12 Current Female World Leaders

At any given moment on the planet Earth, there are about 20 women who are charged with leading their country. Given that there are 195 recognized countries around the globe (and 315 anointed world leaders), the number of women in charge — about 6.3 percent of the total, for all you math nerds — is pretty measly. If anything, though, it speaks to the sheer talent, intelligence, and force of will that every woman in charge brings to the table. Even in the twentieth century, it’s still a man’s world, but these intrepid women are working very hard to change all that.

1. Saara Kuugongelwa-Amadhila

Between the ages of 13 and 27, current Prime Minister Saara Kuugongelwa was in exile from her native Namibia. Over the course of that time, however, Kuugongelwa devoted herself to furthering her education throughout Africa and abroad (she even went to college in Pennsylvania). At the age of 27, she took an office job in the office of the President of Namibia. From there, she spent the next twenty years working her way up every level of the government to become the current head of the government.