Countries by Women Business and the Law Index Score (scale 1-100)
Fourteen countries, including Belgium, Canada, France, and Spain, achieve a perfect score of 100 on the Women Business and the Law Index in 2023, meaning their laws impose no measured restrictions on women's economic opportunity. At the other end, West Bank and Gaza ranks 189th with a score of 26.25, and Yemen ranks 188th with 26.875. The 73.75-point gap between the top and bottom of the ranking reflects the wide variation in how national laws treat women's economic rights.
Ranking 2023
Analysis
The Women Business and the Law Index measures how laws and regulations affect women's economic opportunity. Overall scores are calculated by taking the average score of each index (Mobility, Workplace, Pay, Marriage, Parenthood, Entrepreneurship, Assets and Pension), with 100 representing the highest possible score. Scores are expressed as absolute values on a scale of 1 to 100, where higher scores indicate fewer legal restrictions. This ranking covers 189 countries, all with data from 2023, representing 100% recency coverage. Data quality is 100% official, no extreme outliers were detected at the 3-standard-deviation threshold, and the average year-over-year change is 1.3%, indicating high stability. The full range runs from 26.25 to 100.00, a spread of 281%.
All 14 countries at rank 1 with a score of 100 are concentrated in Western Europe and North America, with the exception of Latvia, which also achieves the top score. The next tier, ranks 15 through 20, includes Estonia, Finland, Italy, New Zealand, Togo, and the United Kingdom, each scoring 97.5. Australia, Austria, Cyprus, Norway, and Slovenia follow at rank 21 with 96.875. High scores in this group reflect legal frameworks that place no or minimal restrictions across all eight sub-index dimensions measured by the indicator. Notably, Togo at rank 15 with 97.5 is the only sub-Saharan African country in the top 20.
In the middle of the ranking, the United States places 41st with a score of 91.25, below several Eastern European and Latin American countries. Japan ranks 108th with 78.75, and China ranks 112th with 78.125, placing both significantly below many lower-income countries. Saudi Arabia ranks 135th with 71.25, while the United Arab Emirates ranks 83rd with 82.5, a notable gap between two Gulf states. At the lower end, Iran ranks 187th with 31.25, Kuwait ranks 183rd with 38.125, and Qatar ranks 184th with 35.625. Sudan ranks 185th with 32.5 and Afghanistan ranks 186th with 31.875, placing them among the lowest-scoring countries globally.
This index measures only the legal and regulatory framework as written, not enforcement, compliance, or real-world outcomes for women. A high score indicates that laws on the books are equitable, but does not indicate whether those laws are applied in practice. The metric does not capture informal barriers, social norms, or economic conditions. Countries with identical scores may differ substantially in how laws function in practice. Territorial entities such as West Bank and Gaza and Hong Kong SAR, China are included alongside sovereign states, which affects comparability. Scores are stable year-over-year at an average change of 1.3%, which may also reflect slow legal reform cycles rather than data limitations.
Methodology
Data are drawn from the World Bank World Development Indicators, indicator code SG.LAW.INDX, for the reference year 2023. The index measures how laws and regulations affect women's economic opportunity. Overall scores are calculated by taking the average score of each index (Mobility, Workplace, Pay, Marriage, Parenthood, Entrepreneurship, Assets and Pension), with 100 representing the highest possible score. The ranking covers 189 countries, all with data confirmed from 2023 (100% recency coverage). Data quality is 100% official-source. No extreme outliers were identified at the 3-standard-deviation threshold. The average year-over-year change is 1.3%, well below the 50% volatility threshold. Scores range from 26.25 to 100.00. The index measures legal text only and does not assess enforcement or practical outcomes.