NEW YORK — Four Nordic countries lead the world in eliminating inequality between men and women and the United States entered the top 20 nations for the first time, according to a survey of 134 nations released Tuesday.

But France fell to 46th place — a loss of 28 places — because it has fewer women in ministerial posts, the survey said. Many Arab and predominantly Muslim countries remain near the bottom of the list, including Egypt, Turkey, Morocco, Saudi Arabia, Pakistan and Yemen.

The four Nordic countries — Iceland, Finland, Norway and Sweden — have topped the Global Gender Gap Index since it was first released in 2006 by the Geneva-based World Economic Forum, and Iceland remained in first place for the second straight year.

"Low gender gaps are directly correlated with high economic competitiveness," Klaus Schwab, the forum's founder and executive chairman, said in a statement. "Women and girls must be treated equally if a country is to grow and prosper."

"We still need a true gender equality revolution, not only to mobilize a major pool of talent both in terms of volume and quality, but also to create a more compassionate value system within all our institutions," Schwab said.

The United States leaped in the rankings from 31st place last year to 19th this year based on very high levels of literacy for both women and men and very high levels of women in primary, secondary and higher education.