Albania ranks 36th out of 148 economies in the Global Gender Gap Report 2025 published by the World Economic Forum, with an overall gender parity score of 0.763 — meaning the country has closed 76.3% of its gender gap. This marks a decline compared to 2024, when Albania was ranked 23rd with a score of 0.780 (78.0%).
The Global Gender Gap Index evaluates gender equality based on four main sub-indexes:
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Economic Participation and Opportunity
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Educational Attainment
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Health and Survival
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Political Empowerment
Each sub-index includes specific indicators, such as wage equality and labor force participation (economic), enrollment at different education levels (education), life expectancy and sex ratio at birth (health), and the share of women in parliament or ministerial positions (politics). Indicators are calculated as female-to-male ratios on a 0–1 scale, with 1 indicating full parity, and averaged equally to produce the final index score.
Political Empowerment Drives Albania's Drop
The primary contributor to Albania’s lower ranking in 2025 is a sharp drop in the Political Empowerment sub-index — from 0.419 (30th place in 2024) to 0.349 (42nd place in 2025). This decline alone accounts for much of the 13-position fall.
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The gender gap in parliamentary representation remained at 0.556, placing Albania 40th in this indicator. However, other countries improved their ratios, causing Albania to slide in relative terms.
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The share of women in ministerial roles dropped significantly, from about 85.7% parity in 2024 to 71.4% in 2025 — a decrease of 16.7 percentage points.
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Albania continues to score zero for years with a female head of state — a metric with limited weight, but symbolic importance.
Minor Declines in Education, Slight Gains in Other Areas
The Education sub-index slightly declined from 0.958 to 0.955, largely due to:
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A 5.9 percentage point drop in primary school enrollment for girls.
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A 6.8 percentage point drop in secondary school enrollment.
On the other hand, the Economic Participation and Opportunity sub-index improved slightly, with 78.7% of the gender gap closed.
The Health and Survival sub-index remains Albania’s strongest area, with a score of 0.963, indicating 96.3% parity.
Regional and European Context
In the Western Balkans, Albania ranks second only to Serbia and remains ahead of Bosnia and Herzegovina, Montenegro, and North Macedonia:
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Serbia: 26th
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Albania: 36th
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Bosnia and Herzegovina: 73rd
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Montenegro: 84th
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North Macedonia: 90th
Within Europe, Albania holds the 20th position out of 40 countries, outperforming Italy, which ranks 35th in the region. The top performers in Europe are:
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Iceland (92.6% gap closed) — holding the top spot globally for the 16th consecutive year
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Finland (87.9%)
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Norway (86.3%)
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United Kingdom (83.8%)
Outside of Europe, New Zealand (82.7%) and Namibia (81.1%) are notable global leaders.
Global Trends and Takeaways
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The average global gender gap closed in 2025 stands at 68.8%, a 0.3 percentage point improvement over 2024.
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Among the 100 economies tracked since 2006, the gap has narrowed from 68.6% to 69.0%.
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High-income countries show faster progress (average of 74.3% closed), while low-income countries lag at 66.4%.
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Sub-Saharan Africa and South Asia still perform the weakest, with countries like Pakistan (56.7%), Sudan (57.0%), and Chad (57.1%) at the bottom of the rankings.
Conclusion: A Call for Accelerated Action
The report emphasizes the need to accelerate progress toward gender parity, especially in political representation and economic empowerment. Key policy recommendations include:
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Strengthening supportive legal frameworks
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Investing in affordable care infrastructure
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Ensuring equal access to leadership positions for women
For Albania, the widening political gap highlights a critical area requiring sustained focus and reform if it aims to regain its previous standing and contribute to a more equitable future.