Namibia has been ranked in the top 10 in the Global Gender Gap by the World Economic Forum.
Out of the 35 economies included in the group, 21 are in the top 100, and one, Namibia, is in the top 10. The top five performers in the region are Namibia (8th, 80,5%), South Africa (18th, 78,5%), Mozambique (27th, 77,6%), Burundi (38th, 75,7%), and Rwanda (39th, 75,7%). Over half of Sub Saharan African countries (18) have closed over 70% of their gender gap, and only Chad trails behind the two-thirds mark (57,6%).
World Economic Forum said that in sixth place, Sub-Saharan Africa edges closer to gender parity, with a score of 68,4%. The region is comprised of the largest number of economies in a single grouping (35), and includes three of the 15 most populous countries highlighted in the report, Ethiopia (79th, 70,9%), Nigeria (125th, 65%) and Democratic Republic of the Congo (140th, 60,9%), which can affect overall regional results by edition and over time.
Sub-Saharan Africa has increased its collective gender parity score by +5,6 percentage points since 2006, the third-largest improvement made by a region since the launch of the index. The region is characterised by a high level of dispersion between top and bottom ranks, with 22,8 percentage points between them.
The region placed fourth in economic participation and opportunity, with a score of 68,1%. The group of countries has seen a very minor +0,4 percentage-point increase since last year, and a total progression of +4,9 percentage points since 2006. Numerous countries in the region are moving promisingly towards economic gender parity. All economies in the group have gender parity scores over 50% on labour-force participation rate; five have a gender-balanced technical and professional workforce: Eswatini, Namibia, Botswana, Lesotho and South Africa; and seven have equal gender representation in senior economic roles: Liberia, Comoros, Nigeria, Togo, Burkina Faso, Botswana and Cameroon.
Iceland (93.5%) was again ranked 1st and has been leading the index for a decade and a half. It also continues to be the only economy to have closed over 90% of its gender gap. Out of the remaining nine economies in the top 10, eight have closed over 80% of their gap.
European economies occupy seven spots out of the global top 10. In addition to Iceland, these include Finland (2nd, 87,5%), Norway (3rd, 87,5%), Sweden (5th, 81.6%), Germany 7th, 81%), Ireland (9th, 80,2%) and Spain (10th, 79,7%). The remaining three spots are occupied by economies from Eastern Asia and the Pacific (New Zealand, 4th, 83,5%), Latin America and the Caribbean (Nicaragua, 6th, 81,1%), and Sub-Saharan Africa (Namibia, 8th, 80,5%). Lithuania (11th, 79,3%) and Belgium (12th, 79,3%) dropped out of the top 10, with Spain and Ireland climbing +8 and +2 ranks, respectively, to join the top performers in 2024.
