Board Governance: International Comparison Chart

Spencer Stuart publishes Board Indexes covering more than 25 countries around the world. The majority of these Board Indexes are published annually, with a few appearing on alternate years.

We have compiled key data from these countries into our 2022 International Comparison Chart below, where you can compare nationally aggregated data from leading companies across a wide range of measures from board size, composition and diversity to director tenure and compensation.

For an interactive, graphical representation of international board data visit our Boards Around The World feature.

Explore our many Board Indexes in more detail at country and company level, or access our latest thinking on boardroom topics, please visit Board Governance Trends.

Board metrics

Country	Board meetings/year	% boards with an external evaluation	Av. board size (total)	% independent board members	Average non-exec director age	Average chair age	Average tenure (non-exec)	Foreign board members	Female directors	Female chairs	Female CEOs	Boards with ≥30% female directors	% women among new board members	% non-nationals among new board members	% first time new directors	Av. total director fees (€)	Av. total chair fees (€)	Av. total director fees ($)	Av. total chair fees ($)
Belgium	9	19%	10	49%	58	64	6.9	38%	35%	8%	4%	68%	33%	57%	28%	€ 47,449	€ 122,753	$49,750	$128,706
Canada	10	--	11	81%	63	66	7	29%	33%	12%	3%	69%	40%	39%	40%	€ 162,226	€ 316,552	$170,093	$331,903
Chile			8	20%	n/a	n/a	n/a	18%	11%	n/a		13%	n/a	n/a	n/a	n/a	n/a	n/a	n/a
Denmark	13	36%	10	77%	59	60	5	51%	37%	8%	N/A	76%	58%	63%	46%	n/a	€ 261,643	n/a	$274,331
Finland	14	16%	9	88%	58	63	4.5	39%	36%	4%	N/A	88%	47%	44%	44%	n/a	€ 149,576	n/a	$156,829
France	9	60%	14	69%	59	64	5.8	35%	45%	5%	10%	98%	49%	33%	63%	n/a	€ 650,118	n/a	$681,644
Hong Kong	7	3%	11	43%	59	60	n/a	15%	14%	7%	4%	11%	18%	11%	43%	€ 90,247	n/a	$94,623	n/a
Ireland	11	20%	10	71%	60	67	4.4	30%	33%	5%	15%	55%	48%	39%	7%	€ 67,125	€ 238,775	$70,380	$250,354
Italy	13	40%	11	58%	58	63	5.1	9%	41%	17%	5%	94%	53%	15%	33%	€ 90,000	€ 414,000	$94,364	$434,076
Japan	14	n/a	10	44%	63	n/a	n/a	5%	15%	n/a	0.4%	8%	--	--	--	€ 91,024	n/a	$95,438	n/a
Netherlands	9	14%	7	84%	61	65	4.2	50%	39%	10%	8%	86%	51%	51%	47%	€ 83,671	€ 162,149	$87,728	$170,012
Norway	13	20%	8	73%	58	63	4.2	42%	45%	16%	N/A	84%	45%	66%	47%	n/a	€ 88,521	n/a	$92,814
Singapore	6	17%	10	61%	62	68	5.5	n/a	20%	10%	7%	6%	6%	n/a	5%	€ 152,448	€ 661,395	$159,841	$693,468
Spain	11	37%	11	47%	60	64	4	20%	30%	7%	1%	57%	51%	22%	41%	€ 129,004	€ 440,491	$135,260	$461,852
Sweden	13	20%	11	69%	60	65	6.4	25%	39%	4%	N/A	84%	54%	42%	23%	n/a	€ 268,657	n/a	$281,685
Switzerland	8	4%	11	90%	60	63	6.2	53%	33%	6%	2%	69%	57%	68%	52%	€ 280,000	€ 1,595,159	$293,578	$1,672,513
Turkey	19	n/a	10	33%	59	61	6.7	14%	17%	7%	4%	11%	11%	23%	48%	n/a	n/a	n/a	n/a
UK	8	42%	10	73%	61	65	4.3	35%	39%	13%	11%	92%	51%	46%	36%	€ 99,548	€ 464,667	$104,375	$487,200
USA	8	25%	11	86%	n/a	n/a	7.8	n/a	32%	7%	7%	60%	46%	16%	34%	€ 301,472	€ 446,508	$316,091	$468,161