SCOTLAND ranks third in the world for the political empowerment for women, according to new analysis.

Research by the Scottish Parliament Information Centre (SPICe) found Scotland follows Iceland and Nicaragua in terms of female political empowerment. The Scottish results were not included in a report produced from the World Economic Forum's Global Gender Gap Report 2017, which ranked countries by the number of women in parliament, in ministerial office and as head of government over time, prompting Scottish researchers to do their own analysis. They also found Scotland would be placed at 27th in the world in terms of the number of women in parliament. The UK is placed 38th.

SNP MSP Linda Fabiani said: "One hundred years after some women gained the right to vote, women are still fighting for equal representation in politics. But this new analysis shows that Scotland is leading the way on women's representation."