Figures by EU's official statistics office reveal that last year 36.4% of seats at parliament were occupied by women, the sixth highest number among the 28 member states.

On a global level, the average proportion of women in the 28 governments was 30.2%, and in parliaments 29.9%, with Eurostat pointing out that there had been progress since 2003 (when the average value in the EU was 23% and 21% respectively).

However, there is still no member state with a majority of women in its national parliament.

Countries that are closest to having a female majority in parliament are Sweden (47%) and Finland (42%), while on the opposite extreme are Hungary (13%) and Malta (15%).