Nigeria moves up 16 places on global gender gap index

Nigeria has been ranked 123rd out of 146 countries on the 2022 global gender gap index, which measures access to resources and opportunities in countries.

In 2021, the country was ranked 139th out of 156 countries.

The World Economic Forum (WEF), in its publication titled: ‘Global Gender Gap Report 2022’, released on Wednesday, analysed the evolution of gender-based gaps in 146 countries.

The report, which is now in its 16th year, benchmarks the current state and evolution of gender parity across major dimensions of economic participation and opportunity, educational attainment, health and survival, political empowerment, as well as in several other categories.

On the average, Nigeria is ranked 123rd on the list, but on economic participation, the country sits at the 50th place.

In terms of political participation, the Nigeria is ranked 141st in the world; on health and survival, 70th; and in educational attainment, the country is on the 134th spot.

Nigeria is ranked 27th in sub-Saharan Africa.

According to the report, it will take more than 100 years for the world to reach full gender parity.

“In 2022, the global gender gap has been closed by 68.1%. At the current rate of progress, it will take 132 years to reach full parity,” the report reads.

“This represents a slight four-year improvement compared to the 2021 estimate (136 years to parity).

“However, it does not compensate for the generational loss which occurred between 2020 and 2021: according to trends leading up to 2020, the gender gap was set to close within 100 years.”