Where women have the most and least economic opportunities

MARKING International Women's Day on March 8th, the Economist Intelligence Unit, The Economist's sister company, has published its second Women's Economic Opportunity Index, assessing the environment for female employees and entrepreneurs across 128 countries. Nearly half the world's women of working-age are not currently active in the formal labour market. As governments seek to revive ailing economies, welcoming these 1.5 billion women into formal employment will become ever more important. The EIU's index brings together 29 indicators measuring access to finance, education and training, legal and social status, and the general business environment. The chart below shows how a selection of countries have scored this year and where conditions have improved or declined.