International Women's Day unearths some surprising results...

Revealed: The best and worst places to be a woman
Η ΧΩΡΑ ΜΑΣ ΣΤΗ ΛΙΣΤΑ ΤΟΥ INDEPENDEN
Μερικές από τις καταχωρήσεις στη λίστα με τα καλύτερα και τα χειρότερα μέρη στον κόσμο για να είσαι γυναίκα, όπως παρουσιάζονται από τον Independent:

When more than half of the world's population wakes up on Thursday – the 101st International Women's Day – it will be hard to know whether to celebrate or give in to despair. A British woman will face the prospect of at least 14 more general elections before women equal men in the Commons. But a woman in Qatar will be six times more likely to go to university than the man next door.

The global gender gap defies simple solutions. Eighty-five per cent of countries have improved conditions for women over the past six years, according to the World Economic Forum, but in economic and political terms there is still a long way to go.

"From London to Lahore," says Oxfam, "inequality between men and women persists." Here The Independent on Sunday explores the best places to be a woman today.

1. Best place to be a woman: Iceland

Iceland has the greatest equality between men and women, taking into account politics, education, employment and health indicators. The UK comes in at 16th place, down one since 2010. The worst is Yemen, and the most dangerous is Afghanistan.

2. Best place to be a mother: Norway

Norway is the world's best place to be a mother, with low risks of maternal mortality – one in 7,600 – and skilled help at nearly all births. The UK is ranked 13th. The worst is Afghanistan, where a woman is at least 200 times more likely to die during childbirth than from bombs or bullets.

3. Best place to give birth: Greece

Greece is the world's safest place to give birth, with a one in 31,800 risk of dying in childbirth. The UK is in 13th position, but the worst place to have a baby is thought to be the world's newest country, South Sudan. There are fewer than 20 midwives in the whole country.

4. Best place to earn money: Luxembourg

Luxembourg shares the top spot (with Norway) for estimated earned income. When income is capped at $40,000, women and men are as likely to earn the same amount. The UK is ranked 23rd, while the lowest female earners are in Saudi Arabia, where women earn $7,157 to men's $36,727.

5. Best place to go to university: Qatar

In Qatar six women are enrolled in tertiary education for every man. Questions remain as to whether their investment in education has led to the integration of women into the economy. The UK is ranked 38th. The worst country is Chad, where three times as many men are enrolled as women.

16. Best place to be a lady of leisure: Denmark

Women in Denmark have more time for leisure, spending only 57 more minutes each day on unpaid work than men, the lowest in the OECD. British women spend two hours more per day doing unpaid work than men. Mexican women have it hardest, spending four hours 21 minutes more on unpaid work than men.

6. Best place to be an athlete: US

Five of the top 10 highest-paid female sporting athletes in 2011 were from the US. The worst country, Saudi Arabia, has never sent a female athlete to the Olympics and bans girls from sports in state schools. Sponsorship of British women's sport came to 0.5 per cent of the market between January 2010 and August 2011.