According to the Global Gender Gap Report 2012, India is on 105th spot. The survey was conducted in 135 countries (which collectively contain over 90 percent of the world's population) based on 14 indicators used to measure the size of a nation's gender gap in four key areas:
1. Economic participation and opportunity
2. Educational attainment
3. Health and survival
4. Political empowerment
Here's a look at the 5 best and 5 worst countries for gender equality.
Source : AFP
#1 Iceland: Nordic countries headed by Iceland, Finland and Norway, have done the best job of closing the gender gap. In 2011 too, Iceland ranked first.
Source : AFP
#2 Finland: Of the top four global economies, the United States, Japan and Germany all made progress in closing their economic gender gap in 2012. In 2011, Finland ranked third.
Source : AFP
#3 Norway: Countries such as Nicaragua (9) and Luxembourg (17) climbed up the ranking thanks to an increase in the percentage of women in parliament. In 2011, Norway ranked second.
Source : AFP
#4 Sweden: Reducing the male-female employment gap has been an important driver of European economic growth in the last decade, the report said. In 2011 too, Sweden ranked fourth.
Source : AFP
#5 Ireland: In 2011, Ireland ranked fifth.
Source : AFP
#135 Yemen: Ranked last on the list, Yemen remains the worst country for women.
Source : AFP
# 134 Pakistan: Ranked second last on the survey, the situation seems to deteriorate in Pakistan. In 2011, Pakistan ranked #133.
Source : AFP
#133 Chad: In 2011, Chad ranked #134.
Source : AFP
#132 Syria: According to the latest report, Syria has gone from bad to worse. In 2011, Syria ranked #124.
Source : AFP
#131 Saudi Arabia: In 2011 too, Saudi Arabia ranked #131.