KARACHI, June 13 (Alliance News): Pakistan has been ranked at the very bottom of the World Economic Forum’s Global Gender Gap Report 2025, placing 148th out of 148 countries, according to the report.
The country scored 56.7% in gender parity — a decline of 0.3 percentage points from 2024, marking its second consecutive drop after reaching 57.7% in 2023.
The Global Gender Gap Index, first introduced in 2006, measures gender equality across four key dimensions: Economic Participation and Opportunity, Educational Attainment, Health and Survival, and Political Empowerment.
Despite its lowest overall rank, Pakistan improved slightly in the ‘Educational Attainment’ subindex, where it registered an increase of 1.5 percentage points, reaching 85.1%. This progress is largely attributed to a modest rise in female literacy rates from 46.5% to 48.5%, and a relative decline in male tertiary education enrolment.
Nevertheless, Pakistan remains 137th on the Educational Attainment subindex. Its best performance is in the Health and Survival category, with a score of 95.9%.
On the other hand, its score in Political Empowerment dropped from 12.2% in 2024 to 11% this year, despite improved gender parity in parliament. The country was listed among nations with all-male ministerial cabinets.
In Economic Participation and Opportunity, Pakistan scored 34.7%, with income disparities and wage inequality slightly worsening since the previous report. The gender income gap has widened (+0.02 points), and perceptions of wage inequality have increased by four percentage points.
Regionally, Bangladesh leads South Asia, ranked 24th globally, followed by India at 131st. Iceland continues to top the global rankings.
The WEF report notes that Pakistan has closed 2.3 percentage points of its gender gap since 2006, but the overall global gap still stands at over 30%. The global average score in 2025 is 68.8%, slightly higher than 68.4% in 2024.
Commenting on the findings, WEF Managing Director Saadia Zahidi said the report comes at a time of global transition, marked by geopolitical tensions, economic uncertainty, and rapid technological advancements.
She emphasized that gender parity is not only a matter of equity but also a crucial strategy for economic resilience and growth.
“Economies that tap into the full spectrum of their talent and human capital are best positioned to navigate an era of transformation and accelerate productivity and prosperity. Yet most economies are not fully leveraging this pathway for growth,” Zahidi said.
