Côte d’Ivoire ranked first in the ECOWAS Gender Equality Index 2024, with a score of 0.708—above the regional average of 0.640—government spokesperson Amadou Coulibaly announced following the Council of Ministers meeting held on Wednesday, April 29, 2026, at the Presidential Palace in Abidjan-Plateau.

“The 2024 ECOWAS Gender Equality Index report is the first regional tool providing a comprehensive measure of gender inequalities across the West African community. It is based on 38 indicators grouped into six key areas: education, employment and income, access to resources, health, technology, as well as leadership and decision-making,” Coulibaly said.

He added that Côte d’Ivoire performs particularly well in education, with a score of 0.948, and in technology, with a score of 0.739. The country also ranks at an upper-intermediate level in health (0.89), employment (0.737), and access to resources (0.627).

According to Coulibaly, the index uses a benchmark value of 1, which represents perfect parity between men and women. “Any value below this indicates inequality to the detriment of women,” he explained.