Women held 33% of the seats in national parliaments in the EU in 2020, according to data released today by Eurostat, the EU's statistical office. %) of members in national parliaments.
According to Eurostat, while the share of women holding seats in national parliaments varies considerably between EU countries, no EU country has had more women than men holding seats in its parliament.
In 2020, the highest share of women members of national parliaments was recorded in Sweden, where women represented almost half of the Members (almost 50%), ahead of Finland (46%), Belgium (43%) and Spain (out of 42 %).
At the opposite end of the scale, the lowest rates were recorded in Hungary and Malta (from 13%). Romania and the Czech Republic follow at 20% and then Slovenia at 21%, while then Greece and Cyprus with 22%, are ranked 7th and 8th from the end.
Meanwhile, in recent years, the share of women members of government (Ministers and Undersecretaries) in the EU has also increased, from 20% in 2004 to 33% in 2020.
In 2020, Finland had the highest percentage of women members in its Government (55%). It was followed by Austria (53%), Sweden (52%), France (51%) and Belgium (50%). In contrast, the lowest rates were recorded in Malta (8%), Greece (11%) and Estonia (13%). In Cyprus, this percentage is 25%, in the 8th lowest position.
Finally, the number of women Presidents and Prime Ministers in the EU has also increased since 2004. Today, 4 in 27 heads of state and government are women, while there were none in 2004. During this period, there were never more than four women Presidents or Prime Ministers at the same time in the EU.
