8 Countries With More Women Than Men
More boys enter the world each year, yet women eventually become the majority in several countries. That apparent contradiction reveals how dramatically mortality, migration, conflict, and aging can reshape a population.
Women generally live longer than men, while male workers often migrate abroad in greater numbers. Some countries also record unusually high death rates among working-age men. These forces become especially powerful in Eastern Europe, where the female share of the population sits well above the global norm.
The following ranking uses the latest comparable 2024 estimates and includes sovereign countries rather than territories. Female shares above 50 percent mean women outnumber men across the entire resident population, not necessarily within every age group.
Moldova
Moldova has the world’s largest female population share among sovereign countries, with women representing approximately 52 percent of residents. That equals roughly 117 women for every 100 men.
The imbalance reflects more than women simply living longer. Moldova has spent decades losing residents to overseas employment, while low birth rates have caused its population to shrink and age. The country’s net migration remained negative in 2025, continuing a pattern that has reshaped families, villages and the available workforce.
Older women now form an increasingly visible part of Moldovan society. Many have outlived their husbands, while some also remain behind after younger relatives leave for work elsewhere in Europe. Moldova’s demographic divide therefore tells a larger story about longevity, migration and economic opportunity.
Latvia
Women account for approximately 53.6 percent of Latvia’s population, producing about 116 women for every 100 men. Few countries display such a noticeable difference across their entire population.
Latvia illustrates the powerful effect of aging. While slightly more boys are born, the balance shifts steadily as each generation ages. Female life expectancy reached about 82 years in 2024, and women increasingly dominate the oldest age groups.
The difference matters far beyond dating statistics. A female-heavy elderly population increases demand for pensions, healthcare, long-term care, and affordable housing for people living alone. It also places more older women at risk of loneliness and financial insecurity after losing a spouse.
Armenia
Armenia also has a population that is approximately 53.6 percent female, equivalent to around 116 women for every 100 men. The result appears striking because Armenia has historically recorded more male than female births.
However, the national ratio changes as people move through adulthood. Migration, differences in male and female survival, and the country’s age structure gradually push the overall population toward a female majority.
Women in Armenia had an estimated life expectancy of approximately 82 years in 2024, compared with roughly 75 years for men. That seven-year difference compounds across decades, leaving noticeably more women among retirees and the very old.
The imbalance therefore does not mean every Armenian city or age bracket contains far more women. Younger groups may look much more balanced. The widest divide emerges later in life.
Russia
Russia’s enormous population makes its gender gap particularly significant. Women represent approximately 53.6 percent of the population, which works out to roughly 116 women for every 100 men.
Unlike a small country, where a modest population change can quickly alter the ratio, Russia’s difference involves millions of people. High mortality among adult men has played a central role, alongside the long-term effects of conflict, hazardous work, alcohol-related illness and unequal health outcomes.
The imbalance becomes dramatic in older age groups. By age 73, Russia had around half as many men as women in 2024, showing how sharply the ratio changes over a lifetime.
This creates a society in which many older women live alone or spend years as widows. The demographic gap also influences elder care, household structures and the economic security of retired women.
Ukraine
Women make up approximately 53.5 percent of Ukraine’s population, equal to around 115 women for every 100 men. Ukraine already had a female-majority population before the current war.
The country shared many of the demographic pressures seen elsewhere in Eastern Europe, including low fertility, population aging, emigration and a large difference between male and female longevity.
War has made the picture harder to measure. Deaths, military service, refugee movements and internal displacement can change who authorities count as a resident and where that person lives. The 2024 estimate should therefore be treated as the best comparable international figure rather than a perfect headcount.
Even so, the underlying pattern remains clear. Women considerably outnumber men, especially among older Ukrainians, and the war may deepen the long-term social consequences of that gap.
Belarus
Approximately 53.4 percent of Belarusian residents are women, producing around 115 women for every 100 men. The country follows the wider Eastern European pattern in which female longevity gradually overturns the male advantage recorded at birth. Belarusian women had a life expectancy of around 79 years in 2024, while the estimate for men stood near 70.
A nine-year difference leaves a powerful mark on the population pyramid. It means more women survive into their seventies, eighties and nineties, while the number of men falls more quickly with age.
That divide affects family life as much as national statistics. Adult daughters often carry a growing share of elder care, while widowed women may spend long periods managing homes and finances alone.
Georgia
Georgia’s population is also approximately 52 percent female, giving the country about 115 women for every 100 men. Women’s longer lives account for part of the difference. Female life expectancy reached approximately 79 years in 2024, compared with about 70 years for men. That nine-year gap steadily expands the female majority among older generations.
Migration can further widen the imbalance when working-age men leave their communities for employment. A town may retain mothers, wives and elderly relatives while a portion of its male workforce spends extended periods abroad.
Georgia demonstrates why a country’s sex ratio cannot be explained by birth numbers alone. The final balance reflects who survives, who leaves and who remains.
Lithuania
Women represent approximately 52.8 percent of Lithuania’s population, or nearly 112 women for every 100 men. That margin looks smaller than Moldova’s, but it still creates a visible difference across a national population. Lithuania’s women had an estimated life expectancy of 77 years in 2024, compared with about 73 years for men.
The country’s shrinking and aging population makes the divide more important. As large generations enter retirement, older women increasingly shape demand for medical treatment, community support and residential care.
Lithuania also shows that having more women does not automatically create greater equality. Numerical strength does not guarantee equal wages, political influence, financial security or protection from discrimination.
Why the numbers change with age
Nature usually begins with a slight male advantage, producing around 105 boys for every 100 girls. That gap steadily narrows because boys and men generally experience higher mortality at several stages of life.
Women’s survival advantage becomes especially visible after middle age. Across Eastern Europe, projected 2025 life expectancy stands at about 81.4 years for women and 70.2 years for men. The region also has approximately 88.9 men for every 100 women.
Migration then adds another layer. Countries that send large numbers of male workers overseas may develop female-majority communities even when their birth ratios remain conventional. Conflict, dangerous occupations, healthcare access and lifestyle-related illness can widen the difference further.
These eight countries are not places where women mysteriously “replace” men. They are demographic snapshots showing how millions of individual decisions, departures and deaths accumulate over generations.
