Since 2012, UNHCR has issued an annual background note on gender equality in nationality laws related to the conferral of nationality on children. Nationality laws that do not grant women equal rights with men to confer nationality1 on their children are a cause of statelessness and a concern for UNHCR under its mandate to prevent and reduce statelessness. This background note presents the most up-to-date information available to UNHCR and UN Women as of March 2026. Sixty-five years ago, the laws of most States did not grant women equal rights in nationality matters. This has radically changed for the better since the adoption of the Convention on the Elimination of All Forms of Discrimination against Women (CEDAW) in 1979, whose Article 9 requires States Parties to “grant women equal rights with men to acquire, change or retain their nationality.” However, gender-based inequalities in nationality laws continue to contribute to statelessness. UNHCR and UN Women’s survey of nationality legislation reveals that 24 countries – across nearly every region – still deny equal rights to men and women who are nationals at birth in conferring nationality on their biological children. This includes: • 12 countries in the Middle East and North Africa • 5 in Asia and the Pacific • 5 in Sub-Saharan Africa • 2 in the Americas Additionally, in 4 countries, mothers who became nationals later in life do not have equal rights to confer nationality on their children as fathers in the same circumstances, and in 5 countries women do not have the same rights as men to confer nationality on adopted children. Taken together, the nationality laws of 28 countries do not grant women equal rights to men when it comes to conferral of nationality on children. These States are listed in the tables on pages 9 and 10, with an analysis of their laws provided on pages 10 through 15. The relevant national legislation is listed in the annex on pages 16 to 18. Discrimination against women in nationality laws can cause statelessness when children cannot acquire nationality from their fathers. This can occur (i) when the father is stateless; (ii) when the laws of the father’s country restrict the conferral of nationality in certain cases, such as when the child is born abroad or out of wedlock; (iii) when the father is unknown; (iv) when the father is unable to fulfill administrative steps to confer his nationality or obtain proof of nationality for his children – such as in cases where he has died, been forcibly separated from his family, or 1 Under international law, the terms ‘nationality’ and ‘citizenship’ are synonymous, both referring to the legal bond between an individual and a State. These terms will be used interchangeably in this background note. 2 U N H C R > B A C K G R O U N D N O T E O N G E N D E R E Q U A L I T Y, N AT I O N A L I T Y L A W S A N D S TAT E L E S S N E S S 2 0 2 6