Background and political system
With a population over 7.1 million people, Kyrgyzstan is located in Central Asia, bordering China, Kazakhstan, Tajikistan, and Uzbekistan. Kyrgyzstan’s first multiparty elections were held in 1995, following the country’s achievement of independence from the Soviet Union in 1991.
The Constitution of Kyrgyzstan, adopted in 2021, provides the framework for the country's political institutions and governance. Kyrgyzstan is a unitary presidential republic, divided into seven provinces (oblustar) and two cities (shaarlar), and governs via central and local government structures.
Kyrgyzstan’s government consists of the Executive and Legislative branches, complemented by the Judicial branch. The central government is led by the President of the Republic, who is directly elected for a five-year term and acts as Chief of State and Head of Government. The executive branch’s Cabinet of Ministers consists of the Chairman, the First Deputy-Chairperson , deputy chairpersons and ministers appointed by the President. The legislative unicameral Supreme Council, called the Jogorku Kenesh, is formed by 90 statutory seats with 54 seats elected by proportional representation and 36 seats allocated for candidates running in single-seat constituencies. The judicial branch hosts the Kyrgyzstan Supreme Court of 25 judges, and the Constitutional Chamber of the Supreme Court of the Chairperson, Deputy Chairperson, and nine judges, in addition to subordinate courts.
Gender equality and women’s empowerment
Women’s right to vote and to stand for election was first ensured in the country in 1924, and confirmed in 1991 at independence. The first woman in parliament was elected in 1990.
Traditional patriarchal values and gender stereotypes have persisted in the Kyrgyzstan society, both beneath the surface of the communist era despite formal gender equality, and following the country’s independence, creating barriers to practical socioeconomic and political equality and participation.
Considerable strides have been made in recent years. According to UN Women, 91.7 percent of the legal frameworks that promote, enforce, and monitor gender equality under SDG 5, gender equality, with a focus on violence against women, are in place. However, according to the World Economic Forum’s 2024 Global Gender Gap Index, Kyrgyzstan ranks 90th out of 146 countries, a decrease from its 2023 ranking of 84th and its 2022 ranking of 86th. There are still challenges in the areas of social and economic power, as women’s labour force participation rate is still 25 percent lower than men’s, while the country ranks 109th in the area of political empowerment. Traditional norms still place the majority of the care burden on women, presenting challenges to sharing domestic work equally and to pursuing meaningful, equally compensated employment outside the home.
Structure of parliament
The Supreme Council is composed of 90 deputies elected to five-year terms.
The electoral code, as amended through 2022, establishes a 30 percent gender quota, requiring candidate lists to have no more than 70 percent of candidates of the same sex, while the difference in the rotation of women and men nominated by political parties shall not exceed three positions. However, after the 2021 reform of the electoral system into a mixed one, the gender quota only applies to the proportional representation component.
Women's representation in parliament
As of July 2024, the Kyrgyzstan parliament has 20 women members, representing 22.2 percent of total deputies. The youngest member of Parliament, Alimzhanova Nilufar Yakubzhanovna, and the oldest, Majitova Sharapatkan, are women. The next elections will be held in 2026.
Forecast based on past trends
If changes continue at the current pace, this is how women's representation in parliament will look like by 2030.
We calculated this forecast by taking the average rate of improvement from 1995 to 2023 and projecting it into the future.
Forecast based on recent trends
If changes registered in the past five years continue, this is how women's representation in parliament will look like by 2030.
We calculated this forecast by taking the average rate of change in the past five years and projecting it into the future.
Best case forecast
If the situation improves similarly to the country performing best in the region, this is how women's representation in parliament will look like by 2030.
We calculated this forecast by taking the rate of improvement from the country performing best in the region and accelerating the change with this amount over five years and then keeping it constant.
Worst case forecast
If the situation deteriorates similarly to the country registering the worst drop in the region, this is how women's representation in parliament will look like by 2030.
We calculated this forecast by taking the drop rate in the country performing worst in the region and deteriorating the situation with this amount over five years and then keeping it constant.
Women Chairpersons of Parliament Committees
The Kyrgyzstan parliament has eight specialized Committees on the topics of International Affairs, Defense, Security, and Migration; Fuel and Energy Complex, Subsoil Use and Industrial Policy; Constitutional Legislation, State Structure, Judicial and Legal Affairs and Regulations of the Jogorku Kenesh of the Kyrgyz Republic; Law Enforcement, Combating Crime and Anti-Corruption; Budget, Economic and Fiscal Policy; Agrarian Policy, Water Resources, Ecology and Regional Development; Social Policy; Transport, Communications, Architecture and Construction.
As of July 2024, women are the chairpersons of the Committee on Constitutional Legislation, State Structure, Judicial and Legal Affairs and Regulations of the Jogorku Kenesh of the Kyrgyz Republic (Sultanbekova Cholpon Aalievna), and the Social Policy Committee (Raimbachayeva Vinera Kalybekovna).
Structure of government
Central government
The Kyrgyz President determines the main directions of the domestic and foreign policy, determines the structure and composition of the Cabinet of Ministers, submits draft laws to the Jogorku Kenesh, signs and promulgate laws, submits candidates for election to the posts of judges of the Supreme Court and the Constitutional Chamber of the Supreme Court on the proposal of the Council for the Selection of Judges, negotiates and signs international treaties.
The Cabinet is composed of 21 members, who take on the positions of Ministers within the Kyrgyz Government. Within the executive branch, the Cabinet of Ministers, led by the Chairperson, constitutes the Government of Kyrgyzstan and is responsible for ensuring the implementation of the Constitution and laws, implementing the main directions of the foreign and domestic policies, developing the republican budget and ensuring its implementation. As of July 2024, Kendirbaeva Dogdurkul Sharsheevna, Minister of Education and Science, Polotova Yyldyz Arstanbekovna, Minister of Labour, Social Security and Migration, and Kutnaeva Nuriya Asylbekovna, Minister of Digital Development, are the only three women Ministers in the Cabinet.
The current President is Sadyr Japarov who has been in office since 2021. Kyrgyzstan has not yet had a woman serve as Prime Minister. In March 2010, Roza Otunbayeva became both Kyrgyzstan’s and Central Asia’s first woman President.
Ministers or Cabinet Members
Polotova Yyldyz Arstabenkovna
Minister of Labour, Social Security and Migration
Kutnaeva Nuria Asylbekovna
Minister of Digital Development
Kendirbayeva Dogdurkul Sharsheevna
Minister of Education and Science
Local government
At the local level, the government is organized into one tier, consisting of 235 village-level local government units, 33 city-level local government units, the City of Osh, and the City of Bishkek.
The deliberative bodies for the City of Bishkek and City of Osh government are composed of 45 elected members each, and a council chairperson elected by and from the council to preside over it. The executive body, the Bishkek/Osh City Mayor’s office, is composed of the Mayor, the Vice-Mayor, and the heads of committees and structural subdivisions. The Mayors of Bishkek, Osh and for cities of province (oblast) significance are appointed by the President.
The deliberative body for the city level government is composed of the city council (city kenesh), composed of elected members and a council Chairperson elected by and from the council to preside over it. In cities of district (rayon) significance, the executive body, the Mayor’s office, is composed of the Mayor, the Vice-Mayor, and the heads of structural and territorial divisions. The Mayor is appointed by the akim (head of the district), who is appointed by the President. At the village level, local level government is composed by local self-governance (ayil okmotu) and the local council (ayil kenesh), composed of elected members. The head of local self-governance (ayil okmotu) is appointed by the akim, and members of the local council elect the Chairperson of the council.
The gender quota also extends to local government representation: for the city council, the Council of Bishkek, and the Council of Osh elections, candidate lists shall have no more than 70 percent of candidates of the same gender. The difference in priority of women and men within candidate lists should not exceed two positions. For carrying out elections of deputies of ayylny keneshes, no less than 30 percent of mandates of deputies in each ayylny kenesh are reserved for women.
For more information on gender quotas adopted at the national level, visit the women in parliament section.
Structure of public administration
The central government’s roles and responsibilities include ensuring the implementation of a unified state policy in the socio-economic and cultural spheres, the implementation of financial, price, tariff, investment and tax policies, and developing and implementing nationwide programmes for economic, social, scientific and technological, spiritual and cultural development.
The local government is responsible for executing power on the territory of the respective administrative-territorial unit, approving local budgets and controlling their execution, approving programmes of socio-economic development and social protection of the population of the local community; and resolving other issues of local importance in cases provided for by laws.
Women’s representation as employees and decision-makers in public administration
This visualization was developed based on data provided by GIRL@University of Pittsburgh.
Data across countries and territories is not comparable. For more information about the methodology and sources used, read here.
In the context of Kyrgyzstan’s public administration, women’s representation is a combination of both progress and stagnation. At the employee level, women’s representation has been fluctuating, reaching a peak of 42.7 percent in 2010, but measuring 41.4 percent in 2022, a relevant increase from 36.9 percent in 2003. This trend overall points to a positive shift towards greater gender equality in the public administration workforce. However, women’s representation at the decision-making level has remained low, measuring 9 percent in 2015, compared to a similar 9.1 percent in 2011.