These are the best and worst countries for women

It's Women's History Month, a time to celebrate the many contributions of women both past and present.

The United States first officially celebrated Women's History Month in 1987, but the month is now marked in many countries around the world.

In honor of women (who we think deserve recognition all year round), we took a look at how they fare in terms of health, living and work conditions as measured by the 2013 Global Gender Gap Index.

Notably, the United Kingdom ranked 18th, while the United States came 23rd.

The Gender Gap Index looks at four pillars of comparison for its ranking:

1) Economic participation and opportunity looks at women's income equality and presence in the labor force.

2) Educational attainment looks at women's literacy and enrollment in school.

3) Health and survival compares the ratio of girls born to boys born. It also takes into account female life expectancy.

4) Political empowerment looks at how many women hold seats in political office, and how many female heads of state a country has had.

Here are the four best and the four worst countries to be a woman, along with their individual scores:

1. Iceland

(EuroFootball/AFP/Getty Images)

Economic participation and opportunity: 22

Educational attainment: 1

Health and survival: 97

Political empowerment: 1

2. Finland

(Olivier Morin/AFP/Getty Images)

Economic participation and opportunity: 19

Educational attainment: 1

Health and survival: 1

Political empowerment: 2

3. Norway

(Daniel Sannum Lauten/AFP/Getty Images)

Economic participation and opportunity: 1

Educational attainment: 1

Health and survival: 93

Political empowerment: 3

4. Sweden

(Jonathan Nackstrand/AFP/Getty Images)

Economic participation and opportunity: 14

Educational attainment: 38

Health and survival: 69

Political empowerment: 4

133. Syria

(Dimitar Dilkoff/AFP/Getty Images)

Economic participation and opportunity: 136

Educational attainment: 96

Health and survival: 58

Political empowerment: 112

134. Chad

(Kambou Sia/AFP/Getty Images)

Economic participation and opportunity: 75

Educational attainment: 135

Health and survival: 112

Political empowerment: 102

135. Pakistan

(Rizwan Tabassum/AFP/Getty Images)

Economic participation and opportunity: 135

Educational attainment: 129

Health and survival: 124

Political empowerment: 64

136. Yemen

(Mohammed Huwais/AFP/Getty Images)

Economic participation and opportunity: 132

Educational attainment: 134

Health and survival: 81

Political empowerment: 131