Arab states account for almost half of the worst performers in the World Economic Forum's latest survey of the Global Gender Gap.

As in previous years, four Nordic countries – Iceland, Norway, Finland and Sweden – top the list.

The best-performing Arab country – the UAE – is ranked at number 103 (out of 134), while Yemen is at the very bottom. Israel comes in at 52 and Iran at 123.

The survey, first established four years ago, measures national gender disparities based on a range of criteria: economic, political, educational and health-related. It looks only at the gap between male and female, so the results should not be affected by a country's general level of resources or economic development.

The rankings of the 15 Arab countries included in the survey are as follows:

United Arab Emirates 103
Kuwait 105
Tunisia 107
Bahrain 110
Mauritania 113
Lebanon 116
Qatar 117
Algeria 119
Jordan 120
Oman 122
Syria 124
Egypt 125
Morocco 127
Saudi Arabia 129
Yemen 134