See what a high band reads like.

P1The line graph shows the percentage of parliamentary seats held by women in Rwanda, Sweden, the USA and Japan between 2000 and 2020.

P2Overall, Rwanda rose from below Sweden in 2000 to become the highest of the four by 2005, subsequently widening its lead, while Sweden maintained a consistently high share. The USA and Japan remained considerably lower throughout, though the USA showed a notable increase in the final five years.

P3Rwanda's growth was the most striking feature. From 17% in 2000 the figure surged to 49% in 2005 and climbed to 64% by 2015, before edging down to 61% in 2020. Sweden started at an already high 43% in 2000 and remained broadly stable, ending at 47% in 2020.

P4The USA and Japan both began well below Sweden. The USA held 14% in 2000 and rose gradually to 19% by 2015, before climbing more sharply to 27% in 2020. Japan started at just 5%, grew to 11% by 2010, then slipped to 9% in 2015 and recovered to 10% in 2020, an overall rise despite the intermediate decline, with the final share double its starting level. By 2020 the gap between Rwanda at 61% and Japan at 10% was 51 percentage points.