7 106.6 11.0 32.0 0.467 97.9
166 Niger .442 1.7 10.2 17.4 46.0 30.7 56.9 2.628 441.1 104.0 13.0 56.0 0.271 28.6
167 Haiti .431 4.6 30.0 c 54.1 f 74.2 f 2.5 v 61.3 1.035 350.4 103.0 12.0 52.5 f 1.146 67.6
168 Iraq .424 7.2 14.9 11.0 73.0 28.9 48.1 1.349 76.1 105.7 45.3 d 72.0 0.212 83.5
169 Somalia .417 4.7 f 33.7 n 23.0 60.3 f 20.7 46.9 0.955 620.7 r 104.4 21.2 d 47.6 f 0.182 52.0
170 Eswatini .415 5.7 69.2 50.2 88.0 22.1 46.3 1.627 239.6 103.0 18.0 25.0 0.826 99.9
171 Syrian Arab Republic .407 4.6 19.6 l 41.7 f 65.0 f 10.8 40.0 0.540 29.9 105.2 23.0 d 54.8 f 1.095 100.0
172 Burundi .394 2.5 6.7 n 89.9 58.4 f 38.9 76.3 1.420 494.4 102.5 22.0 48.4 f 0.755 100.0
173 South Sudan .388 4.8 4.2 55.7 f 58.4 f 32.3 67.5 0.876 1,223.0 r 103.5 27.0 48.4 f 1.180 79.7
174 Congo, Dem. Rep. .384 5.6 20.5 69.2 37.0 14.8 58.1 0.993 547.4 r 102.3 36.0 47.0 0.345 31.2
175 Central African Rep. .378 3.1 9.7 c 55.7 f 58.4 f 12.9 76.9 1.510 835.3 r 103.3 21.0 48.4 f 0.251 88.6
176 Yemen .287 2.9 5.4 5.5 38.0 0.3 26.9 0.795 183.4 105.9 18.2 e 41.0 0.234 88.7
177 Afghanistan .286 2.3 4.7 25.1 37.0 27.2 w 31.9 0.372 620.4 r 105.2 35.0 39.0 0.462 91.1

Political
Maternal violence
mortality targeting
Country 2016– 2018– 2020– 2021–
and Country
2023group 2023 2021a 2021 2022a 2022 2023 2023 2022 2020 2022 2018 2022a 2022 2022
OTHER COUNTRIES AND ECONOMIES NOT RANKED ON THE WPS INDEX

Andorra .. 10.5 .. .. .. 46.4 .. .. .. 106.2 .. .. 0.000 0.0
Antigua and Barbuda .. .. .. .. .. 22.9 66.3 .. 21.3 103.2 .. .. 0.000 0.0
Bahamas .. 12.7 .. .. .. 20.0 81.3 .. 77.1 102.8 .. .. 0.000 0.0
Brunei Darussalam .. 9.2 .. 64.6 .. 8.8 53.1 .. 44.2 107.7 .. .. 0.000 0.0
Cuba .. 12.6 .. .. .. 53.4 .. 0.721 39.3 107.2 5.0 .. 0.195 0.0
Democratic People's
Republic of Korea .. .. .. .. .. 17.6 .. 0.428 106.7 106.0 .. .. 0.023 0.0
Dominica .. .. .. .. .. 37.5 62.5 .. .. 103.6 .. .. 0.000 0.0
Eritrea .. .. .. .. .. .. 69.4 0.473 321.6 103.2 .. .. 0.000 6.9
Federated States of
Micronesia .. .. .. 49.4 .. 7.1 61.3 .. 74.3 107.0 21.0 .. 0.000 0.0
Grenada .. .. .. .. .. 31.0 80.6 .. 21.1 104.0 8.0 .. 0.000 0.0
Kiribati .. .. .. 44.1 .. 6.7 76.3 .. 76.3 107.1 25.0 .. 0.000 0.0
Liechtenstein .. .. .. 68.6 .. 28.0 .. .. .. 116.3 .. .. 0.000 0.0
Macao .. .. .. 77.1 .. .. .. .. .. 108.0 .. .. .. 0.0
Marshall Islands .. 10.7 .. 33.3 .. 6.1 65.6 .. .. 107.0 19.0 .. 0.000 0.0
Monaco .. .. .. 58.8 .. 45.8 .. .. .. 104.8 .. .. 0.000 0.0
Nauru .. .. .. 57.4 .. 10.5 .. .. .. 107.2 20.0 .. 0.000 0.0
Palau .. .. .. 74.5 .. 6.9 56.3 .. .. 107.7 14.0 .. 0.000 0.0
Saint Kitts and Nevis .. .. .. .. 31.3 71.3 .. .. 103.7 .. .. 0.000 0.0
Saint Lucia .. 8.8 .. 67.6 .. 24.1 83.8 .. 73.3 103.1 .. .. 0.000 0.0
Saint Vincent and the

Grenadines .. 10.9 .. .. .. 18.2 68.1 .. 61.8 103.3 .. .. 0.000 0.0
San Marino .. 10.9 .. 88.4 .. 33.3 80.0 .. .. 106.6 .. .. 0.000 0.0
Tuvalu .. 10.4 .. 42.8 .. 6.3 .. .. .. 107.0 20.0 .. 0.000 0.0
COUNTRY GROUPS AND REGIONS

Developed Countries .847 12.9 98.1 71.3 94.2 33.8 92.9 3.532 11.9 105.2 4.8 67.2 0.011 0.8
Central & Eastern Europe &

Central Asia .721 11.6 77.1 62.4 93.1 24.6 81.0 2.093 17.3 106.2 7.3 57.5 0.047 14.8
East Asia & the Pacific .671 7.6 78.4 59.0 95.0 21.2 76.9 2.013 77.4 109.1 8.5 82.9 0.022 8.5
Latin America & the

Caribbean .630 9.0 63.4 55.7 86.1 34.5 85.1 2.061 85.0 104.4 8.0 39.5 0.381 43.5
Middle East & North Africa .565 8.6 41.2 21.6 80.5 15.3 48.8 1.694 53.8 105.3 18.3 65.5 0.126 34.2
South Asia .581 6.0 65.8 34.1 54.9 19.3 69.2 2.163 135.3 106.7 18.3 58.6 0.028 18.1
Sub-Saharan Africa .498 5.0 40.8 62.5 65.6 26.4 71.7 2.205 506.9 103.4 20.5 47.6 0.151 37.0
Fragile States .453 5.4 34.3 53.5 64.6 21.9 62.2 1.791 539.7 104.1 20.8 49.1 0.268 61.0
World .650 8.3 70.5 53.1 80.4 26.3 75.7 2.267 212.0 105.7 12.9 64.3 0.080 19.0
Notes to table Definitions

Because of updates to the structure of the WPS Index, scores for Education: Average number of years of education of women ages
2023/24 should not be compared with those for previous years. 25 and older.
.. Not available or not complete. Financial inclusion: Percentage of women and girls ages 15 and
a. Data refer to the most recent year during the period specified. older who report having an individual or joint account at a
b. In calculating the WPS Index score, the maternal mortality bank or other financial institution or who report using a mobile
ratio is floored at 4. money service.
c. Refers to 2017. Employment: Female employment to population ratio—that is, the
d. Data are from the UN Women Global Database on Violence number of employed women ages 25–64, expressed as a per-
Against Women (http://evaw-global-database.unwomen.org/ centage of the total female population in that age group.
en). Based on Demographic and Health Survey data. Cellphone use: Percentage of women and girls ages 15 and older
e. Modeled estimates by the Institute for Health Metrics and who report having a mobile phone that they use to make and
Evaluation (http://g hdx. healthdata.org/record/ihme- data/ receive personal calls.
global-sustainable-development-goals-sdg-intimate-partner Parliamentary representation: Percentage of total seats in lower
-violence-indicator-1990-2019). and upper houses of the national parliament that are held by
f. Imputed value, calculated as the mean of the regional and the women.
income group averages. Absence of legal discrimination: Extent (on a scale of 0 to 100) to
g. Based on the counts reported by the Taipei Times (https:// which laws and regulations differentiate between women and
www.taipeitimes.com/News/taiwan/archives/2022/01/24 men or protect women’s opportunities across 35 aspects of
/2003771965). life and work.
h. Refers to the 2016 election for the Legislative Council of Hong Access to justice: Extent (on a scale of 0 to 4) to which women are
Kong. See Research Office Legislative Council Secretariat able to exercise justice by bringing cases before the courts
(2018). without risk to their personal safety, participating in a free trial,
i. Refers to 2020. and seeking redress if public authorities violate their rights.
j. Refers to 2019. Maternal mortality ratio: Number of deaths due to pregnancy-
k. In calculating the WPS Index score, parliamentary representa- related causes per 100,000 live births.
tion is capped at 50 percent. Son bias: Extent to which the sex ratio at birth (the ratio of the num-
l. Refers to 2011. ber of boys born to the number of girls born) exceeds the nat-
m. In calculating the WPS Index score, son bias is capped at 1.10. ural demographic rate of 1.05. The table reports the number
n. Refers to 2014. of boys born for every 100 girls born, with 105 boys being the
o. Refers to 2021. natural demographic rate.
p. Based on the counts reported for the House of Represen- Intimate partner violence: Percentage of ever-partnered women
tatives at https://www.camara.pr.gov/page-team/ and the who experienced physical or sexual violence committed by
counts reported for the Senate at https://en.wikipedia.org their intimate partner in the 12 months preceding the survey
/wiki/27th_ Senate_of_Puerto_Rico. in which the information was gathered.
q. Venezuela’s Parliament elected 2015 was suspended in March Community safety: Percentage of women and girls ages 15 and
2017. older who responded “Yes” to the Gallup World Poll question
r. In calculating the WPS Index score, the maternal mortality “Do you feel safe walking alone at night in the city or area
ratio is capped at 500. where you live?”
s. Represents the female share of seats in deliberative bodies of Political violence targeting women: The number of civilian-tar-
the local councils of the West Bank (SDG 5.5.1) and refers to geting events in which women or girls are the primary target of
2018. the violence, expressed as the number of events per 100,000
t. Sudan’s National Assembly (Parliament) elected in April 2015 women. A political violence event is assumed to be target-
was suspended in October 2019. ing women when the main victims are all women or girls, a
u. Myanmar’s Parliament elected in November 2020 was sus- majority of victims are women or girls, or the primary target
pended in February 2021. is a woman or girl.
v. Haiti’s Parliament elected in October 2015 was dissolved in Proximity to conflict: Percentage of women who lived within 50
2021. kilometers of at least one armed conflict event during the
w. Afghanistan’s Parliament elected in October 2018 was dis- period specified.
solved in August 2021.
Main data sources Maternal mortality ratio: UN Sustainable Development Goals

WPS Index value: Calculated by the authors based on the method- (SDG) indicator database, Indicator 3.1.1 (https://unstats.un
ology outlined in in appendix 1. .org/sdgs/dataportal/database). Accessed April 2023.
WPS Index rank: Based on WPS Index value. Son bias: United Nations Department of Social and Economic
Education: United Nations Educational, Scientific and Cultural Affairs World Population Prospects, 2022 Revision (https://
Organization Institute for Statistics (http://data.uis.unesco population.un.org/wpp/). Accessed April 2022. The official
.org/). Accessed April 2023. name of the indicator is “sex ratio at birth.”
Financial inclusion: World Bank Global Findex Database (https:// Intimate partner violence: UN SDG indicators database (https://
www.worldbank.org/en/publication/globalfindex). Accessed unstats.un.org/sdgs/dataportal/database). Accessed April
April 2023. 2023.
Employment: International Labour Organization (ILO) (https:// Perception of community safety: Gallup 2023 World Poll. Accessed
ilostat.ilo.org/topics/employment/). Accessed April 2023. April 2023.
Cellphone use: Gallup 2023 World Poll. Accessed April 2023. Political violence targeting women: Armed Conflict Location &
Parliamentary representation: Inter-Parliamentary Union. Monthly Event Data Project 2023.
ranking of women in national parliaments (https://data.ipu.org Proximity to conflict: Uppsala Conflict Data Program Georef-
/women-ranking?month=3&year=2023). Accessed April 2023. erenced Event Dataset, Global version 23.1. Accessed July
Absence of legal discrimination: World Bank Women, Business 2023. Calculated by PRIO. See also Davies, Shawn, Therese
and the Law database (https://wbl.worldbank.org/en/wbl). Pettersson, and Magnus Öberg. 2023. “Organized Violence
Accessed April 2023. 1989–2022 and the Return of Conflicts between States?”
Access to justice: Varieties of Democracy dataset, version 1.3 Journal of Peace Research 60 (4) and Sundberg, Ralph, and
(https://www.v-dem.net/data/the-v-dem-dataset/). Accessed Erik Melander. 2013. “Introducing the UCDP Georeferenced
April 2023. Event Dataset.” Journal of Peace Research 50 (4).
Web resources
The Georgetown Institute for Women, Peace and Security website provides access to all of the data used
to construct the WPS Index and offers tools to allow interactive explorations of the index, both themati-
cally and at the country and regional levels. It also provides details on methods and answers to frequently
asked questions.
For each of the 177 countries in this edition of the WPS Index, users can see each country’s national
index score, compare it with other countries in the region, and explore performance on each of the
component indicators of the index. Thematic tools highlight performance across all the dimensions and
indicators in the index. A heat map displays data for 177 countries.
The electronic version of the report and the report summary are available on the website, free of charge.
giwps.georgetown.edu/the-index
Alphabetical key to countries and ranks on the 2023/24 WPS Index
RANK COUNTRY SCORE RANK COUNTRY SCORE RANK COUNTRY SCORE
177 Afghanistan 0.286 51 Greece 0.766 156 Palestine 0.483

45 Albania 0.796 137 Guatemala 0.569 54 Panama 0.757
118 Algeria 0.622 145 Guinea 0.539 155 Papua New Guinea 0.487
127 Angola 0.598 156 Guinea-Bissau 0.483 89 Paraguay 0.691
50 Argentina 0.768 49 Guyana 0.769 73 Peru 0.717
48 Armenia 0.772 167 Haiti 0.431 121 Philippines 0.612
11 Australia 0.902 122 Honduras 0.610 27 Poland 0.859
8 Austria 0.911 39 Hong Kong 0.812 19 Portugal 0.877
97 Azerbaijan 0.667 32 Hungary 0.835 88 Puerto Rico 0.692
56 Bahrain 0.752 4 Iceland 0.924 80 Qatar 0.703
131 Bangladesh 0.593 128 India 0.595 42 Romania 0.800
47 Barbados 0.779 82 Indonesia 0.700 56 Russian Federation 0.752
69 Belarus 0.733 140 Iran 0.557 103 Rwanda 0.663
11 Belgium 0.902 168 Iraq 0.424 76 Samoa 0.711
105 Belize 0.657 13 Ireland 0.892 109 Sao Tome and Principe 0.648
138 Benin 0.566 80 Israel 0.703 67 Saudi Arabia 0.737
82 Bhutan 0.700 34 Italy 0.827 119 Senegal 0.619
86 Bolivia 0.696 77 Jamaica 0.710 32 Serbia 0.835
55 Bosnia and Herzegovina 0.754 23 Japan 0.866 43 Seychelles 0.799
104 Botswana 0.659 92 Jordan 0.679 144 Sierra Leone 0.543
115 Brazil 0.630 70 Kazakhstan 0.729 15 Singapore 0.887
35 Bulgaria 0.826 149 Kenya 0.511 29 Slovakia 0.856
158 Burkina Faso 0.481 100 Kosovo 0.664 36 Slovenia 0.824
172 Burundi 0.394 61 Kuwait 0.742 100 Solomon Islands 0.664
64 Cabo Verde 0.738 95 Kyrgyzstan 0.673 169 Somalia 0.417
110 Cambodia 0.645 79 Lao PDR 0.704 91 South Africa 0.688
161 Cameroon 0.466 20 Latvia 0.872 30 South Korea 0.848
17 Canada 0.885 128 Lebanon 0.595 173 South Sudan 0.388
175 Central African Republic 0.378 125 Lesotho 0.605 27 Spain 0.859
163 Chad 0.462 154 Liberia 0.500 60 Sri Lanka 0.743
68 Chile 0.736 122 Libya 0.610 164 Sudan 0.460
82 China 0.700 16 Lithuania 0.886 87 Suriname 0.694
132 Colombia 0.582 4 Luxembourg 0.924 3 Sweden 0.926
148 Comoros 0.519 152 Madagascar 0.505 2 Switzerland 0.928
150 Congo 0.507 146 Malawi 0.521 171 Syrian Arab Republic 0.407
60 Costa Rica 0.743 64 Malaysia 0.738 38 Taiwan 0.818
136 Côte d’Ivoire 0.573 72 Maldives 0.720 90 Tajikistan 0.690
25 Croatia 0.862 158 Mali 0.481 107 Tanzania 0.652
63 Cyprus 0.739 31 Malta 0.846 52 Thailand 0.764
18 Czechia 0.884 151 Mauritania 0.506 100 Timor-Leste 0.664
174 Democratic Republic of 93 Mauritius 0.678 128 Togo 0.595
the Congo 0.384 142 Mexico 0.551 85 Tonga 0.697
1 Denmark 0.932 53 Moldova 0.758 71 Trinidad and Tobago 0.721
153 Djibouti 0.504 46 Mongolia 0.794 96 Tunisia 0.669
98 Dominican Republic 0.666 41 Montenegro 0.808 99 Türkiye 0.665
106 Ecuador 0.655 114 Morocco 0.637 58 Turkmenistan 0.750
110 Egypt 0.645 134 Mozambique 0.580 143 Uganda 0.544
138 El Salvador 0.566 165 Myanmar 0.451 117 Ukraine 0.626
119 Equatorial Guinea 0.619 122 Namibia 0.610 22 United Arab Emirates 0.868
13 Estonia 0.892 112 Nepal 0.644 26 United Kingdom 0.860
170 Eswatini 0.415 9 Netherlands 0.908 37 United States 0.823
146 Ethiopia 0.521 10 New Zealand 0.904 59 Uruguay 0.748
64 Fiji 0.738 73 Nicaragua 0.717 94 Uzbekistan 0.674
4 Finland 0.924 166 Niger 0.442 112 Vanuatu 0.644
24 France 0.864 162 Nigeria 0.465 116 Venezuela 0.628
131 Gabon 0.593 44 North Macedonia 0.798 78 Viet Nam 0.707
135 Gambia 0.575 7 Norway 0.920 176 Yemen 0.287
39 Georgia 0.812 75 Oman 0.715 141 Zambia 0.556
21 Germany 0.871 158 Pakistan 0.481 126 Zimbabwe 0.604
108 Ghana 0.651
Possible scores range from a low of 0 to a high of 1.
The Women, Peace, and Security (WPS) Index 2023/24, the fourth since the inaugural 2017/18
index, ranks 177 countries and economies on women’s status. As the only index to bring
together indicators of women’s inclusion, justice, and security, the WPS Index is a valuable
measure of women’s status that can be used to track trends, guide policymaking, and hold
governments accountable for their promises to advance women’s rights and opportunities.
The WPS Index reveals glaring disparities around the world. All countries on the index have
room for improvement, and many perform considerably better or worse on some indicators of
women’s status than on others. These cases underline the importance of measuring women’s
status in its many dimensions. Societies where women are doing well are also more peaceful,
democratic, prosperous, and better prepared to adapt to the impacts of climate change,
according to correlations between our WPS Index and other global indices. The outcomes
on these global indices are more strongly correlated with women’s status than they are with
national income, underlining the importance of investing in women.

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Tracking sustainable peace

through inclusion, justice,

RANK COUNTRY SCORE RANK COUNTRY SCORE RANK COUNTRY SCORE

1 Denmark .932 60 Sri Lanka .743 121 Philippines .612

Melanne Verveer Elena Ortiz

Editing and production: Communications Development Inc., Washington, DC

Global rankings and major patterns

BOX 1 The structure of the WPS Index

Best performers Worst performers

Switzerland .928 Yemen .287

Sweden .926 Central African Rep. .378

Finland .924 Congo, Dem. Rep. .384

Iceland .924 South Sudan .388

Luxembourg .924 Burundi .394

Norway .920 Syria .407

Austria .911 Eswatini .415

Netherlands .908 Somalia .417

New Zealand .904 Iraq .424

Australia .902 Haiti .431

Belgium .902 Niger .442

WPS Index score

Best Group average Worst

Mixed performance across dimensions

Wide disparities in indicators of women’s inclusion

0 50 100 150 200

Inclusion Justice Security

Justice for women: Informal and formal barriers

Best Group average Worst

Women’s security: At home, in the community, and across society

within the home, ranges from 45 percent of ever-­partnered women in Iraq to

Strong correlations between women’s status and peace, democracy, climate

Political violence against women: Escalating risks and repercussions

Human Development Index ND-GAIN Index of Climate Adaptation

Correlation = .900 Correlation = .900

Physical and sexual political violence against women

Nonsexual physical violence: Perpetrators, forms, and targets

Sexual violence: Threats within and outside conflict settings

Instances of online political violence are increasing. In a 2020 global survey

Political violence against women and the WPS Agenda

Women exposed to armed conflict in 2022

Going beyond national borders: Subnational analyses of Colombia

Colombia: Decades of conflict threaten women’s status

Ethiopia: Continuing conflict harms women in multiple ways

Need data disaggregated by sex and other characteristics

Fifth-worst son bias

Third-highest maternal mortality

Despite ranking in the bottom five regions, has

Addis Ababa Harari

Third highest for women’s education

INCLUSION JUSTICE SECURITY

INCLUSION JUSTICE SECURITY

INCLUSION JUSTICE SECURITY

INCLUSION JUSTICE SECURITY

BOT TOM QUINTILE

INCLUSION JUSTICE SECURITY

OTHER COUNTRIES AND ECONOMIES NOT RANKED ON THE WPS INDEX

Antigua and Barbuda .. .. .. .. .. 22.9 66.3 .. 21.3 103.2 .. .. 0.000 0.0

Bahamas .. 12.7 .. .. .. 20.0 81.3 .. 77.1 102.8 .. .. 0.000 0.0

within the home, ranges from 45 percent of ever-partnered women in Iraq to