Politics & Elections · Women in parliament · Benin
Benin’s women in parliament held at 26.6% of seats in 2025.
26.6% of seats
2025
No change from 2024.
Updated 8 Oct 2026
In plain words
26.6% of seats
What it is. This measure counts the seats held by women in the national parliament, using the lower house or the only house. The Inter-Parliamentary Union compiles it and the World Bank republishes it. Because it counts seats, it changes mainly when elections or replacements alter who sits in the chamber. Upper houses, local councils, ministerial posts and the seniority of the roles women hold fall outside it.
Higher is better. A higher share means women hold more of the votes and committee places that shape laws and budgets, so a rising figure is the better direction. Benin stands at 26.6% of seats in January 2025, level with January 2024, a change of 0 percentage points over the year. Since 2016 the range runs from a low of 7.2% of seats in 2016 to a high of 26.6% of seats in 2023. The latest figure therefore sits at the top of its range since 2016, equal to the 2023 high.
Why it matters. At 26.6% of seats, women hold a sizeable minority of the chamber, enough to take part in committee work and floor votes on household matters such as family law, schooling and health. The rise from 7.2% of seats in 2016 has been large, and the flat reading between 2024 and 2025 shows that the gain has levelled off. The next change in the chamber's membership will show whether the share holds or moves higher.
| Period | Women in parliament · Benin |
|---|---|
| 2016 | 7.2% of seats |
| 2017 | 7.2% of seats |
| 2018 | 7.2% of seats |
| 2019 | 7.2% of seats |
| 2020 | 7.2% of seats |
| 2021 | 8.4% of seats |
| 2022 | 7.4% of seats |
| 2023 | 26.6% of seats |
| 2024 | 26.6% of seats |
| 2025 | 26.6% of seats |
Source: World Bank, World Development Indicators (CC BY 4.0) · Licence: CC BY 4.0
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Strata-AF™ Data, Women in parliament, Benin, 2025; source World Bank, World Development Indicators (CC BY 4.0), retrieved 8 Oct 2026; https://data.strata-af.com/elections/women-in-parliament/benin
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Methodology
Share of seats held by women in the national parliament (lower or single house), from the Inter-Parliamentary Union via the World Bank. Unit: % of seats.
Source: World Bank, World Development Indicators (series SG.GEN.PARL.ZS), retrieved through the World Bank API and published under CC BY 4.0. Updated annually; the World Bank's own source notes apply.