The gender gap is narrowing across the globe, with large parts of the world moving towards greater equality between the sexes in terms of pay, education, health and political representation, according to a report by the World Economic Forum.

Nordic nations, longtime champions of an equal society, topped the list with Iceland, Norway, Finland and Sweden demonstrating "great equality between men and women" in the forum's Global Gender Gap Index.

Of the countries surveyed, 59% narrowed the gap in the past year. Denmark, the Philippines, the UK and Sri Lanka stayed at the same ranks as in 2009, keeping them in the top 20.