Adopted in 2015 by all United Nations (UN) members, the 17 Sustainable Development Goals (SDGs) provide a global agenda for making the world a better place by 2030. They are described by the UN as a ‘shared blueprint for peace and prosperity for people and the planet‘, and goals are to be achieved by all countries, in global partnership, by 2030.
This page provides a selection of visualisations on global and regional trends for Sustainable Development Goal 5: Achieve gender equality and empower all women and girls.
The visualisations use the latest official data from the United Nations SDG Global Database.
Target 5.1
End all forms of discrimination against all women and girls everywhere
Indicators:
| 5.1.1 | Whether or not legal frameworks are in place to promote, enforce and monitor equality and non‑discrimination on the basis of sex |
This indicator is measured through national-level assessments of legal frameworks, using a questionnaire covering four areas of law:
- Overarching legal frameworks and public life;
- Violence against women;
- Employment and economic benefits; and
- Marriage and family.
A score is given for each area (a number between 0 and 100) with 100 representing the full implementation of legal frameworks that promote, enforce and monitor gender equality.
95 countries are included in the latest data for 2020 which shows that countries scored on average 76% across all four areas, with countries in Europe, Northern America and Oceania (Australia and New Zealand) scoring the highest.
Note that the regional groupings used in the visualisation above (and all other visualisations on this page with regional data) follow the UN regional classification for the Sustainable Development Goals.
Target 5.2
Eliminate all forms of violence against all women and girls in the public and private spheres, including trafficking and sexual and other types of exploitation
Indicators:
| 5.2.1 | Proportion of ever-partnered women and girls aged 15 years and older subjected to physical, sexual or psychological violence by a current or former intimate partner in the previous 12 months, by form of violence and by age |
| 5.2.2 | Proportion of women and girls aged 15 years and older subjected to sexual violence by persons other than an intimate partner in the previous 12 months, by age and place of occurrence |
The latest global data from 2018 shows that 1 out of 10 women and girls aged 15 or older have been subjected to violence (physical, sexual or psychological) by a current or former intimate partner in the last 12 months. There are significant differences across regions. Data is not available to gauge trends over time at a global or regional level.
Data is not available for the second indicator of violence by persons other than intimate partners. A working group has been set up by the UN to gather data on this indicator. Earlier estimates by the WHO has indicated that 7% of women worldwide have been sexually assaulted by someone other than a partner at some point in their lives.
Target 5.3
Eliminate all harmful practices, such as child, early and forced marriage and female genital mutilation
Indicators:
| 5.3.1 | Proportion of women aged 20-24 years who were married or in a union before age 15 and before age 18 |
| 5.3.2 | Proportion of girls and women aged 15-49 years who have undergone female genital mutilation/cutting, by age |
According to the UN, more than half a billion girls and women alive today were married in childhood. Globally, the prevalence of child marriage has been in decline. The most recent estimates from 2021 (covering a five-year period) show that about 1 in 5 women aged 20-24 were married or in a union before they were 18 years of age. 5% were so before the age of 15.
The highest prevalence of child marriage was in sub-Saharan Africa and Central and Southern Asia. In the latter, rates have been in decline over the past two decades, while the development in other regions has been more stagnant.
Approximately 200 million girls and women alive today have been subjected to female genital mutilation (FGM), according to UN estimates. Data for this indicator is only available for a limited number of countries and areas, with recent trends pointing towards a moderate decling.
Target 5.4
Recognize and value unpaid care and domestic work through the provision of public services, infrastructure and social protection policies and the promotion of shared responsibility within the household and the family as nationally appropriate
Indicators:
| 5.4.1 | Proportion of time spent on unpaid domestic and care work, by sex, age and location |
There is limited data available for this indicator at a global or regional level. According to a recent UN estimate based on data from 90 countries, women on average spend about 2.5 times as many hours on unpaid domestic work and care work as men.
Target 5.5
Ensure women’s full and effective participation and equal opportunities for leadership at all levels of decision-making in political, economic and public life
Indicators:
| 5.5.1 | Proportion of seats held by women in (a) national parliaments and (b) local governments |
| 5.5.2 | Proportion of women in managerial positions |
A. National parliaments and local government
Despite progress over recent decades, women still only occupy 1 of 4 seats in national parliaments and 1 of 3 seats in local governments. The UN writes in its latest SDG 2022 status report that:
At this pace, it would take another 40 years for women and men to be represented equally in national parliaments.
All regions have seen, albeit at a slow pace, improvements in women's share of seats in national parliaments. As of 2022, the share was highest in i) Latin America and the Caribbean, followed by ii) Europe and Northern America and iii) Sub-Saharan Africa.
At the local government level, data is only available from 2020-22 but shows that representation is generally higher than at the national level. In 2022, it was highest at 41% in Central and Southern Asia.
B. Managerial positions
Data for the second indicator on this target, show that women are also underrepresented at the managerial level. From 2000 to 2020, women's share only increased by 3 percentage points, from 25% to 28%. Shares have increased in all regions.
Importantly, the aggregate data presented here does not include information on the level of management, the type of managerial position, the size of the economic unit and so forth.
Target 5.6
By 2030, ensure that all learners acquire the knowledge and skills needed to promote sustainable development, including, among others, through education for sustainable development and sustainable lifestyles, human rights, gender equality, promotion of a culture of peace and non-violence, global citizenship and appreciation of cultural diversity and of culture’s contribution to sustainable development
Indicators:
| 5.6.1 | Proportion of women aged 15-49 years who make their own informed decisions regarding sexual relations, contraceptive use and reproductive health care |
| 5.6.2 | Number of countries with laws and regulations that guarantee full and equal access to women and men aged 15 years and older to sexual and reproductive health care, information and education |
Not enough data is available on the first indicator to assess global and regional trends.
The second indicator is measured on a scale from 0 to 100% where a full score means that national laws and regulations exist to guarantee women and men full and equal access to reproductive health care, information and education. The UN notes, importantly, that the indicator only measures the existence of laws and regulations, not their implementation.
Each country is measured through a set of 13 components divided into four thematic sections:
- Maternity care
- Contraception services
- Sexuality education
- HIV and HPV
Below is the average score for each section as well as the total, by SDG region. Data was collected between 2019 and 2021, covering 115 countries worldwide.
Countries around the world have on average in place 76% of the laws and regulations that are needed to guarantee full and equal access. Laws and regulations concerning HIV and HPV had the highest level of implementation (81%).
Countries in Sub-Saharan Africa, Northern and Western Asia as well as Latin America and the Caribbean had the lowest levels of implementation.
Target 5.a
Undertake reforms to give women equal rights to economic resources, as well as access to ownership and control over land and other forms of property, financial services, inheritance and natural resources, in accordance with national laws
Indicators:
| 5.a.1 | (a) Proportion of total agricultural population with ownership or secure rights over agricultural land, by sex; and (b) share of women among owners or rights-bearers of agricultural land, by type of tenure |
| 5.a.2 | Proportion of countries where the legal framework (including customary law) guarantees women’s equal rights to land ownership and/or control |
Insufficient data available for analysis of global or regional trends.
Target 5.b
Enhance the use of enabling technology, in particular information and communications technology, to promote the empowerment of women
Indicators:
| 5.b.1 | Proportion of individuals who own a mobile telephone, by sex |
Insufficient data available for analysis of global or regional trends.
Target 5.c
Adopt and strengthen sound policies and enforceable legislation for the promotion of gender equality and the empowerment of all women and girls at all levels
Indicators:
| 5.c.1 | Proportion of countries with systems to track and make public allocations for gender equality and women’s empowerment |
The latest data from the UN, based on 105 countries, shows that only 26% of countries have systems in place to make and track allocations for gender equality. There are large differences in regional averages, with shares highest in Central and Southern Asia, where 63% of countries have such systems in place, and lowest in Latin America and the Caribbean (13%).
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About the data
The data presented on global and regional trends are from the UN SDG Global Database.
Changelog
- First release November 2022