International Women's Day - the girls who run the world

Related Artists: Sia

This week saw the passing of International Women's Day (on March 8th, we're only a day late!) and to celebrate the UK's Official Singles Chart has issued a list of the best-selling female artists in recent years.

According to the chart compilers, the Top 40 most streamed songs by women generated a whopping 3 billion plays on platforms like Spotify and iTunes in the UK. They are also a multi-cultural bunch, with artists from nine different countries represented among the acts.

Perhaps surprisingly, thanks to her feminist icon status, there's no room for Beyoncé, who penned such rousing hits as Run the World (Girls), though there are a few standout women who appear multiple times.

These include British girl group Little Mix, who have more entries in the Top 40 than any other act thanks to their five hits. Their most popular, "Touch", may not have reached Number 1 in its time but it is one of the groups most played, fetching an impressive 87.1 million plays at time of writing. "Shout Out To My Ex", another of the group's stand-out tunes, is just behind with 84 million plays.

Elsewhere, Sia has lead the way with her hits "Chandelier" and "Cheap Thrills", the latter representing the most-streamed song in the UK by a female artist. Since its release in 2016, "Cheap Thrills" has racked up 137.7 million streams, while "Chandelier", "The Greatest" and "Elastic Heart" all feature in the top 40.

Browse the top half of the Top 40 below or, for the full list, read up on the Official Charts website.

Just remember one thing: if anyone asks you "Who run the world?" you can show them this list and say: "girls".

1. Sia - Cheap Thrills
2. Zara Larsson - Lush Life
3. Dua Lipa - New Rules
4. Rihanna ft. Drake - Work
5. Adele - Hello
6. Camila Cabello ft. Young Thung - Havana
7. Sia - Chandelier
8. Fifth Harmony ft. Ty Dolla Sign - Work From Home
9. Little Mix - Touch
10. Little Mix - Shout Out To My Ex
11. Ariana Grande - One Last Time
12. Starley - Call On Me
13. Hailee Steinfeld / Grey / Zedd - Starving
14. Ariana Grande ft. Nicki Minaj - Side To Side
15. Ellie Goulding - Love Me Like You Do
16. Jess Glynne - Don't Be So Hard On Yourself
17. Maggie Lindemann - Pretty Girl
18. Ariana Grande - Into You
19. Jess Glynne - Don't Be So Hard On Yourself
20. Sia ft. Kendrick Lamar - The Greatest