Prime Minister Jacinda Ardern gives a speech to the climate change summit in New York.

Prime Minister Jacinda Ardern has been named as one of the world's most powerful women for 2018, according to Forbes.

The PM has been placed 29th on the list, below Microsoft CFO Amy Hood and above Australia's richest citizen, mining magnate Gina Rinehart.

In its write-up on Ardern, Forbes described the Prime Minister as having set new norms as a government leader, by giving birth and taking maternity leave while in office.

ROSS GIBLIN/STUFF "Jacindamania" helped propel Jacinda Ardern to victory during the last election.

"Rising to power on a tide of 'Jacindamania' at 38, she is the youngest female leader in the world and New Zealand's youngest PM in 150 years," Forbes wrote.

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"She said she is using her platform to "create a path for other women" to follow in her footsteps," Forbes' profile on Ardern explained.

Ardern's actions in office were briefly detailed in the write-up, including her efforts to tackle climate change - she described it as this generation's "nuclear-free moment" - as well as her work around welfare reforms and changes to paid parental leave.

MICHAEL SOHN/AP German Chancellor Angela Merkel leads the list.

Forbes' list was headlined by German Chancellor Angela Merkel, the first female leader of Germany, who has been in power since 2005.

"Her leadership is marked by her steely reserve, from standing up to Donald Trump to allowing more than a million Syrian refugees into Germany," Forbes wrote in its profile of Merkel.

JACK TAYLOR/GETTY IMAGES British Prime Minister Theresa May is leading the UK through the Brexit process, to leave the European Union.

The UK's prime minister was rated second in the list, with Theresa May's "fight for a unified Britain" and "a Brexit that delivers on the result of the referendum" highlighted.

Other prominent women in the list included philanthropist Melinda Gates, of the Bill and Melinda Gates Foundation, the Queen, and White House adviser Ivanka Trump, who was US President Donald Trump's daughter.

Celebrities made the top 100 list as well, including Oprah Winfrey and Taylor Swift.

ANTHONY VASQUEZ/AP Ivanka Trump has been included on the list of the world's most powerful women as well.

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