Countries with the Most and Least Gender Equality

The World Economic Forum's Global Gender Gap report measures gender inequality in various nations by focusing on the gaps between men and women in the economic, political, educational and health spheres. Thus, countries that are most equal aren't required to have great conditions for either gender, but one sex won't be far better off than the other.

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Here are the top 10 most and least equal countries, according to 2009 measurements, along with the type of language (gendered, natural gender or genderless) spoken in each:

Countries with the most gender equality, from most to least:

1. Finland (tie with Iceland), genderless

2. Iceland (tie with Finland), natural gender

3. Norway, natural gender

4 Sweden, natural gender

5. South Africa, genderless

6. Denmark (tied with Ireland), natural gender

7. Ireland (tied with Denmark), gendered

8. The Netherlands, gendered

9. Germany (tied with Latvia, Sri Lanka & Switzerland), gendered

10. Latvia (tied with Germany, Sri Lanka & Switzerland), gendered

11. Sri Lanka (tied with Germany, Latvia & Switzerland), gendered

12. Switzerland (tied with Germany, Latvia & Sri Lanka), gendered

Countries with the least gender equality, from least to most:

1. Yemen, gendered

2. Chad, gendered

3. Pakistan, gendered

4. Saudi Arabia, gendered

5. Turkey, genderless

6. Iran, genderless

7. Qatar (tied with Oman, Morocco, Ethiopia & Egypt), gendered

8. Oman (tied with Qatar, Morocco, Ethiopia & Egypt), gendered

9. Morocco (tied with Qatar, Oman, Morocco, Ethiopia & Egypt), gendered

10. Ethiopia (tied with Qatar, Oman, Morocco, & Egypt), gendered

11. Egypt (tied with Qatar, Oman, Morocco & Ethiopia), gendered

You can follow LiveScience senior writer Stephanie Pappas on Twitter @sipappas. Follow LiveScience for the latest in science news and discoveries on Twitter @livescience and on Facebook.

Stephanie Pappas
Live Science Contributor

Stephanie Pappas is a contributing writer for Live Science, covering topics ranging from geoscience to archaeology to the human brain and behavior. She was previously a senior writer for Live Science but is now a freelancer based in Denver, Colorado, and regularly contributes to Scientific American and The Monitor, the monthly magazine of the American Psychological Association. Stephanie received a bachelor's degree in psychology from the University of South Carolina and a graduate certificate in science communication from the University of California, Santa Cruz. 

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