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

Source: Wikipedia

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

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Key Findings

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Switzerland leads in Female Heads of State / Government (Historical) with 7.

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Average Female Heads of State / Government (Historical): 3.63 · median: 3.

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Gap: Switzerland is 3.5× larger than Bangladesh.

About This Dataset

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

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.

Analysis

Switzerland (7), Norway (4) and Finland (4) take the top three in Female Heads of State / Government (Historical). Values run from 7 at the top to 2 at the bottom, a spread of 5. Most of that gap is between first and second alone (3 of 5); the other 7 are separated by just 2. Below the top two the field is tightly packed: the remaining 6 run from 4 down to 2.

Data Insights Below

Data Insights

Numbers, trends & sources behind this chart

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Data Points

8 categories · 1 year

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Top Value

Switzerland

Female Heads of State / Government (Historical) · All Time

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Metrics

Female Heads of State / Government (Historical)

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Period

All Time

Single year snapshot

Methodology & source

Data source: Wikipedia
Coverage: 8 entities · 8 observations
Measure: Female Heads of State / Government (Historical)
Last updated: 6 September 2026
Compiled by: The ANYSTAT team, from the source above

How the figures are calculated

Values use the measure and unit named on this page. Consult the dataset description and cited source for coverage, definitions and any unit conversions. Displayed values may be rounded for readability.
Entities are ranked highest-first on their value.

Rankings & Full Data

8 records · Female Heads of State / Government (Historical) · ranked by All Time

✓ 8 sourced

#	Category	All Time
🥇	Switzerland	7
🥈	Norway	4
🥉	Finland	4
4	Germany	3
5	United Kingdom	3
6	Iceland	3
7	New Zealand	3
8	Bangladesh	2

Data Sources & References

All external sources cited in this dataset

1 https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/List_of_elected_and_appointed_female_heads_of_state_and_government Visit ↗

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APA

ANYSTAT. (2026). Countries by Number of Female Heads of State or Government (Historical) [Data set]. Data: Wikipedia. https://anystat.ai/stats/436/countries-by-female-heads-of-state-history

MLA

"Countries by Number of Female Heads of State or Government (Historical)." ANYSTAT, 6 Sep. 2026, https://anystat.ai/stats/436/countries-by-female-heads-of-state-history.

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<a href="https://anystat.ai/stats/436/countries-by-female-heads-of-state-history">Countries by Number of Female Heads of State or Government (Historical)</a> (ANYSTAT)

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