Women’s political participation is growing, albeit slowly. Globally, as of January 2007, women represented 17 per cent of single and lower houses of parliament, up from 13 per cent in 1990. However, women represented at least 30 per cent of parliamentarians in only 19 countries. Rwanda is still leading the way, and is close to parity with 49 per cent of parliamentary seats occupied by women, followed by Sweden and Costa Rica, where women’s representation is 47 and 39 per cent, respectively.