
China improved to 96th place out of 145 economies in the 2026 Global Gender Gap Report by the World Economic Forum, closing 69.9% of its gender gap in 2025, up from 103rd the previous year and marking its first top 100 ranking since 2016.
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China had not ranked in the top 100 of the Global Gender Gap Report since 2016, when it placed 99th. The 2026 report assesses gender equality across 145 economies.
Performance in economic participation and opportunity powers rise to 96th from 103rd place in annual World Economic Forum report
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Phoebe Zhangin Shenzhen
Published: 12:00pm, 3 Oct 2026
For the first time in a decade, China has returned to the top 100 out of 145 economies in an annual global report assessing gender equality.
China closed 69.9 per cent of its gender gap in 2025, rising to 96th place from 103rd the previous year and increasing 1.3 percentage points, according to the 2026 Global Gender Gap Report published by the World Economic Forum (WEF), an international non-profit organisation based in Switzerland.
It marks the first time China has been ranked in the top 100 since 2016, when it placed 99th.
This year, China ranked higher than a few major economies in the region, including South Korea (101), Japan (117) and India (131).

The United Arab Emirates has cancelled all flights to Israel following reports that a Flydubai co-pilot, previously barred from flying by Oman due to extremism concerns, was hired by the airline without clear vetting. The incident has disrupted regional travel and intensified scrutiny of aviation security amid ongoing Middle East tensions.

New Japanese visa regulations effective Thursday have drastically increased costs for two British nationals living in Japan for over a decade, raising business manager visa fees from 5 million to 30 million yen and permanent residency fees to 200,000 yen, alongside higher income, pension and language requirements.

The Philippine Coast Guard stated that it continues to monitor the activities of a Chinese marine survey ship "Jiahaike 7" and two Chinese coast guard ships in the northern waters of the Philippines, and disclosed that three Taiwanese coast guard ships also appeared in relevant waters. The Philippines suspects that the research vessel may have concealed its actual track through AIS signal spoofing and has not been allowed to conduct scientific research in its exclusive economic waters. The former deputy commander of the Taiwan Navy believes that the simultaneous presence of Taiwan and the Philippines’ naval patrols is an independent surveillance exercise rather than a joint operation. Experts point out that the Bashi Strait is of strategic importance and is a key chokepoint connecting the South China Sea and the Pacific Ocean.

During the National Day, the staff of the Sixth Cementing Team of Daqing Drilling and Cementing Branch worked hard all night at the 70375 shale oil well construction site, overcoming complex geological conditions and severe weather, accurately controlling the risk of well leakage, and completed the difficult cementing operation at 23:00 on October 1. All staff returned to the team safely, demonstrating the responsibility of oil personnel with their persistence in their posts.

North Korea launched a ballistic missile from Wonsan City into the Sea of Japan at 6:30 a.m. on the 3rd. It was the first missile launch since September 20 and the 15th time this year. South Korea's Blue House immediately held an emergency meeting to assess the situation in light of the DMZ mine explosion. The National Security Office emphasized that North Korea's behavior violated United Nations resolutions and did not help the situation between the two Koreas, calling for an immediate stop.
Dianyang Village, Rixi Township, Jin'an District, Fuzhou City relies on good ecology to develop rural tourism, implement livelihood projects, improve cultural and tourism supporting facilities, develop green and red wine industries and alpine peach cultivation, introduce Taiwan's rural construction team to promote the revitalization and sustainable development of ancient dwellings, attract citizen tourists, and create rural tourism destinations such as mountain guesthouses and farming experiences.