China climbs to 96th in global gender gap ranking, above India

China closed 69.9 per cent of its gender gap in 2025, moving up to 96th place among 145 economies in the latest global assessment of gender equality.

The country had ranked 103rd the previous year, making its latest position an improvement of seven places and an increase of 1.3 percentage points.

The findings were published in the 2026 Global Gender Gap Report by the World Economic Forum (WEF), an international non-profit organisation based in Switzerland.

China returns to the top 100

China’s return to the top 100 marks the first time it has achieved that position since 2016, when it ranked 99th.

The report described the assessment as an annual global comparison of gender equality across 145 economies.

Performance in economic participation and opportunity powered China’s rise to 96th place from 103rd, according to the report.

The result places China higher than several major economies in the region in the latest ranking.

South Korea was ranked 101st, Japan 117th and India 131st.

China’s position therefore stood above the rankings recorded for each of those three economies, although the report’s overall assessment covers a much larger group of countries and economies.

The improvement comes after China had remained outside the top 100 since its 99th-place ranking in 2016.

Its 2025 score and revised position make the latest report a notable change in China’s standing in the annual gender-parity assessment.

Source: South China Morning Post