The global gender gap has never been narrower – at 69.2 per cent closed – but it would take another 120 years to achieve gender equality at the current rate of progress, the World Economic Forum has said.
That means full gender parity will not be reached within the lifetime of women alive today and could remain out of reach until the generation of their grandchildren or great-grandchildren.
Iceland has the narrowest gender gap, according to the WEF's 2026 Global Gender Gap Report, while European economies continue to dominate the highest positions in the index.
The top 10 countries with the narrowest gaps are:
- Iceland
- Finland
- Norway
- Namibia
- United Kingdom
- New Zealand
- Sweden
- Australia
- Germany
- Ireland
The index does not measure the overall level of development or women's outcomes in isolation. Instead, it measures the gaps between women and men across four areas of society and the economy.
Why 120 years?
Globally, 69.2 per cent of the gender gap has been closed across the 145 economies covered by the 2026 index. That is the highest level since the WEF launched the report two decades ago. But progress differs significantly depending on where equality is measured.
The change in the gap is not significant compared to last year, when the WEF estimated full gender parity was still 123 years away.
The WEF report looks at four benchmarks: political empowerment, economic participation and opportunity, health and survival, and educational attainment.
Education is closest to equality, with the remaining global gap projected to close in eight years if progress continues at its current pace. Political empowerment remains the furthest from parity, with only 22.1 per cent of the gap closed and full parity an estimated 194 years away.
This means gains in areas such as access to education have not been matched by the same progress in women's representation in political decision-making.
Despite the long-term gains, progress is not guaranteed. WEF says political empowerment has gone backwards since 2016, while women's representation at the highest levels of business and government remains limited.
Economic participation also remains an important part of the unfinished picture, measuring differences including labour-force participation, income and access to senior and professional roles.
How has the Middle East fared?
The report says the Middle East and North Africa continues to lag behind regions including Europe and North America in closing the overall gender gap.
Mena stands at 62.5 per cent gender parity in 2026, with the region projected to take 182 years to reach full parity at its current rate of progress.
Despite the size of the remaining gap, WEF says Mena continues to be a region where significant reforms are taking place, with progress recorded in educational attainment and economic participation and opportunity.
Political empowerment remains its biggest challenge. Only 11.5 per cent of the region's gender gap in this category has been closed.
However, the picture is not uniform. The report says Mena recorded the fifth-highest regional parity score globally for ministerial representation and the seventh-highest for parliamentary representation in 2026, highlighting progress in some measures despite the region's low overall political empowerment score.
The contrasting figures underline a central finding of this year's report: progress towards gender equality is continuing, but at markedly different speeds depending on where people live and whether equality is measured in education, work, health or political power.
