In 1920, the United States became the 30^th country in the world to extend voting rights to women. In addition to the fascinating information, this list offers some real surprises. For example, women could not vote in Switzerland until 1971!

1838 – Pitcairn Islands

1881 – Isle of Man

1893 – Cook Islands, New Zealand

1902 – Australia

1906 – Finland

1913 – Norway

1915 – Denmark, Iceland

1917 – Canada, Russian SFSR

1918 – German Austria, Azerbaijan Democratic Republic, Estonia, Democratic Republic of Georgia, Germany, Hungarian Democratic Republic, Kyrgyz SSR, Latvia, Lithuania, Poland, United Kingdom, Ireland

1919 – Belarusian People’s Republic, Luxembourg, Netherlands, Sweden,

Ukrainian SSR, Belgium

1920 – Principality of Albania, Czechoslovakia (Today: Czech Republic, Slovakia), United States

1921 – Armenian SSR

1922 – Burma

1924 – Kazakh SSR, Mongolian People’s Republic, Tajik SSR, Turkmen SSR

1927 – Uruguay

1929 – Ecuador, Puerto Rico

1930 – Union of South Africa, Turkey, Greece

1931 – Brazil, Portugal, Spain, Ceylon (Today: Sri Lanka)

1932 – Maldives, Thailand

1934 – Cuba

1935 – Chile

1937 – Philippines

1938 – Bolivia, Kingdom of Bulgaria, Kingdom of Romania, Uzbek SSR

1939 – El Salvador

1941 – Panama

1942 – Dominican Republic

1943 – Lebanon

1944 – Bermuda, France, Jamaica

1945 – Indonesia, Japan, Senegal, Togo, Yugoslavia (Today: Serbia, Montenegro, Croatia, Slovenia, Bosnia-Herzegovina, Macedonia)

1946 – British Cameroons (Today: Cameroon), Djibouti, Guatemala, Italy,

Liberia, North Korea, Trinidad and Tobago, Venezuela, Vietnam

1947 – Argentina, Union of India, Malta, Mexico, Pakistan, Singapore, Taiwan

1948 – Israel, South Korea, Niger, Seychelles, Dutch Guiana (Today: Suriname)

1949 – China, Costa Rica, Hong Kong, Syria,

1950 – Barbados, Haiti

1951 – British Leeward Islands (Today: Antigua and Barbuda, British Virgin Islands, Montserrat, Saint Kitts and Nevis, Anguilla), British Windward Islands (Today: Grenada, St Lucia, St Vincent and the Grenadines, Dominica, Nepal

1952 – Côte d’Ivoire

1953 – Bhutan, Guyana

1954 – British Honduras (Today: Belize), Colombia, Ghana

1955 – Kingdom of Cambodia, Ethiopia(Then including Eritrea), Honduras, Nicaragua, Peru

1956 – Dahomey (Today: Benin), Comoros, Egypt, Gabon, Mali, Mauritius, Somalia

1957 – Federation of Malaya (Today: Malaysia), Southern Rhodesia (Today: Zimbabwe)

1958 – Upper Volta (Today: Burkina Faso), Chad, Guinea, Kingdom of Laos, Nigeria

1959 – Brunei, Madagascar, San Marino, Tanzania, Tunisia

1960 – Bahamas, Cyprus, Gambia, Tonga

1961 – Burundi, Malawi, Mauritania, Paraguay, Rwanda, Sierra Leone

1962 – Algeria, Monaco, Uganda, Zambia

1963 – Kingdom of Afganistan, The Republic of Congo, Equatorial Africa, Fifi, Iran, Kenya, Morocco

1964 – Kingdom of Libya, Papua New Guinea, Sudan

1965 – Botswana, Lesotho

1967 – Zaire (Today: Democratic Republic of the Congo), Kiribati, Tuvalu, South Yemen

1968 – Nauru, Swaziland

1970 – Andorra

1971 – Switzerland

1972 – Bangladesh

1973 – Bahrain

1974 – Jordan, Solomon Islands

1975 – People’s Republic of Angola, Cape Verde, People’s Republic of Mozambique, São Tomé and Príncipe, Vanuatu

1977 – Guinea-Bissau

1978 – Moldova

1979 – Marshall Islands, Federated States of Micronesia, Palau

1980 – Iraq

1984 – Liechtenstein

1986 – Central African Republic

1989 – Namibia

1997 – Qatar

2002 – Timor-Leste

2003 – Oman

2005 – Kuwait

2006 – United Arab Emirates

2015 – Saudi Arabia

 

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Donna Henes is the author of The Queen of My Self: Stepping into Sovereignty in Midlife. She offers counseling and upbeat, practical and ceremonial guidance for individual women and groups who want to enjoy the fruits of an enriching, influential, purposeful, passionate, and powerful maturity. Consult the MIDLIFE MIDWIFE™

The Queen welcomes questions concerning all issues of interest to women in their mature years. Send your inquiries to thequeenofmyself@aol.com.