India has ranked 131 out of 146 nations in the Global Gender Gap Index 2025, released by the World Economic Forum (WEF) on Thursday. The country dropped two places compared to the previous year, scoring a gender parity rate of 64.1%. This places India among the lowest-ranked countries in South Asia, only ahead of Maldives and Pakistan. The Index evaluates countries based on four dimensions: Economic Participation and Opportunity, Educational Attainment, Health and Survival, and Political Empowerment.

While India showed marginal improvement in economic participation, with a 0.9-point rise in its score to 40.7%, major gaps remain, especially in income parity and leadership roles. The report noted India’s estimated earned income parity rose slightly from 28.6% to 29.9%, and labour force participation remained stagnant at 45.9%. Educational attainment remained strong, with a score of 97.1% driven by increased female literacy and enrolment in higher education. Health and survival also saw slight improvements due to better sex ratios at birth and parity in healthy life expectancy.

However, political empowerment remains a significant challenge for India. The representation of women in Parliament fell from 14.7% to 13.8%, while the share of women in ministerial positions dropped to 5.6%. These declines contributed to India’s overall slide in the rankings. In contrast, Bangladesh surged 75 positions to 24th globally, making it South Asia’s top performer. Globally, Iceland retained the top spot for the 16th consecutive year, with full gender parity still estimated to be over a century away. The WEF emphasized that achieving gender equality is not only a social imperative but also a vital economic strategy.