11 Worst Countries for a Woman to Live in

9. Mali

Ranking 137^th, Mali climbed one spot from last year’s ranking. Among the many reasons for the drop in the chart is the fact that women only make about half as much as the men do, while the literacy rate only sits at 29 percent for ladies, while about 48 percent of men are literate.

When it comes to women in leading positions, only 16 percent of the ministerial positions are occupied by ladies, and only 9 percent of the parliament chairs are taken by women, in a country where women have had the right to vote since 1956.

There are also issues in the health department. While the country’s fertility rate is pretty high, with 6.8 children per woman and a high maternal mortality rate (550 deaths per 100,000 live births), only 57 percent of women give birth while attended by a doctor or medical staff.

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