Facts & Figures

Education 

The gender gap in education and literacy remains a significant challenge across the Global South, with striking disparities in access and outcomes: 

  • In Afghanistan, only 22.6% of women aged 15 and older are literate compared to 52.1% of men. Similarly, in Mozambique, the literacy rate for women is 48.6%, trailing behind men at 72.5%.1
  • Access to primary education is also inequitable. In Pakistan, only 62.7% of female youth complete primary school, while the rate in Senegal is just 59.7%.2
  • In Brazil, 20.6% of youth are not engaged in education, employment, or training, a figure that rises to 26.9% in Egypt.3
  • Women are particularly underrepresented in technology fields. In Indonesia and Iran, the ratio of female to male graduates in Information and Communication Technologies programs is an alarming 3:10.4
  • Enrollment in higher education is similarly lopsided. In Mauritania, only 4.3% of women enroll in tertiary education programs.5
Health & Well-Being 

The right to health, recognized in the 1948 Universal Declaration of Human Rights and reaffirmed in the 1966 International Covenant on Economic, Social and Cultural Rights, remains far from a global reality, with stark disparities affecting women and girls worldwide: 

  • While high-income women face a maternal mortality ratio of 12 deaths per 100,000 births, the ratio soars to 409 deaths per 100,000 births for low-income women. Similarly, 98.7% of high-income births are attended by skilled professionals, compared to just 66.5% in low-income settings.6
  • In Zimbabwe, 20% of children under five are stunted due to poor nutrition and repeated infections.7 
  • Rates of malnutrition among pregnant and breastfeeding women rose 25% between 2020 and 2022 in 12 of the hardest-hit countries.8
  • Access to contraception is limited in many regions. In Kyrgyzstan, 19.7% of fertile, married women cannot access desired contraceptives. In South Asia, only 43% of girls aged 15-19 have their family planning needs met with modern methods.9 10
  • Menstrual health impacts daily life, with 17.6% of women and girls in Nigeria missing school, work, or social activities due to their last period.11
  • Autonomy over reproductive health remains limited. In Jordan, 60.7% of women aged 15-49 feel empowered to make informed decisions about sexual and reproductive health, but this figure plummets to just 7% in Senegal.12
Government 

Women’s representation in political leadership remains uneven globally, reflecting persistent barriers to gender equality in governance: 

  • In 2024, women hold 27% of national parliamentary seats worldwide, with slightly higher representation in local governments at 35.5%.13
  • Despite progress, leadership roles remain elusive for many women. Globally, 107 countries have never had a woman serve as Head of State, underscoring the gender gap in executive positions.14
  • In Jordan, women occupy just 12.3% of national parliamentary seats, while in Malaysia, the figure is only 13.5%.15
Economics 

The gender gap in labor, income, and opportunities remains a pressing issue globally, with women disproportionately affected by unpaid work, wage inequality, and limited career prospects: 

  • Globally, women spend significantly more time on unpaid domestic and care work than men. In Morocco, for instance, women dedicate 17.8% more hours per day to tasks like childcare, food preparation, cleaning, and elder care compared to men.16
  • Legal protections against workplace discrimination remain insufficient. Over 10 countries lack laws prohibiting gender-based employment discrimination.17
  • Pay inequality persists. In 2018, women full-time workers earned just 82 cents for every dollar earned by men. Over a 15-year period, women’s earnings amounted to only 49% of men’s earnings.18
  • The global labor force participation rate for women is just over 50%, compared to 80% for men. Women are less likely to secure formal employment and face barriers to business expansion and career progression.19
  • Maternity leave policies vary widely. Bulgaria leads with a minimum of 58 weeks, while Tunisia offers only 4 weeks. Moreover, just 14 countries globally mandate full-rate paid maternity leave.20
  • Leadership opportunities for women remain scarce. In Pakistan, women hold only 6% of senior and middle management positions, and in Turkey, just 20%.21
  • Poverty disproportionately affects women and marginalized populations. Over 692 million people—or 8.5% of the world’s population—live below the poverty line, most in sub-Saharan Africa and South Asia. Meanwhile, income inequality remains stark: the richest 10% claim 52% of global income, while the poorest half receive only 8.5%.22 23
Children’s Rights 

The global state of children’s rights remains deeply concerning, with millions of children facing exploitation, violence, and systemic inequalities despite international frameworks for protection: 

  • Children’s rights are recognized in the 1989 United Nations Convention on the Rights of the Child (UNCRC), the most widely ratified human rights treaty globally. However, violations persist.
  • Each year, an estimated 150 million girls and 73 million boys are sexually assaulted.24
  • Immigration detention affects at least 330,000 children annually in 80 countries, often simply because they are migrants or refugees.25
  • In 2019, one in six children lived in extreme poverty, which heightened risks of domestic violence, child labor, sexual exploitation, teenage pregnancy, and child marriage. The Covid-19 pandemic exacerbated this crisis.26
  • Child marriage is most prevalent in West and Central Africa, where nearly 40% of young women are married before 18. Rates are also high in Eastern and Southern Africa (32%), South Asia (28%), and Latin America and the Caribbean (21%).27
  • Between 2005 and 2022, more than 105,000 children were verified as recruited and used by armed groups, though the actual number is likely higher. Children are coerced, threatened, or driven by poverty to join these groups, often enduring gender-based violence and forced participation in atrocities.28
  • In sub-Saharan Africa, more than 1 in 4 children aged 5 to 17 are engaged in child labor, compared to 5% in Latin America and the Caribbean and the Middle East and North Africa. While boys and girls are equally likely to engage in child labor, girls are disproportionately tasked with unpaid household services.29
Violence Against Women 

Violence against women (VAW) remains a pervasive global issue, manifesting in various forms and with devastating consequences: 

  • In Kazakhstan, about 1 in 6 women have experienced Intimate Partner Violence (IPV). In Indonesia, Malaysia, Nigeria, and Senegal, the rate is approximately 1 in 5 women. In Brazil, Jordan, and Kyrgyzstan, about 1 in 4 women have faced IPV. In Egypt, Iran, Mozambique, Pakistan, Turkey, and Zimbabwe, the rate rises to 1 in 3 women. In Afghanistan, an alarming 1 in 2 women have experienced IPV.30
  • IPV and sexual violence lead to severe physical, mental, sexual, and reproductive health problems, with both short- and long-term repercussions.31
  • Around 1 in 3 women (30%) have been subjected to physical and/or sexual IPV or non-partner sexual violence in their lifetime.32
  • Alarmingly, 25 countries worldwide lack legislation specifically addressing domestic violence.33
  • In 2022, more than 48,800 women and girls were killed by intimate partners or other family members — over five every hour.34
  • Human trafficking disproportionately affects women: for every 10 victims, four are adult women, and two are girls. Additionally, 91% of victims trafficked for sexual exploitation are female, with female victims enduring extreme violence at three times the rate of males.35
  • Among female parliamentarians across five regions, 82% reported experiencing psychological violence during their terms, including sexist remarks, threats, and mobbing.36
  • Fewer than 40% of women who experience violence seek help. Of those who do, most turn to family and friends, while less than 10% approach formal institutions like the police.37
  • In the Arab States, 60% of women internet users reported being exposed to online violence in 2022.38
  • Harmful practices persist, 63.9% of women aged 15-49 in Mauritania subjected to female genital mutilation or other injury to the female genital organs for non-therapeutic injuries.39
  • In the 92 countries where FGM is practiced, only 51 countries have laws specifically prohibiting it, often through criminal or violence-related provisions.40
LGBTQ+ Rights 

Discrimination against LGBTQ+ individuals remains a critical global issue, with significant legal, social, and institutional challenges: 

  • 64 countries worldwide still have laws that criminalize homosexuality.41 
  • In some countries, such as Brunei, Iran, Mauritania, Saudi Arabia, Yemen, Uganda, and northern states in Nigeria, engaging in consensual same-sex acts can result in the death penalty.42
  • Discrimination extends beyond criminal prosecution and can include limited access to healthcare, hindering basic and specialized care for LGBTQ+ individuals, employment difficulties, including hiring bias, workplace bullying, and harassment, and social stigma that leads to exclusion and psychological harm.43
  • Only 36 countries globally have legalized same-sex marriage, reflecting ongoing barriers to legal recognition and equality in most parts of the world.44
Civil Liberties 

As global freedoms continue to face increasing challenges, civil liberties are rapidly declining in many parts of the world. 

  • According to Freedom House, 67 countries are rated as "Not Free," and 59 countries as "Partly Free," reflecting significant global limitations on voting rights, freedom of expression, and legal equality.45
  • In 2020, more nations shifted toward authoritarianism than democracy, a trend exacerbated by the pandemic and marking the longest period of global democratic decline since the 1970s.46
  • By 2024, 43% of countries restricted free speech and assembly—an alarming rise from the previous year.47
Refugees and Displaced Persons 

As global displacement continues to rise, the plight of refugees and internally displaced people becomes an increasingly urgent concern. 

  • The 1951 Refugee Convention and its 1967 Protocol enshrine key rights for refugees, including protection against refoulement (forced return to danger), access to housing, work, and education, as well as basic standards for humane treatment.48
  • 117.3 million people worldwide are forcibly displaced, with 31.6 million as refugees and 68.3 million as internally displaced persons.49
  • Although children make up 20% of the world’s population, they represent 40% of all forcibly displaced people, highlighting the disproportionate impact of displacement on young lives.50
  • 65% of all refugees come from just four countries—Syria, Venezuela, Ukraine, and Afghanistan—while 32% of all refugees are hosted in five countries: Iran, Turkey, Colombia, Germany, and Uganda.51
Workers’ Rights 

Modern slavery traps individuals in exploitative conditions, where they are subjected to violence, threats, and forced labor, often in industries like brothels, factories, mines, and agriculture. Victims are denied basic rights, frequently paid below minimum wage, and forced to survive on meager sustenance.52

  • Women and girls account for 71% of all victims of modern slavery, equating to one in every 130 women and girls living in these conditions.53
  • In Kazakhstan, approximately 11 out of every 1,000 people live in modern slavery, translating to about 208,000 individuals trapped in forced labor.54
  • Over 12 million children are living in modern slavery, with women and girls making up 54% of this vulnerable group.55
  • Migrant workers are three times more likely to be subjected to forced labor compared to non-migrant workers.56
  • Mauritania, which was the last country to abolish slavery in 1981, still suffers from one of the highest rates of slavery in the world, with 32 people out of every 1,000 living in slavery.57
  • The global trend of labor rights violations is increasing, with the proportion of countries violating the right to strike rising from 63% in 2014 to 87% in 2022, and those violating the right to form trade unions climbing from 58% to 77% over the same period.58
Climate Justice 

The escalating climate crisis is not just an environmental issue, it affects people's fundamental rights to life, safety, and dignity. As climate change intensifies, it disrupts access to basic necessities such as water, food, sanitation, and housing. 

  • Nearly 1 in 5 people globally will face severe weather shocks in their lifetime, leaving them struggling to recover and worsening inequality.59
  • 80% of people displaced by climate change are women, highlighting the gendered impact of environmental crises.60
  • Climate change amplifies the risks of violence against women and girls by exacerbating displacement, resource scarcity, food insecurity, and disruption of services for survivors.61
  • Around 3.6 billion people already live in areas highly vulnerable to climate change. By 2050, climate change is expected to contribute to 250,000 additional deaths annually, primarily due to undernutrition, malaria, diarrhea, and heat stress.62
  • Indigenous peoples around the world are disproportionately affected by climate change, especially in relation to the destruction of their ancestral lands and the loss of their livelihoods.63
Progress 

Across the world, significant strides are being made in addressing gender inequality and improving access to essential rights, though challenges remain in many regions. 

  • The number of pregnant women receiving prenatal care globally has steadily increased, with 87.6% of women now receiving the care they need.64
  • Child marriage is decreasing globally, with the most notable progress seen in South Asia, where the risk of a girl marrying in childhood has dropped by more than a third in the past decade.65
  • In 2024, Brazil urged the UN Human Rights Council to adopt a treaty recognizing the right to free secondary education and at least one year of free pre-primary education for all children.66
  • In Indonesia, the government committed to implementing 205 out of 269 recommendations from the UN Human Rights Council, including measures to protect fundamental freedoms, protect LGBT rights, and combat discrimination against women and girls.67
  • Kazakhstan strengthened legal protections for women, eliminating the provision allowing reconciliation after repeated family abuse and empowering police to take action against abusers without a survivor’s complaint.68
  • Kyrgyzstan increased social benefits for people with disabilities by up to 100% and abolished the mandatory death penalty, removing it for 12 offenses and limiting it for 7 others.69
  • The Malaysian Cabinet announced plans to amend the Federal Constitution to grant citizenship to children born overseas to Malaysian mothers and foreign fathers.70
  • Morocco began revising the 2004 Family Code (Moudawana) to address gender inequalities in marriage, divorce, and child guardianship.71 
  • In the wake of the 2022 floods, the Sindh government in Pakistan provided land titles and construction funds to 2.1 million flood victims, aiming to restore their livelihoods and housing.72
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