Top 10 Countries with the Highest Women's Empowerment in the World 2022: Europe Dominates

The United Nations Development Programme (UNDP) released the 2022 Women's Empowerment Index (WEI) score.

This index measures women's empowerment across five dimensions of human development: good health and well-being; education, skills development, and knowledge; inclusion in employment and finance; participation in decision-making; and freedom from violence.

Sweden achieved the highest score with 0.828 out of a possible 1 point. The UNDP categorized Sweden as having high levels of women's empowerment.

Iceland ranked second with a score of 0.816 points, followed by Australia in third place with 0.805 points.

Denmark and Norway occupied the fourth and fifth positions, respectively, with scores of 0.804 and 0.802 points.

These top five countries are categorized as having high levels of women's empowerment. The rest fall into the upper-middle category.

The top 10 countries with the highest women's empowerment scores, as shown in the graph, are predominantly developed nations, many from Europe.

The global average WEI score reached 0.607 points in 2022. However, the UNDP highlights a significant variation between low and high development groups.

Countries in the low empowerment category achieved an average WEI score of 0.432 points. This group largely consists of developing countries, including Indonesia. High empowerment groups averaged 0.734 points.

The UNDP assesses that women's power and freedom to make choices and seize opportunities remain severely limited.

Globally, the UNDP states that women are empowered to reach, on average, only 60.7% of their full potential, as measured by the WEI.

"This means that the deficit in women's empowerment reaches almost 40%," writes the UNDP in its report, *The Paths to Equal, twin indices on women's empowerment and gender equality*.

(Also read: 10 Countries with the Lowest Gender Inequality Index in the World)