Taiwan is expected to elect its first woman president, Tsai Ing-wen, when voters go to the polls on Saturday.

If successful, 59-year-old Tsai - leader of the opposition Democratic Progressive Party - will become the first female president in the Chinese-speaking world.

Below is a list of countries which have women as heads of government or state. The date in brackets is the year they took office. (The list excludes figurehead monarchs.)

* BANGLADESH: Prime Minister Sheikh Hasina (2009)

* BRAZIL: President Dilma Rousseff (2011)

* CAR: Interim President Catherine Samba-Panza (2014)

* CHILE: President Michelle Bachelet (2014)

* CROATIA: President Kolinda Grabar-Kitarovic (2015)

* GERMANY: Chancellor Angela Merkel (2005)

* JAMAICA: Prime Minister Portia Simpson-Miller (2012)

* KOSOVO: President Atifete Jahjaga (2011)

* LIBERIA: President Ellen Johnson Sirleaf (2006)

* LITHUANIA: President Dalia Grybauskaite (2009)

* MALTA: President Marie-Louise Coleiro Preca (2014)

* MAURITIUS: President Ameenah Gurib-Fakim (2015)

* NAMIBIA: Prime Minister Saara Kuugongelwa-Amadhila (2015)

* NEPAL: President Bidhya Devi Bhandari (2015)

* NORWAY: Prime Minister Erna Solberg (2013)

* POLAND: Prime Minister Beata Szydlo (2015)

* SOUTH KOREA: President Park Geun-hye (2013)