Nigeria has the lowest female national parliamentary representation in Africa, with only 4.3% female representation

Key takeaways:

  • Rwanda leads Africa in female parliamentary representation with 61.3% women in its national legislature.
  • Nigeria has the lowest representation of women in parliament across the continent at just 4.3%.
  • South Africa and Cabo Verde also boast high female parliamentary shares, with 44.7% and 44.4% respectively.
  • Four of the top 10 countries have more than 40% women in their national assemblies.
  • Only five countries in the bottom 10 have over 10% female representation.
  • The gap between the top and bottom countries is massive: a nearly 57-percentage-point difference between Rwanda and Nigeria.

The state of women’s representation in African parliaments shows a sharp contrast between progress and persistent gaps. Rwanda leads the continent with 61.3% of its national parliament made up of women, more than any other African country, and a global benchmark (1st in the world). On the other end, Nigeria ranks last in Africa, with women holding just 4.3% of seats in the national legislature. This extreme disparity underscores the uneven strides being made across the continent toward gender inclusion in governance.
Beyond Nigeria, several other countries also struggle with low female participation. Algeria (5.6%), Gambia (8.6%), Botswana (8.7%), and Guinea-Bissau (9.8%) all fall below the 10% mark. Yet countries like South Africa (44.7%), Senegal (41.2%), and Mozambique (39.2%) have made strong showings, proving that meaningful progress is possible across diverse regions and political systems.

Source:

Inter-Parliamentary Union (IPU)

Period:

2024
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  • Rwanda is a global leader in gender-inclusive governance, with nearly two-thirds (63.8%) of its parliament occupied by women.
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Sudan is the leading country with the highest total number of individuals requiring assistance, alongside its UN targets among African nations
Key takeaways:
  • Mozambique has the fewest individuals requiring support from the United Nations.
  • The UN plans to help 3.6 million of the 7.8 million people in Nigeria who require assistance.
  • Sudan is the only Northern African country recorded by the UN as having people in need.
  • In East and Southern Africa, the countries with the highest and lowest numbers of individuals in need are Ethiopia and Zimbabwe, respectively.
  • The Democratic Republic of Congo and Niger have the highest and lowest number of individuals needing assistance, respectively, in West and Central Africa.
Met and unmet United Nations (UN) requirements for Nigeria's humanitarian support (2016-2024)
Key takeaways:
  • The highest percentage of requirements was met in 2019.
  • Less than 50 percent of UN funds targeted towards Nigeria's humanitarian aid was realised in 2023.
  • As of 2020, the year of the Covid-19 pandemic, approximately 58 percent of the UN target for Nigeria's humanitarian support was raised, which is lower than the percentage realised in 2019 and 2021.
  • Every year, Nigeria obtains at least 40% of the UN's humanitarian aid needs.
The United Nations' (UN) achieved requirements for Nigeria’s humanitarian response plan (2016 - 2024)
Key takeaways:
  • The highest amount of funds raised for Nigeria’s humanitarian aid was recorded in 2017 at $770 million.
  • From 2019 to 2020, there was only a slight increase of 0.3% in the amount raised.
  • By 2023, a decline of 23.42% from 2022's raised funds was witnessed, and it is the lowest decline experienced since 2017.
  • Regardless of fluctuations in annual assistance, Nigeria continued to receive humanitarian aid from the United Nations.
Top 10 Countries With The Most Number of U.S. Military Bases
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Population of people in need of humanitarian assistance in 2025 - Top 15 countries
Key takeaways:  
  • Most countries can only target 50-70% of their populations in need.
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  • Myanmar exhibits the largest gap, with over 19.9 million people in need and only 5.5 million targeted for assistance.
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