Pakistan has been ranked at the bottom of the World Economic Forum’s (WEF) Global Gender Gap Report 2025, finishing 148th out of 148 countries with a gender parity score of 56.7%. This score represents a slight decline from 2024 and marks the second consecutive drop since Pakistan’s peak score of 57.7% in 2023. The report evaluates gender equality across four key dimensions: economic participation and opportunity, educational attainment, health and survival, and political empowerment. Despite ranking last, Pakistan’s position has only shifted marginally from 145th last year.
The only area where Pakistan showed improvement was in educational attainment, which rose by 1.5 percentage points to 85.1%, driven by a modest increase in female literacy rates. However, the country still ranks 137th in this subindex. Pakistan’s highest subindex ranking is 118th in political empowerment, though its score in this area declined from 12.2% in 2024 to 11% in 2025. The report also highlights that Pakistan’s economic participation and opportunity remain low, with a score of 34.7%, and income disparity and wage inequality have slightly increased.
Globally, the average gender gap score has improved slightly to 68.8% in 2025, but Pakistan’s persistent low ranking underscores the need for urgent action. The WEF’s Managing Director, Saadia Zahidi, emphasizes that gender parity is both a principle and a strategy essential for economic growth and social progress. For Pakistan to improve, concerted efforts are required to enhance women’s access to education, economic opportunities, and political representation, thereby unlocking the full potential of its human capital.