Iceland remains the world's leading country in gender equality, according to the 2012 Global Gender Gap Report released yesterday by the World Economic Forum (WEF).

This is the fourth consecutive year for Iceland to place at the top in overall ranking in the Global Gender Gap Index, followed by Finland which moved up one spot from last year, and Norway in third.

Although no country has yet achieved total gender equality, all of the Nordic nations, with the exception of Denmark, have 80 percent gender equality and thus serve as models and useful benchmarks for international comparison.

China this year fell eight places from 2011, placing 69th overall, and ranked 58th in the area of economic participation and opportunity, 85th in educational attainment, 132nd in health and survival, and 58th in political empowerment.

The Global Gender Gap Report, introduced by the World Economic Forum in 2006, provides a framework for capturing the magnitude and scope of gender-based disparities around the world. It measures national gender equity in the areas of politics, education, employment and health.

The followings are the top 10 countries with narrowest gender gap in 2012 according the latest Global Gender Gap Report:

  Switzerland (瑞士)

2012 score:76.7%

2011 Rank:10

Rank in Economic Participation and Opportunity:28

Rank in Educational Attainment:71

Rank in Health and Survival:68

Rank in Political Empowerment:13