Iceland: Parliament, Women maturity, Comparison, Details

In Iceland, women in maturity in parliament, Detail

A day after a general election in which the left-right coalition won a strong majority, Iceland became the first country in Europe to have more women than men in Parliament on 26 September 2021

Women won 33 of the 63 seats in the Althing parliament, or 52 percent, according to predictions based on the final results released on 26 September 2021. No other European country has more than half of its legislators be women, with Sweden coming closest at 47%.

Five other nations have parliaments in which women hold at least half of the seats: Rwanda (61 percent), Cuba (53 percent), Nicaragua (51 percent), Mexico, and the United Arab Emirates (50 percent )

Iceland, unlike many other countries, has no formal quotas for female representation in parliament. In terms of gender equality and women's rights, the Nordic country has long been a trailblazer.

Iceland parliament, Detail

In the meantime, both the Progressive Party's Sigurdur Ingi Johannsson and the Independence Party's Benediktsson announced on 26 September 2021 that they were open to discussing the coalition's continuation, noting voters' overwhelming support.

Iceland's national parliament is known as the Althing. It is the world's oldest surviving parliament. The Althing was created in 930 in ingvellir, some 45 kilometres (28 miles) east of Reykjavik, which ultimately became the country's capital. The Althing continued to meet in ingvellir after Iceland's union with Norway in 1262 until 1800 when it was abolished. It was transported to Reykjavik in 1844 after being restored by a royal edict. The restored unicameral legislature convened for the first time in 1845, and after 1874, it was divided into two houses, with a third chamber playing a larger role as the decades went, until 1991 when Althing became unicameral once more.