New Delhi

The global gender gap narrowed further in 2026, but at the current pace the world is still estimated to be 120 years away from achieving full gender parity, according to the World Economic Forum’s Global Gender Gap Report 2026.

The report, which marks the 20th edition of the index and covers 145 economies, said the global gender gap was 69.2 per cent closed in 2026, up 0.4 percentage points from the previous year among economies covered in both editions.

“Twenty years after the index was first introduced, the global gender gap stands at 69.2% closed,” the report said.

Among 97 economies that have been tracked consistently since 2006, the gender parity score increased by 5.2 percentage points, from 64.2 per cent in 2006 to 69.4 per cent in 2026, its highest level so far.

The report showed that the widest gaps continue to be in economic participation and political empowerment. Globally, 61.7 per cent of the Economic Participation and Opportunity gap has been closed, while Political Empowerment stands much lower at 22.1 per cent. In comparison, Educational Attainment is at 96.9 per cent and Health and Survival at 96.2 per cent.

The WEF said that at the current pace, full parity in Economic Participation and Opportunity remains 129 years away, while Political Empowerment could take 194 years. Educational Attainment is estimated to be eight years away from parity.

India, meanwhile, closed 64.5 per cent of its overall gender gap in 2026 and remained ranked 131st among 145 economies.

India’s performance was particularly weak in Economic Participation and Opportunity, where it ranked 143rd, with a parity score of 41.2 per cent. Labour-force participation parity stood at 44.1 per cent, while estimated earned-income parity was 35.1 per cent.

“In Economic Participation and Opportunity, India reports a 41.2% parity score,” the report said, adding that it was 0.5 percentage points higher than the previous edition but below India’s best result recorded in 2013.

At the regional level, Southern Asia ranked seventh among eight regions, having closed 64.5 per cent of its gender gap. The region is estimated to be 149 years away from full parity at the current pace and continues to rank lowest in Economic Participation and Opportunity, with 40.9 per cent of the gap closed.

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Iceland remained the top-ranked economy for the 17th consecutive year, having closed 93 per cent of its gender gap. Finland and Norway followed, while Namibia ranked fourth and was the highest-ranked Sub-Saharan African economy.