Venezuela was ranked at the 57th position in the Gender Gap Index 2006 estimated by the World Economic Forum -a list comprising 115 countries that represent 90 percent of the world population and which were assessed in terms of women's opportunities, Efe reported.

The indicator was disclosed Tuesday in London. The survey assesses women's access to opportunities in the economic field, their roles in politics and access to education and healthcare compared to men.

Among Latin American countries, Venezuela was in the sixth position among the 17 nations the report took into account. Colombia, Costa Rica, Panama, El Salvador and Argentina were above Venezuela in the index.

The index was calculated with the collaboration of Venezuelan Professor Ricardo Hausmann, Director of Harvard's Center for International Development; Laura Tyson, of London Business School, and Saadia Zahidi, Head of the World Economic Forum's Women Leaders Program.

Top in the index were the Nordic countries, Sweden (1), Norway (2), Finland (3) and Iceland (4). Germany (5), the Philippines (6), New Zealand (7), Denmark (8), the United Kingdom (9) and Ireland (10) complete the top 10 countries with the smallest "gender gap."