Almost 90 per cent of people are biased against women, according to new findings published by the UN Development Programme (UNDP) on Thursday.

Despite steps towards closing the equality gap, 91 per cent of men and 86 per cent of women hold at least one bias against women regarding politics, economics, education, violence or reproductive rights.

This is the first ever ‘gender social norm index’ conducted by the UNDP, analysing data from 75 countries that make up more than 80 per cent of the world’s population.

It found almost 50 per cent think men are superior politicians and more than 40 per cent believe men make better business leaders.

A third of men and women think it’s acceptable for a man to beat his wife.

The data was collected from 2005-09 and 2010-2014, the latest year for which there is data.

Of the 75 countries studied, there were only six in which the majority of people held no bias towards women.

Even in Andorra, Australia, the Netherlands, New Zealand, Norway and Sweden – found to be some of the most progressive societies – only half of the population were totally free from gender prejudice.

Pedro Conceição, director of the UNDP’s human development report office, said of the findings: “We all know we live in a male-dominated world, but with this report we are able to put some numbers behind these biases.

“And the numbers, I consider them shocking,” he added.

All the women who have been awarded the Nobel Peace Prize Show all 17 1 /17 All the women who have been awarded the Nobel Peace Prize All the women who have been awarded the Nobel Peace Prize Nadia Murad, 2018 The Iraqi Yazidi human rights activist was awarded the Nobel Peace Prize 'for their efforts to end the use of sexual violence as a weapon of war and armed conflict'. AFP via Getty Images All the women who have been awarded the Nobel Peace Prize Malala Yousafzai, 2014 The Pakistani activist, who champions female education, became the youngest ever recipient of the Nobel Peace Prize at 17 years old, receiving the accolade 'for their struggle against the suppression of children and young people and for the right of all children to education'. 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AFP via Getty Images All the women who have been awarded the Nobel Peace Prize Mother Teresa, 1979 Regarded as one of the most prominent humanitarians in history, Roman Catholic nun Mother Teresa was awarded the accolade in 1979. She passed away less than two decades later. AFP via Getty Images All the women who have been awarded the Nobel Peace Prize Betty Williams, 1976 In 1976, Betty Williams, from Belfast, Ireland, was one of two women to receive the Nobel Peace Prize. Williams co-founded the Community of Peace People, previously named the Northern Ireland Peace Movement. Getty Images All the women who have been awarded the Nobel Peace Prize Mairead Corrigan, 1976 Mairead Corrigan was the second recipient of the Nobel Peace Prize in 1976, having co-founded the Community of Peace People alongside Williams. 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And the problem in some places is getting worse, he said: “If you take the overall average of the information we have, we show that on average we are sliding back – that biases, instead of shrinking, are growing back.”

Sweden, for example, was one of several countries – including South Africa, India, Rwanda and Brazil – in which the number of people who held at least one bias increased over the nine years.

More than half of people in the UK and the US held at least one bias.