The US still has not had a woman leader – here are the countries that have.

This year, 45 countries in the United Nations held national elections to decide their top leadership. Of those, only four selected a woman to become head of state or government, according to CNN’s analysis of International Foundation for Electoral Systems data.

This year, 45 countries in the United Nations held national elections to decide their top leadership. Of those, only four selected a woman to become head of state or government, according to CNN’s analysis of International Foundation for Electoral Systems data.

While the US had the opportunity to elect its first female president, voters who hoped to see the glass ceiling broken saw a defeat for the second time in eight years. Three of the countries that picked a female leader in 2024 – North Macedonia, Namibia and Mexico – did so for the first time in their nation’s history.

In the post-World War II period, the first woman was elected to lead a UN country 64 years ago. Here’s a look at where, and when, women have secured national leadership positions since then.

Seven decades of women in political power
The first woman was elected to head of government in 1960. It wasn't until the 1990s that at least one country from every region had elected or appointed a female head of state or government.

When UN members first had a female leader

It wasn’t until the past two decades that many more countries saw their first female leaders, according to CNN’s analysis of the Council on Foreign Relations’ Women’s Power Index, which includes UN member states and excludes monarchs, monarch-appointed leaders and chairpersons of collective governments.

Forty-nine UN member states have had one female leader in the last seven decades. Another 18 countries have had two female leaders, nine countries have had three female leaders, and just two countries – Finland and Iceland – have been headed by four different female leaders. Still, a woman has never served as head of state or government in 115 UN member countries.

60% of UN member states have never had a female leader
78 countries have had a female head of state or government at least once. Only Iceland and Finland have elected four.

The first continent with a UN member state to have a female leader after WWII was Asia. In 1960, Sri Lanka – known then as Ceylon – elected its first female prime minister, Sirimavo Bandaranaike. She entered politics after her husband was assassinated while serving as prime minister.

Since then, women have led 13 other countries in Asia. A lot of them came into politics through their husbands or fathers, in former colonial countries.