Spain Ranks Fourth in European Gender Equality Index
With 71 points out of 100, it ranks high on the table, 7.5 points above the continental average.
Alfonso Torices
Madrid
Tuesday, 2 December 2025, 12:45
Spain ranks high in the European gender equality index, securing the fourth position according to the latest annual update of this tool measuring gender gaps among EU member states. Spain scores 71 out of 100, a figure surpassed only by Sweden, France, and Denmark.
The index is the primary statistical tool for monitoring gender equality progress in the EU, designed to measure advancements, identify persistent gaps, and support evidence-based policies in member states. It assesses gender gaps in six core areas (work, money, knowledge, time, power, and health) through 27 specific indicators. Scores range from 0 to 100, where zero indicates total inequality and one hundred full equality.
Spain's 71 points place it over five points above the European average, marking an improvement of over 27% (15.4 points) compared to its score fifteen years ago. This progress has been faster than in the rest of the continent, allowing Spain to climb several ranks since 2010.
Among the index's domains, Health is where Spain scores the highest (86.2 points). In the last five years, the only domain where Spain regressed in gender equality was Knowledge, with a drop of 3.6 points. Conversely, the most significant gains over the past fifteen years were in Power, with a 46-point increase, tripling the score, and in Money, with a six-point improvement.
Multiple legislative changes
In absolute terms, while Spain scores significantly above the European average in Power and Time indicators, it falls below in Knowledge and Money.
The significant rise in the Power domain, according to a spokesperson from the Ministry of Equality, results from numerous advances in laws and regulations promoted and implemented by Spain over the past two decades. These include gender-balanced electoral lists, mandatory equality plans in companies, equal parental leave, tools to close the wage gap such as pay audits, the expansion of sexual and reproductive rights, and the 2024 law on gender-balanced representation, ensuring equality in all areas of power.
