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These Are the Best and Worst Countries for Women

Travel
by Sarah Wolfe Mar 10, 2015

In honor of women (who we think deserve recognition all year round), we took a look at how they fare in terms of health, living and work conditions as measured by the 2013 Global Gender Gap Index.

Notably, the United Kingdom ranked 18th, while the United States came 23rd.

The Gender Gap Index looks at four pillars of comparison for its ranking:

  • Economic participation and opportunity looks at women’s income equality and presence in the labor force.
  • Educational attainment looks at women’s literacy and enrollment in school.
  • Health and survival compares the ratio of girls born to boys born. It also takes into account female life expectancy.
  • Political empowerment looks at how many women hold seats in political office, and how many female heads of state a country has had.

Here are the four best and the four worst countries to be a woman, along with their individual scores:

1. Iceland

Economic participation and opportunity: 22
Educational attainment: 1
Health and survival: 97
Political empowerment: 1

2. Finland

Economic participation and opportunity: 19
Educational attainment: 1
Health and survival: 1
Political empowerment: 2

3. Norway

Economic participation and opportunity: 1
Educational attainment: 1
Health and survival: 93
Political empowerment: 3

4. Sweden

Economic participation and opportunity: 14
Educational attainment: 38
Health and survival: 69
Political empowerment: 4

133. Syria

Economic participation and opportunity: 136
Educational attainment: 96
Health and survival: 58
Political empowerment: 112

134. Chad

Economic participation and opportunity: 75
Educational attainment: 135
Health and survival: 112
Political empowerment: 102

135. Pakistan

Economic participation and opportunity: 135
Educational attainment: 129
Health and survival: 124
Political empowerment: 64

136. Yemen

Economic participation and opportunity: 132
Educational attainment: 134
Health and survival: 81
Political empowerment: 131

By Sarah Wolfe, GlobalPost
This article is syndicated from GlobalPost.

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