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Topic 08 of 18 · Country Index 2026

China: Gender & Equality

How wide is the gap between women's and men's lives?

China is placed joint 123rd of 183 countries on gender & equality in the Country Index 2026, from 4 of its 4 key statistics. Readings behind it: Women, Business and the Law 78.13 (2024); Women's Political Empowerment Index 0.587 (2025).

Gender & Equality

joint123rd

of 183 countries placed

Placed from 4 of 4 key statistics

Country Index 2026, all topicsjoint 51st of 178 →

01The evidence

The 4 key statistics that decide it

Only these place China on gender & equality — one vote each. Every value is the publisher’s own, read at the edition the Country Index 2026 used — or, for a survey-based key, each country’s latest reading; the grey ticks are every other country it was compared with, lowest on the left.

Why these keys

  1. Key 1 of 4

    Women, Business and the Law

    World Bank Group

    Why it is a key: The gap written into the statute book, which a country can close while outcomes lag for a generation.

    2024 edition · data for 2024 · CC BY 4.0

    78.13

    WBL Index (0–100, where 100 is full legal parity)

    Higher is better

    China: 78.13. Across the 190 countries in this edition, values run from 26.25 (Palestine) to 100 (Sweden); the world median is 81.25.

    World median
    81.25
    Best in Eastern Asia
    91.88 Hong Kong
    Land neighbours
    Afghanistan 31.88 · Bhutan 75 · Hong Kong 91.88 · India 74.38 · Kazakhstan 75.63 · Kyrgyzstan 76.88 · Laos 85.63 · Myanmar 58.75 · Mongolia 90.63 · Nepal 80.63 · Pakistan 58.75 · Russia 73.13 · Tajikistan 78.75 · Vietnam 88.13

    Each grey tick is one of 190 countries in the 2024 edition.

  2. Key 2 of 4

    Women's Political Empowerment Index

    V-Dem Institute, University of Gothenburg

    Why it is a key: Political power held by women in practice — their civil liberties, their part in civil society and their share of political office — where the law and custom keys measure the rules they live under.

    2025 edition · data for 2025 · CC BY-SA 4.0

    0.587

    Women's political empowerment index (0–1)

    Higher is better

    China: 0.587. Across the 176 countries in this edition, values run from 0.028 (Afghanistan) to 0.954 (Denmark); the world median is 0.772.

    World median
    0.772
    Best in Eastern Asia
    0.903 Taiwan
    Land neighbours
    Afghanistan 0.028 · Bhutan 0.675 · Hong Kong 0.801 · India 0.658 · Kazakhstan 0.682 · Kyrgyzstan 0.733 · Laos 0.508 · Myanmar 0.33 · Mongolia 0.806 · Nepal 0.792 · Pakistan 0.524 · North Korea 0.29 · Russia 0.546 · Tajikistan 0.431 · Vietnam 0.808

    Each grey tick is one of 176 countries in the 2025 edition.

  3. Key 3 of 4

    Firms with a Female Top Manager

    World Bank Group

    Why it is a key: The share of firms whose top manager is a woman: economic power held, beside the political power and the legal and social rules the other keys in this subject measure.

    Latest reading per country, 2016–2025 · China’s is from 2024 · CC BY 4.0

    19.6

    Firms with a female top manager (%)

    Higher is better

    China: 19.6. Across the 179 countries at their latest reading, values run from 1.429 (Qatar) to 62.9 (Kiribati); the world median is 19.16.

    World median
    19.16
    Best in Eastern Asia
    44.39 South Korea
    Land neighbours
    Afghanistan 9.579 · Bhutan 21.42 · Hong Kong 43.64 · India 3.84 · Kazakhstan 31.1 · Kyrgyzstan 21.68 · Laos 50.69 · Myanmar 41.13 · Mongolia 26.96 · Nepal 10.31 · Pakistan 3.401 · Russia 24.25 · Tajikistan 6.642 · Vietnam 19.4

    Each grey tick is one of 179 countries at its latest reading, 2016–2025.

  4. Key 4 of 4

    Social Institutions and Gender Index

    OECD

    Why it is a key: Discrimination in social institutions and norms. Correlates 0.850 with Women, Business and the Law, inside the 0.92 bar, and kept because law and custom diverge widely.

    2023 edition · data for 2023 · OECD Terms and Conditions — data clause

    27.1

    SIGI score (0 = no discrimination, 100 = absolute)

    Lower is better

    China: 27.1. Across the 140 countries in this edition, values run from 6.7 (Norway) to 67.4 (Mauritania); the world median is 25.2.

    World median
    25.2
    Best in Eastern Asia
    9.2 Taiwan
    Land neighbours
    Bhutan 32.9 · Hong Kong 25.9 · India 43 · Kazakhstan 20.9 · Kyrgyzstan 29.4 · Laos 25.1 · Myanmar 47 · Mongolia 13.1 · Nepal 30.6 · Pakistan 59.7 · Tajikistan 40 · Vietnam 24.5

    Each grey tick is one of 140 countries in the 2023 edition.

03In context

China beside its neighbours

A position reads best beside the countries around it. Every position below is a place among all 183 countries on gender & equality, never a place within the region.

Eastern Asia
1st183rdNot placed · 41 countries with too few key statisticsNo data

The whole world on gender & equality

China and the countries it borders

The standing is each country’s place among all 183 placed on the topic; the other columns are the publishers’ own values, read at the edition the standing used.

CountryStandingWomen, Business and the LawWBL Index (0–100, where 100 is full legal parity)Women's Political Empowerment IndexWomen's political empowerment index (0–1)Firms with a Female Top ManagerFirms with a female top manager (%)Social Institutions and Gender IndexSIGI score (0 = no discrimination, 100 = absolute)
Mongolia28th90.630.80626.9613.1
Hong Kong=41st91.880.80143.6425.9
Vietnam78th88.130.80819.424.5
Laos=79th85.630.50850.6925.1
Kazakhstan=90th75.630.68231.120.9
Kyrgyzstan107th76.880.73321.6829.4
Russia122nd73.130.54624.25—
Bhutan=123rd750.67521.4232.9
China=123rd78.130.58719.627.1
Nepal=125th80.630.79210.3130.6
Myanmar138th58.750.3341.1347
India150th74.380.6583.8443
Tajikistan152nd78.750.4316.64240
Pakistan170th58.750.5243.40159.7
Afghanistan175th31.880.0289.579—
Macaunot placed————
North Koreanot placed—0.29——

“—” means the publisher gives no reading for that country in that edition. A country needs readings on enough keys to be placed.

Across Eastern Asia

Every country in the sub-region, by its place among all 183.

Placed either side on gender & equality

The countries immediately above and below China in the topic’s list.

04Context, no vote

Where China is ahead of the world, and behind

7 more statistics filed under gender & equality, published in full and deliberately given no vote in the standing. Select a row for the publisher, the rank and the links.

Every country

Ahead of the world median5

Statistics on which China does better than the middle country measured.

  • Child MarriageUNICEF · 2025 · world median 17.12.8No earlier reading

    China: 2.8 · world median 17.1 · Women 20–24 married before 18 (%). UNICEF, 2025 edition, data for 2025.

    Published values in that edition run from 0 to 76.3; lower is better.

    Position 130th of 143 — derived here by ordering the published values, 1st = worst. The publisher ranks no country on this.

    Chart and every countryThe 2025 dataset

  • Gender Inequality IndexUNDP Human Development Report Office · 2023 · world median 0.3510.132▲ Improved since 2013

    China: 0.132 · world median 0.351 · GII (0 = full equality, 1 = maximum inequality). UNDP Human Development Report Office, 2023 edition, data for 2023.

    Published values in that edition run from 0.003 to 0.838; lower is better.

    Ranked 41st of 172 by UNDP Human Development Report Office.

    Chart and every countryThe 2023 dataset

  • Female Labour Force Participation RateILO · 2025 · world median 53.3659.15▼ Worsened since 2015

    China: 59.15 · world median 53.36 · Women aged 15+ in the labour force (%). International Labour Organization (ILO), 2025 edition, data for 2025.

    Published values in that edition run from 4.663 to 82.91; higher is better.

    Position 53rd of 182 — derived here by ordering the published values, 1st = best. The publisher ranks no country on this.

    Chart and every countryThe 2025 dataset

  • Maternal Mortality RatioMMEIG · 2023 · world median 46.6516.25▲ Improved since 2013

    China: 16.25 · world median 46.65 · Maternal deaths per 100,000 live births. UN Maternal Mortality Estimation Inter-Agency Group (MMEIG), 2023 edition, data for 2023.

    Published values in that edition run from 0.11 to 992.83; lower is better.

    Position 131st of 195 — derived here by ordering the published values, 1st = worst. The publisher ranks no country on this.

    Chart and every countryThe 2023 dataset

  • Gender Development IndexUNDP Human Development Report Office · 2023 · world median 0.9710.976▲ Improved since 2013

    China: 0.976 · world median 0.971 · Gender Development Index (1.000 = parity). UNDP Human Development Report Office, 2023 edition, data for 2023.

    Published values in that edition run from 0.407 to 1.038; higher is better.

    Position 74th of 184 — derived here by ordering the published values, 1st = best. The publisher ranks no country on this.

    Chart and every countryThe 2023 dataset

Level with the median, or no median to compare1

  • Gender Social Norms IndexUNDP Human Development Report Office · 2023 · world median 91.8191.81No earlier reading

    China: 91.81 · world median 91.81 · People with at least one bias against gender equality (%). UNDP Human Development Report Office, 2023 edition, data for 2023.

    Published values in that edition run from 27.39 to 99.92; lower is better.

    Position 46th of 91 — derived here by ordering the published values, 1st = worst. The publisher ranks no country on this.

    Chart and every countryThe 2023 dataset

No better end1

These describe the shape of a country — more is not better or worse, only different — so they are never ahead or behind.

  • Sex Ratio at BirthUN DESA Population Division · 2023 · world median 105.1110.8No real change since 2013

    China: 110.8 · world median 105.1 · Male births per 100 female births. UN DESA Population Division, 2023 edition, data for 2023.

    Published values in that edition run from 101.1 to 116.3.

    Chart and every countryThe 2023 dataset

No current reading for China

Births Attended by Skilled Health Staff (last 2016), Female Genital Mutilation Prevalence, Female Share of Researchers and Female Share of Senior and Middle Management. Listed rather than hidden, so the page can be checked against it.

05Country Index 2026

Gender & Equality among China’s 16 topics

Gender & Equality is China’s 14th best-placed topic of 16. Strongest first; each marker sits at the position divided by that topic’s field, so fields of different sizes compare fairly.

On the profile
  1. Mobility & Trade4th of 147
  2. Food & Agriculturejoint 17th of 175
  3. Education & Knowledge26th of 171
  4. Health & Wellbeing43rd of 200
  5. Digital & Technology43rd of 198
  6. Economy & Innovationjoint 46th of 176
  7. Poverty & Inequality44th of 159
  8. Development & Human Capital62nd of 196
  9. Work & Labour60th of 182
  10. Energy102nd of 193
  11. Risk & Resiliencejoint 105th of 192
  12. Peace & Security102nd of 177
  13. Governance & Institutions125th of 194
  14. Gender & Equalityjoint 123rd of 183
  15. Democracy & Civil Liberties176th of 198
  16. Environment & Sustainability162nd of 181

06The top of the list

Who leads on gender & equality

The three countries placed highest of 183, and the leaders China can most readily be measured against.

All 183 countries
  1. 1

    Latvia

    Northern Europe

    1st of 183 · 4 of 4 keys

    Photo: Marcin Szala · CC BY-SA 3.0, greyscale

  2. 2

    Taiwan

    Eastern Asia

    2nd of 183 · 3 of 4 keys

    Photo: xiangyang17 · CC BY-SA 2.0, greyscale

  3. 3

    Italy

    Southern Europe

    3rd of 183 · 4 of 4 keys

    Photo: Francisco Antunes · CC BY 2.0, greyscale

Placed highest nearby

  1. Highest in Asia

    Taiwan2nd3/4 keys

  2. This page

    China=123rd4/4 keys

Positions out of 183 placed on the topic. A country needs readings on enough keys to be placed, and the top of the list is often held on fewer of them.

07Analysis

Charts and analysis about China and gender & equality

All charts

08Questions

China on gender & equality: questions answered

Every answer is built from the numbers on this page, so none can say something the page does not.

How does China rank on gender & equality?

China is placed joint 123rd of 183 countries on Gender & Equality in the Country Index 2026, from 4 of its 4 key statistics (Women, Business and the Law, Women's Political Empowerment Index, Firms with a Female Top Manager and Social Institutions and Gender Index). The position is this site’s ordering of published statistics, not a rank any publisher printed.

What is the latest Women, Business and the Law figure for China?

78.13 in 2024 (wBL Index (0–100, where 100 is full legal parity)), according to World Bank Group. The world median in the same edition was 81.25.

What is the latest Women's Political Empowerment Index figure for China?

0.587 in 2025 (women's political empowerment index (0–1)), according to V-Dem Institute, University of Gothenburg. The world median in the same edition was 0.772.

How does China compare with India on gender & equality?

India is placed 150th of 183, and China joint 123rd. Women, Business and the Law: India 74.38, China 78.13; Women's Political Empowerment Index: India 0.658, China 0.587; Firms with a Female Top Manager: India 3.84, China 19.6; Social Institutions and Gender Index: India 43, China 27.1.

How have China’s gender & equality figures changed?

Women, Business and the Law rose from 62.5 in 2000 to 78.13 in 2024; Women's Political Empowerment Index fell from 0.589 in 2000 to 0.587 in 2025.

Which gender & equality statistics are missing for China?

No current reading is published for China on Births Attended by Skilled Health Staff, Female Genital Mutilation Prevalence, Female Share of Researchers and Female Share of Senior and Middle Management. They are listed rather than hidden, so the evidence on the page can be checked against it.

09Keep reading

Explore further

Gender & Equality

China, topic by topic

10Method

Method, sources and how to cite

What this topic does not measure

Violence against women is not a key here, because comparable data covers too few countries. The Gender Inequality Index is published here as context rather than as a key: its reading is driven largely by maternal and adolescent health, which moves with a country’s overall development and is already measured under Development and Health. Women’s labour force participation, women in management and child marriage are published here as context too.

About gender & equality, in full

How the Gender & Equality standing is decided, step by step

A standing is a place in a list, not a mark out of anything. This one is part of the Country Index 2026, and it is worked out like this.

  1. A few key indicators decide it; the rest are context. 4 indicators on this topic are keys and 11 are charted alongside them without a vote. That split is the point: if every statistic voted, importing five more of one kind would quietly change what the topic is about.
  2. Each key is read at one edition. ⚠ The keys behind this standing do not all describe the same year — they run from 2023 to 2025, because publishers release on their own schedules. Read the standing as “how this country places now”, not as a snapshot of one year.
  3. Every country’s published value is turned into a place within that one key’s own field, and then expressed as a share of that field — how far down this key’s list the country sits, rather than how many countries are above it. Keys where a higher published number is worse (terrorism, hunger, disaster risk) are turned round first, so the good end is always the same end.
  4. Dividing by the field first is the whole reason this works. A place carries the size of its list inside it: 22nd of 44 and 108th of 215 are the same showing, and averaging the numbers 22 and 108 says loudly that they are not. Fields on this site run from about 44 countries to about 215, so averaging raw places would reward a country for happening to be measured in small ones. Dividing each place by its own field removes the size and leaves only the showing.
  5. The shares are averaged, plainly. One key, one vote — no key is weighted above another, because any weighting would be this site’s opinion presented as a measurement. Countries are then put in order by that average, and the average itself is never published. It is our arithmetic with nothing anchoring it, so printing it would invite it to be read as a measurement somebody made. The position it produces, the band, and the keys it was built from are all published instead — every one of them checkable against the tables on this page.
  6. A country needs 2 of this topic’s 4 keys — half, rounded up, and never fewer than 2. A standing built from one reading, printed beside one built from four, is two different things sharing a column heading. 183 countries clear the bar here.
  7. A key has to earn its vote every edition. It must measure at least 120 countries (below that it starts measuring who was surveyed rather than the world), it must not have more than 10% of its field tied at either end, and it must not repeat another key in the same topic — Spearman correlation above 0.92 counts as repeating. A topic needs at least 2 surviving keys to place anyone at all; this one has 4.
  8. A standing is relative, and the grouping is ours. It says where a country places against the others measured alongside it, so it moves when they move. The publishers listed on this page did not agree to be read together, and each measures its subject its own way: the underlying numbers are theirs, the ordering on top is this site’s — the same method as the rest of the Country Index, applied to one subject instead of all of them.

The key statistics and their licences

The other 7 statistics on this page come from 5 publishers, each named beside its numbers, with every edition and licence on the datasets pages.

The standing itself is part of the Country Index 2026, published under CC BY-SA 4.0.

Photographs

China’s banner and the countries placed highest, from their profiles: Wikimedia Commons, shown in greyscale, each used under the licence named.

Cite this page

Nations Inquiry (2026). China: Gender & Equality — standing and statistics, Country Index 2026. https://nationsinquiry.com/countries/china/gender

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