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UNDP Human Development Report Office · Gender Development Index
Gender Development Index by country
How does women's human development compare with men's?
Of the 184 countries compared in 2023, 2 countries shared the reading closest to parity, 1.000, and Yemen had the reading furthest from parity, 0.407. In the middle country the figure was 0.971. Among the 75 countries measured in every edition since 1990, the middle one moved from 0.941 to 0.979.
Gender Development Index · 2023
Context statistic
2 countries share the closest to parity value, 1.000 — no single country is named first.
012023 · position · derived
Who leads
The three countries at the closest to parity end of 184 compared, the three at the other end, and the first on each continent.
Closest to parity in 2023 · shared
2 countries share the closest to parity reading, 1.000
No single country is named first: picking one from a shared value would be a choice the data does not make.
Furthest from parity in 2023
- 184
Yemen0.407 - 183
Afghanistan0.660 - =181
Chad0.787
Positions out of 184. Where a country sits says how it compares with the others measured, and nothing about why.
02Every measured country
Gender Development Index on a map
Each country is shaded by its value, in five groups holding the same number of countries. Hover a country for its value, or select it to open its profile. Below the map, each continent’s middle country.
Darker is closer to parity (1.000), from either side.
- 0.593–0.078 from parity
- 0.076–0.043 from parity
- 0.042–0.024 from parity
- 0.023–0.009 from parity
- 0.009–0.000 from parity
- No reading in 2023
- Americas
0.990
the middle country, of 32 measured · 48 members
2 share 1.002
Haiti0.932Closest to parity and furthest from parity reading in Americas.
- Europe
0.989
the middle country, of 41 measured · 49 members
2 share 1.000
North Macedonia0.955Closest to parity and furthest from parity reading in Europe.
- Oceania
0.958
the middle country, of 14 measured · 21 members
Tonga0.998
Papua New Guinea0.926Closest to parity and furthest from parity reading in Oceania.
- Asia
0.957
the middle country, of 47 measured · 52 members
Vietnam0.997Yemen0.407Closest to parity and furthest from parity reading in Asia.
- Africa
0.921
the middle country, of 50 measured · 55 members
Botswana0.997Chad0.787Closest to parity and furthest from parity reading in Africa.
- Every region
22 sub-regions, closest to parity middle country first
- Southern Africa
0.997
the middle country, of 5 measured · 5 members
Botswana0.997
Eswatini0.964Closest to parity and furthest from parity reading in Southern Africa.
- Eastern Europe
1.005
the middle country, of 10 measured · 10 members
Bulgaria1.000
Ukraine1.038Closest to parity and furthest from parity reading in Eastern Europe.
- Northern Europe
0.994
the middle country, of 10 measured · 13 members
Ireland1.001
Latvia1.026Closest to parity and furthest from parity reading in Northern Europe.
- South America
0.992
the middle country, of 12 measured · 12 members
2 share 1.002
Peru0.959Closest to parity and furthest from parity reading in South America.
- Caribbean
1.014
the middle country, of 10 measured · 24 members
Trinidad and Tobago0.990Haiti0.932Closest to parity and furthest from parity reading in Caribbean.
- Southern Europe
0.984
the middle country, of 13 measured · 17 members
Portugal1.000North Macedonia0.955Closest to parity and furthest from parity reading in Southern Europe.
- Western Europe
0.978
the middle country, of 8 measured · 9 members
Luxembourg0.996
Liechtenstein0.964Closest to parity and furthest from parity reading in Western Europe.
- Eastern Asia
0.976
the middle country, of 5 measured · 8 members
2 share 0.976
South Korea0.959Closest to parity and furthest from parity reading in Eastern Asia.
- Central America
0.976
the middle country, of 8 measured · 8 members
Panama1.014
Guatemala0.934Closest to parity and furthest from parity reading in Central America.
- South-eastern Asia
0.973
the middle country, of 11 measured · 11 members
Vietnam0.997
Laos0.911Closest to parity and furthest from parity reading in South-eastern Asia.
- Micronesia
0.960
the middle country, of 5 measured · 7 members
Palau0.992
Micronesia0.953Closest to parity and furthest from parity reading in Micronesia.
- Western Asia
0.957
the middle country, of 18 measured · 19 members
Cyprus0.996Yemen0.407Closest to parity and furthest from parity reading in Western Asia.
- Eastern Africa
0.931
the middle country, of 16 measured · 19 members
Seychelles1.004
Somalia0.793Closest to parity and furthest from parity reading in Eastern Africa.
- Middle Africa
0.906
the middle country, of 7 measured · 9 members
Gabon0.994Chad0.787Closest to parity and furthest from parity reading in Middle Africa.
- Northern Africa
0.891
the middle country, of 6 measured · 6 members
Libya0.955
Sudan0.813Closest to parity and furthest from parity reading in Northern Africa.
- Western Africa
0.880
the middle country, of 16 measured · 16 members
Cabo Verde0.964
Mali0.812Closest to parity and furthest from parity reading in Western Africa.
- Southern Asia
0.875
the middle country, of 9 measured · 9 members
Maldives0.986Afghanistan0.660Closest to parity and furthest from parity reading in Southern Asia.
- Australia and New Zealand
2 of 2 measured — too few for a middle: Australia, New Zealand.
Australia0.977
New Zealand0.973Closest to parity and furthest from parity reading in Australia and New Zealand.
- Central Asia
4 of 5 measured — too few for a middle: Kazakhstan, Kyrgyzstan, Tajikistan, Uzbekistan.
Kazakhstan1.004
Tajikistan0.926Closest to parity and furthest from parity reading in Central Asia.
- Melanesia
4 of 5 measured — too few for a middle: Fiji, Papua New Guinea, Solomon Islands, Vanuatu.
Vanuatu0.952Papua New Guinea0.926Closest to parity and furthest from parity reading in Melanesia.
- Northern America
2 of 4 measured — too few for a middle: Canada, United States.
United States1.009
Canada0.991Closest to parity and furthest from parity reading in Northern America.
- Polynesia
3 of 7 measured — too few for a middle: Samoa, Tonga, Tuvalu.
Tonga0.998
Samoa0.955Closest to parity and furthest from parity reading in Polynesia.
03The whole field at once
The spread
184 countries, one dot each, on one scale — further right is a higher value. Half the countries are above 0.971; a quarter are above 0.993, and a quarter below 0.932. The bar in each row marks that continent’s middle country.
04All 184 ever measured
Every country
In order, closest to parity first. “=” marks a position shared with another country. UNDP Human Development Report Office ranks nobody on this measure; the position is derived here by ordering the published values. This is the only measure here with no better end, and that is why it is ordered by DISTANCE FROM PARITY rather than by score: 0.990 and 1.010 share a position. Ordering by the raw number would crown the country where women most out-score men as the world’s most equal, and 29 of 184 countries in 2023 sit above 1.000.
Showing 25 of 184 countries
Values for 2023. The change column compares 2023 with 2022 only; the sparkline covers the recent editions.
051990–2023 · 34 reference years
Over time
Each point is one reference year. Watch which side of 1.000 the line sits on — a country can miss parity from either direction.
- the middle country
- the middle half of countries
- the middle of the 75 countries measured every time
- each continent’s middle country
The same, year by year
| Year | Countries | Middle country | Middle half | Measured every time |
|---|---|---|---|---|
| 2023 | 184 | 0.971 | 0.932 – 0.993 | 0.979 |
| 2022 | 184 | 0.974 | 0.931 – 0.994 | 0.982 |
| 2021 | 183 | 0.972 | 0.928 – 0.993 | 0.982 |
| 2020 | 183 | 0.971 | 0.928 – 0.994 | 0.979 |
| 2019 | 183 | 0.968 | 0.926 – 0.992 | 0.975 |
| 2018 | 182 | 0.966 | 0.922 – 0.991 | 0.976 |
| 2017 | 178 | 0.967 | 0.921 – 0.989 | 0.974 |
| 2016 | 178 | 0.964 | 0.922 – 0.989 | 0.972 |
| 2015 | 178 | 0.964 | 0.919 – 0.987 | 0.969 |
| 2014 | 174 | 0.961 | 0.916 – 0.989 | 0.969 |
| 2013 | 173 | 0.960 | 0.914 – 0.986 | 0.970 |
| 2012 | 173 | 0.962 | 0.905 – 0.986 | 0.970 |
| 2011 | 173 | 0.959 | 0.903 – 0.985 | 0.968 |
| 2010 | 172 | 0.957 | 0.900 – 0.985 | 0.966 |
| 2009 | 164 | 0.956 | 0.887 – 0.983 | 0.965 |
| 2008 | 162 | 0.954 | 0.884 – 0.983 | 0.965 |
| 2007 | 160 | 0.952 | 0.884 – 0.981 | 0.965 |
| 2006 | 160 | 0.952 | 0.882 – 0.978 | 0.962 |
| 2005 | 160 | 0.950 | 0.876 – 0.979 | 0.961 |
| 2004 | 146 | 0.952 | 0.878 – 0.979 | 0.961 |
| 2003 | 141 | 0.948 | 0.889 – 0.980 | 0.960 |
| 2002 | 139 | 0.946 | 0.875 – 0.978 | 0.959 |
| 2001 | 139 | 0.947 | 0.883 – 0.980 | 0.958 |
| 2000 | 138 | 0.946 | 0.881 – 0.979 | 0.955 |
| 1999 | 111 | 0.954 | 0.896 – 0.982 | 0.955 |
| 1998 | 109 | 0.952 | 0.903 – 0.981 | 0.955 |
| 1997 | 107 | 0.952 | 0.903 – 0.978 | 0.952 |
| 1996 | 107 | 0.951 | 0.905 – 0.976 | 0.951 |
| 1995 | 106 | 0.948 | 0.894 – 0.974 | 0.948 |
| 1994 | 80 | 0.946 | 0.883 – 0.973 | 0.946 |
| 1993 | 77 | 0.944 | 0.902 – 0.970 | 0.944 |
| 1992 | 76 | 0.946 | 0.905 – 0.974 | 0.945 |
| 1991 | 76 | 0.944 | 0.879 – 0.971 | 0.944 |
| 1990 | 75 | 0.941 | 0.869 – 0.969 | 0.941 |
062022 → 2023
Who rose and fell
The biggest changes in value between the two newest editions — reference years recalculated in one report, not two separate publications. Places are shown second, because they also move when other countries do.
Moved closest to parity
before → after- Sudan0.730 → 0.813 · 182nd → 177th+0.083
Palestine0.894 → 0.945 · 157th → 126th+0.051
Azerbaijan0.965 → 0.983 · 100th → 61st+0.018
India0.856 → 0.874 · 170th → 165th+0.018
Benin0.850 → 0.866 · 172nd → 166th+0.016
Moved furthest from parity
before → after
Niger0.891 → 0.855 · 158th → 172nd−0.036
Burkina Faso0.908 → 0.881 · 152nd → 162nd−0.027
Costa Rica0.997 → 0.975 · 11th → 79th−0.022
Jordan0.883 → 0.861 · 165th → 169th−0.022- Samoa0.975 → 0.955 · 76th → 113th−0.020
184 countries were measured in both 2022 and 2023.
07Across every edition
Gender Development Index in records
The extremes of the statistic. A record reached by more than one country names none of them.
Highest reading on record
1.053
Gender Development Index (1.000 = parity)
Lowest reading on record
0.407
Gender Development Index (1.000 = parity)
Biggest improvement between editions
+0.096
0.837 → 0.933
Biggest decline between editions
−0.090
0.927 → 0.837
Most improved since first measured
+0.297
0.541 → 0.838
At the top most often
5 of 34
editions, alone at the first-listed end
08The measure
About Gender Development Index
The Gender Development Index is women’s Human Development Index divided by men’s, so it reads as a proportion rather than a level: 1.000 means the two are equal, and 0.900 means women’s HDI is 90% of men’s. UNDP publishes it for every year back to 1990.
What the number is: Gender Development Index (1.000 = parity).
09Where it fits
Connections
Its part in the Country Index, the statistics whose values line up most closely with it across countries, and others on the same subject.
In the Country Index
Context, with no vote
This statistic is published in full under Development & Human Capital and Gender & Equality, but does not help decide any Country Index standing.
Development & Human CapitalGender & EqualityWhich statistics vote, and why
Moves with
Where Gender Development Index is higher, these tend to be higher too.
- Ecological FootprintKeyGlobal Footprint Network · 123 countries in commonρ 0.78
- Adult Literacy RateUIS · 118 countries in commonρ 0.73
- GNI per Capita (PPP)World Bank Group · 99 countries in commonρ 0.68
Moves against
Where Gender Development Index is higher, these tend to be lower.
- Global Multidimensional Poverty IndexOPHI · 101 countries in commonρ −0.69
- Stunting Prevalence in Children Under FiveUNICEF, WHO and World Bank Group (Joint Malnutrition Estimates) · 130 countries in commonρ −0.65
- Coefficient of Human InequalityUNDP Human Development Report Office · 166 countries in commonρ −0.65
Rank correlation (ρ, from −1 to 1) across countries, on each statistic’s newest edition, out of 126 statistics sharing at least 80 countries with this one. Two statistics that move together do not cause each other.
10Keep reading
Explore further
The subject
The countries at either end
11Questions
Gender Development Index: questions and answers
Which country is closest to parity on the Gender Development Index?
2 countries share the closest to parity reading, 1.000, among the 184 compared in 2023, so no single country is named.
How many countries does the Gender Development Index cover?
184 in 2023. The number measured varies from 75 to 184 between editions.
What is the world average Gender Development Index?
This site does not calculate a world average, which would depend on how countries are weighted. In the middle country of the 184 compared in 2023, the figure was 0.971.
Is this UNDP Human Development Report Office’s own ranking?
No. UNDP Human Development Report Office publishes the values but ranks nobody; the position on this page is derived by Nations Inquiry by ordering the published values, and equal values share a position.
How often is the Gender Development Index published?
This site holds 34 reference years, 1990–2023, all recalculated in UNDP Human Development Report Office’s 2025 report on one method — not 34 separate publications.
Where does the data come from, and can I download it?
From UNDP Human Development Report Office, under CC BY 3.0 IGO. From the 2025 Human Development Report, which recalculates every year at once on one current method. Every edition is available on this site’s Datasets pages as a full table, unrounded.
12Method
Sources, method and citation
Source
Gender Development Index — UNDP Human Development Report Office
From the 2025 Human Development Report, which recalculates every year at once on one current method.
Newest edition
Report year 2023Data year 2023
Cite the source as: UNDP. Human Development Report 2025. New York: United Nations Development Programme.
Licence: CC BY 3.0 IGO, checked 2026-09-05.
How this page reads the numbers
- UNDP Human Development Report Office ranks nobody on this measure. The position is derived by Nations Inquiry by ordering the published values; equal values share a position.
- Which end is better follows the publisher’s own reading of the measure.
- A country is named at an end only when it holds that value alone. Where several share it, the page says how many and names none first.
- Values are stored exactly as published and trimmed only for display. “The middle country” is the median of the countries measured, not a world average.
The full note on this data
34 reference years (1990–2023), covering up to 184 countries. The GDI is the ratio of women’s Human Development Index to men’s, so it reads as a proportion rather than a level: 1.000 means the two are equal, 0.900 means women’s HDI is 90% of men’s. ⚠ IT IS THE ONLY INDICATOR HERE THAT IS NOT DIRECTIONAL, and that is why the site gained a third "direction" value for it. A country can miss parity from EITHER side - 29 of the 184 in 2023 sit above 1.000, where women out-score men - so ranking it as “higher is better” would put those countries at the top and call them the most equal. Rows are ordered by distance from 1.000 instead, and percentiles are computed the same way. ⚠ These are not 34 published reports - the 2025 report recalculates every year at once. ⚠ ⚠ UNDP publishes no GDI rank. A POSITION is derived here (2026-09-10) by DISTANCE FROM PARITY rather than by score: position 1 is the country closest to 1.000, and a country above 1 is placed by how far above it sits exactly as a country below is placed by how far below — 0.990 and 1.010 share a position. Ordering by the raw score instead would have crowned the country where women most out-score men as the world’s most equal, which is the whole reason this indicator has a direction of its own.
Cite this page
Nations Inquiry (2026). Gender Development Index by country: Gender Development Index, data from UNDP Human Development Report Office. https://nationsinquiry.com/statistics/gender-development