<h4>Objectives of the Global Gender Gap Report</h4><p>The <strong>Global Gender Gap Report</strong> serves as a crucial compass to track progress on the relative gaps between <strong>women</strong> and <strong>men</strong> across key dimensions.</p><p>These dimensions include <strong>health</strong>, <strong>education</strong>, <strong>economy</strong>, and <strong>politics</strong>.</p><div class='key-point-box'><p>Through this annual yardstick, stakeholders within each country are empowered to set <strong>priorities</strong> relevant to their specific <strong>economic</strong>, <strong>political</strong>, and <strong>cultural context</strong>.</p></div><h4>Top-Ranking Countries in Gender Equality</h4><p>For the <strong>15th consecutive year</strong>, <strong>Iceland</strong> (with a <strong>93.5%</strong> gender gap closure) maintains its position as the world’s most <strong>gender-equal society</strong>.</p><p>It is closely followed by <strong>Finland</strong>, <strong>Norway</strong>, <strong>New Zealand</strong>, and <strong>Sweden</strong>, completing the top 5 rankings.</p><div class='info-box'><p><strong>7 out of the top 10 countries</strong> are from <strong>Europe</strong>, including <strong>Iceland</strong>, <strong>Finland</strong>, <strong>Norway</strong>, <strong>Sweden</strong>, <strong>Germany</strong>, <strong>Ireland</strong>, and <strong>Spain</strong>.</p></div><p>Other regions represented in the top 10 include <strong>Eastern Asia and the Pacific</strong> (with <strong>New Zealand</strong> at rank 4), <strong>Latin America and the Caribbean</strong> (with <strong>Nicaragua</strong> at rank 6), and <strong>Sub-Saharan Africa</strong> (with <strong>Namibia</strong> at rank 8).</p><p>Notably, <strong>Spain</strong> and <strong>Ireland</strong> made significant jumps into the top 10 in <strong>2024</strong>, climbing <strong>8</strong> and <strong>2 ranks</strong> respectively compared to their <strong>2023</strong> positions.</p><h4>India's Performance in the Global Gender Gap Index</h4><p><strong>India</strong> has experienced a slip in its global ranking, moving down <strong>two places</strong> to <strong>129th</strong> in <strong>2024</strong> from <strong>127th</strong> in <strong>2023</strong>, out of a total of <strong>146 countries</strong>.</p><div class='info-box'><p>Within the <strong>South Asia</strong> region, <strong>India</strong> ranks <strong>fifth</strong>, trailing behind <strong>Bangladesh</strong>, <strong>Nepal</strong>, <strong>Sri Lanka</strong>, and <strong>Bhutan</strong>. <strong>Pakistan</strong> holds the last position in the region.</p></div><p>As of <strong>2024</strong>, <strong>India</strong> has closed <strong>64.1%</strong> of its <strong>gender gap</strong>.</p><p>The decline in ranking from <strong>127th</strong> to <strong>129th</strong> was primarily attributed to small decreases in the <strong>‘Educational Attainment’</strong> and <strong>‘Political Empowerment’</strong> parameters.</p><p>Despite these declines, <strong>India’s scores</strong> in <strong>‘Economic Participation and Opportunity’</strong> saw slight improvements.</p><h4>Economic Parity in India</h4><p><strong>India</strong> is identified among the countries exhibiting the <strong>lowest levels of economic parity</strong>.</p><p>It shares this characteristic with nations such as <strong>Bangladesh</strong>, <strong>Sudan</strong>, <strong>Iran</strong>, <strong>Pakistan</strong>, and <strong>Morocco</strong>.</p><div class='info-box'><p>These countries demonstrate <strong>less than 30% gender parity</strong> in <strong>estimated earned income</strong>.</p></div><h4>Educational Attainment in India</h4><p>In terms of <strong>educational attainment</strong>, <strong>India</strong> showed the <strong>best gender parity</strong> specifically in <strong>secondary education enrolment</strong>.</p>