- ImpactWe help parliaments to become greener and to implement the Paris agreement.We support democracy by strengthening parliamentsWe work to increase women’s representation in parliament and empower women MPs.We defend the human rights of parliamentarians and help them uphold the rights of all.We help parliaments fight terrorism, cyber warfare and the proliferation of weapons of mass destruction.We encourage youth participation in parliaments and empower young MPs.We support parliaments in implementing the SDGs with a particular focus on health and climate change.
- Parliaments
Nearly every country in the world has some form of parliament. Parliamentary systems fall into two categories: bicameral and unicameral. Out of 190 national parliaments in the world, 78 are bicameral (156 chambers) and 112 are unicameral, making a total of 268 chambers of parliament with some 44,000 members of parliament. IPU membership is made up of 180 national parliamentsFind a national parliament
The Swiss National Council © The Swiss Parliament
We help strengthen parliaments to make them more representative and effective. - Knowledge
Discover the IPU's resources
Our library of essential resources for parliamentsGlobal data for and about national parliamentsLatest data and reports about women in parliamentResolutions, declarations and outcomes adopted by IPU MembersRecent innovations in the way parliaments workThe latest climate change legislation from the London School of Economics' databaseIPU on air- Conversations about parliamentary action
Voices and videos
17/06/2022
As part of the IPU series called 'A conversation with...', we interview parliamentarians from all over the world to find out who they represent and what motivates them. In this edition, we discover José Cepeda Garcia de León, a parliamentarian
News in brief
17/06/2022
On 15 and 16 June, some 200 young parliamentarians from 60 countries convened in Sharm-el-Sheikh , Egypt for the Eight IPU Global Conference of Young Parliamentarians. The conference was jointly organized by the IPU and the Parliament of Egypt. This
Consultancy
Deadline:
The Inter-Parliamentary Union (IPU) is the global organization of national parliaments. It has a membership of 178 Member Parliaments. The IPU promotes democratic governance, institutions and values, working with parliaments and parliamentarians to articulate and respond to the needs and
Statements
15/06/2022
Within the framework of the 12th Ministerial Conference of the World Trade Organization (WTO), the Steering Committee of the Parliamentary Conference on the WTO adopted the statement below inviting the members of the WTO to make every effort to achieve
Press releases
08/06/2022
The IPU and partners have published a radically new approach to measuring parliamentary progress with the launch of a preliminary version of indicators that will allow parliaments to give themselves a health check. The Indicators for Democratic Parliaments is an
News in brief
08/06/2022
All 151 seats in the House of Representatives and 40 of the 76 Senate seats were up for reelection in the recent Australian parliament elections. The Labor Party, led by Anthony Albanese, beat the incumbent Liberal/National coalition government. According to
Case studies
01/06/2022
In a typical year, the Parliament of the United Kingdom (both the House of Commons and the House of Lords) spends just over £10 million on education and outreach. In its strategy, the institution describes this approach as “targeted engagement”
Case studies
01/06/2022
The work of the Parliament of South Africa highlights good practices in institutionalizing and embedding public engagement, based on specific requirements in the country’s Constitution. Parliament has made efforts to ensure that its engagement practices: align practical actions with cultural