Cross-Gender Friending Ratio

A global dataset of cross-gender friendship links spanning nearly 200 countries and territories, constructed from more than a trillion friendship ties among Facebook users.

What the number means

For each location, the Cross-Gender Friending Ratio compares the share of women in men's friendship networks with the share of women in women's friendship networks. A value of 1 means men and women form equal shares of their ties with women.

Women in men's networks 45%
Women in women's networks 60%
CGFR 0.75

Why it matters

A large share of the global regional variation in cross-gender friending happens within countries, not only between them, and is linked to broader gender relations.

Gender gaps

Across countries, the observed variation in CGFR correlates strongly with gender differences in labor force participation.

Regional attitudes

Within countries, people from areas with higher CGFR are typically more supportive of equal treatment of men and women.

Demographic trends

County-level differences in CGFR line up with demographic and socioeconomic patterns across the United States.

Explore the map

Compare patterns in the Cross-Gender Friending Ratio across countries and regions using the interactive map.

Interactive Explorer

Click any country or region on an interactive globe and see where cross-gender friendship networks are more or less separated.

Start exploring →

If you use the Cross-Gender Friending Ratio in your work, please cite:

  1. Bailey, M., Johnston, D., Kuchler, T., Kumar, A., & Stroebel, J. (2025). Cross-Gender Social Ties around the World. AEA Papers and Proceedings, 115, 132-138.

Data: Cross-Gender Ties (Humanitarian Data Exchange)