Countries by Number of Female Heads of State or Government (Historical)

About This Dataset

Countries ranked by the total number of women who have served as head of state or government since their independence or the beginning of their modern democratic period. Switzerland leads this measure among established democracies — having rotated seven women through its Federal Council presidency since the first female councillor was elected in 1984, reflecting a political system of shared collegiate executive power that distributes leadership broadly rather than concentrating it in a single executive figure.

✨ AI Insight

The significant gap between Switzerland's seven female heads of state and the next highest countries, Norway and Finland, which have four each, underscores the unique political structure in Switzerland that promotes shared leadership. This disparity suggests that systems allowing for collective executive roles may be more conducive to female political participation. Notably, while countries like Bangladesh have had two female leaders, the overall trend reveals that many established democracies still struggle with gender parity in leadership positions. This data calls attention to the need for systemic changes to encourage more women to ascend to the highest political offices.

Source: Wikipedia

Key Findings

Auto-computed highlights from this dataset

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Switzerland leads with 7 in All Time.

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Average value in All Time: 4 · median: 3.

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Gap in All Time: Switzerland is 3.5× larger than Bangladesh.