Visitors surround German Chancellor Angela Merkel (R) during open house day at the Chancellery in Berlin, August 19, 2012.
Forbes magazine ranked German Chancellor Angela Merkel the most powerful woman in the world for the second year in a row in the annual list dominated by politicians, businesswomen and media figures.
US Secretary of State Hillary Clinton placed second, followed by Brazilian President Dilma Rousseff, making the top three spots unchanged from last year.
The list named women involved in policymaking, entertainment, technology and nonprofit organizations, among other fields. They were ranked according to influence, the amount of money they control or earn, and media presence.
"These power women exert influence in very different ways and to very different ends, and all with very different impacts on the global community," said Moira Forbes, president and publisher of ForbesWoman.
The magazine noted Merkel's resolve in preserving the European Union and her influence over the euro zone's ongoing debt crisis.
Clinton was applauded for her handling of crises such as the release of atroveof diplomatic cables by the anti-secrecy group WikiLeaks.
Forbes cited Rousseff for her leadership of the world's eighth-largest economy and approval ratings within her country.
The average age of the 100 power brokers from 28 countries was 55. They had a combined 90 million Twitter followers, Forbes said.
Also in the top five were Melinda Gates, co-chair of the Bill &Melinda Gates Foundation and wife of Microsoft Corp co-founder Bill Gates, and Jill Abramson, executive editor of the New York Times.
Sonia Gandhi, president of the Indian National Congress, followed at No 6. US First Lady Michelle Obama, who had topped the list in 2010, was No 7.
The list featured newcomers such as actress and performer Jennifer Lopez and billionaire philanthropist and widow of Apple founder Steve Jobs, Laurene Powell Jobs.
Christine Lagarde, managing director of the International Monetary Fund, was No 8. The former French cabinet minister has been on the list since it began in 2004.
The full list is at www.forbes.com/power-women.
《福布斯》杂志将德国总理安格拉默克尔评为全世界最有权势的女性，这是默克尔连续第二年当选。占据这一年度榜单的有政界、商界和传媒行业的女性。
美国国务卿希拉里 克林顿排在第二位，其后是巴西总统迪尔玛 罗塞夫。这三位女性自去年以来就稳坐榜单前三名宝座。
入选该榜单的女性遍布各行各业，有决策者，有在娱乐界或科技领域工作的，也有为非盈利机构工作的。这一排行榜依据她们的影响力、能掌控的资金或收入以及媒体曝光率来确定排名先后。
《福布斯女性》总裁、出版人莫伊拉 福布斯说：“这些有权势的女性施展影响力的方式千差万别，目标也各不相同。她们对全球社会产生的影响也存在着很大差异。”
该杂志指出了默克尔保住欧盟的决心以及她对欧元区当前遭遇的债务危机的影响。
希拉里 克林顿因处理维基解密网站公布机密外交电报等危机的表现而受到称赞。
《福布斯》还提到了罗塞夫对世界第八大经济体的领导才能和她国内的高支持率。
《福布斯》说，来自28个国家的100名上榜权势女性的平均年龄为55岁。她们的Twitter粉丝加起来有9000万之多。
进入前五名的还有梅琳达 盖茨——比尔与梅林达 盖茨基金会共同主席、微软公司共同创始人比尔 盖茨的妻子，以及吉尔 艾布拉姆森——《纽约时报》的执行主编。
第六名是印度国民大会党主席索尼娅 甘地。第七名是美国第一夫人米歇尔 奥巴马，她在2010年最具权势女性榜中曾荣登榜首。
跻身该榜单的还有一些新面孔，如演员、歌舞表演者詹妮弗 洛佩兹，亿万富翁慈善家、苹果创始人史蒂夫 乔布斯的遗孀劳伦 鲍威尔 乔布斯。
第八名是国际货币基金组织的总经理克里斯蒂娜 拉加德，她曾任法国财政部长。拉加德自2004年首次发布这一排行榜以来年年入选榜单。
