Singapore closes over three-quarters of gender gap, ranks 31st globally

Singapore has made substantial progress in closing its gender gap, with new data showing the nation has bridged 76.4 per cent of the disparity between men and women across key metrics. The ranking places Singapore 31st in the global Gender Gap Index 2026, reflecting ongoing efforts to advance gender equality across multiple sectors.

The island's strongest performance comes in educational attainment, where Singapore demonstrates near-parity between male and female achievement levels. This success reflects decades of investment in education and the consistent outperformance of girls in academic settings across primary, secondary and tertiary levels.

However, the gender gap remains most pronounced in political empowerment, the area showing the widest disparity. Women remain significantly underrepresented in political leadership positions and decision-making roles, presenting the most substantial challenge to achieving overall gender parity in Singapore.

The Index measures gender gaps across four dimensions: economic participation and opportunity, educational attainment, health and survival, and political empowerment. Singapore's mixed results suggest that while the nation has achieved notable progress in some areas, targeted initiatives focusing on political representation and senior leadership roles may be needed to narrow remaining disparities.