Aaron O'Neill
Research lead for society, economy, and politics: Europe & global
Get in touch with us nowNumber of countries with women in highest position of executive power 1960-2024
The highest position of executive power has been held by a woman in just 62 countries since 1960. Since Sirimavo Bandaranaike was first elected Prime Minister of Sri Lanka in 1960, the number of women in power has grown slowly, with the fastest growth coming in the past 15 years. As of September 2024, there were 11 countries led by women, with Mexico electing their first female president in 2024, while long-serving figures such as Shiekh Hasina of Bangladesh and Katrín Jakobsdóttir of Iceland have left office. Despite growing numbers of women leaders decades, there has never been more than 17 countries with women in the highest positions of power in a single year, which is less than 10% of the number of men who have held these positions (as today, there are 193 UN member states).
Records
The women who have served the longest consecutive terms in these positions are Angela Merkel of Germany (16 years, 16 days), Dame Eugenia Charles of Dominica (14 years, 328 days), and Ellen Johnson Sirleaf of Liberia (12 years, 6 days). The longest combined non-consecutive terms were held by Indira Gandhi of India (16 years, 15 days) and Bangladesh's Sheikh Hasina (20 years, 234 days). Just 14 countries have had more than one woman in the highest position of executive power, and most of these countries can be found either in the Indian sub-continent or in Europe. Of these 14, Finland, Moldova, New Zealand, and the UK are the only countries to have had three female leaders, although the unique federal system of Switzerland has had five women serve in nine annual-terms as President of the Swiss Confederation.
The first woman Prime Minister
The first democratically elected female Prime Minister was Sirimavo Bandaranaike of Sri Lanka, who took over the leadership of the Sri Lanka Freedom Party when her husband was assassinated in 1959. Bandaranaike successfully led her party to victory in three elections, in 1960, 1970 and 1994, however constitutional changes in the 1980s meant that her final term as Prime Minister was spent in a more ceremonial role, while the President now held the real executive power (although the President at this time was also a woman; Bandaranaike's daughter, Chandrika Kumaratunga).
