South Korea Ranks 101st Out of 145 in Gender Equality...Lower Than China and Vietnam

WEF Global Gender Gap Report

Iceland Ranks First for 17 Consecutive Years

South Korea ranked 101st out of 145 countries in the global gender equality rankings, still placing in the lower tier.

According to the 'Global Gender Gap Report 2026' released by the World Economic Forum (WEF) on the 16th (local time), South Korea's Gender Gap Index was recorded at 0.693. A score closer to 1 indicates greater gender equality, and the WEF annually announces each country's index.

South Korea's ranking remained unchanged from last year at 101st out of 145 countries. South Korea had improved from 118th out of 144 countries in 2017 to 94th out of 146 countries in 2024, but has since fallen back.

South Korea ranked lower than Bangladesh (0.712, 79th), Vietnam (0.707, 84th), United Arab Emirates (0.702, 91st), and China (0.699, 96th). Conversely, countries that ranked lower than South Korea included Cambodia (0.680, 113th), Japan (0.670, 117th), Turkiye (0.649, 126th), and India (0.645, 131st).

Iceland topped the list with a score of 0.930, maintaining the number one position for 17 consecutive years. Finland (0.872) kept its second-place ranking for the third straight year, followed by Norway (0.857), Namibia (0.845), the United Kingdom (0.842), and New Zealand (0.828). Those at the bottom included Chad (0.578, 145th), Iran (0.585, 144th), Pakistan (0.595, 143rd), the Democratic Republic of the Congo (0.595, 142nd), and Algeria (0.618, 141st).

South Korea showed considerable disparity across different categories. By index category, South Korea ranked 34th in health with a score of 0.976. However, the country ranked 80th in the distribution of political power (0.203), and in economic participation and opportunity (0.608) and educational attainment (0.984), it received relatively low scores, ranking 120th and 97th, respectively.

The WEF stated, "While the global gender gap is narrowing, at the current pace, it will take another 120 years to achieve full gender equality." Saadia Zahidi, Managing Director at the WEF, emphasized, "Gender equality is fully attainable," adding, "To accelerate change, governments and companies must learn from proven effective policies and adopt them more quickly."

This content was produced with the assistance of AI translation services.